HB 1786 — An Act amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, in disposition of abandoned and unclaimed property, further providing for certificate of finder registration and for notice and publication of lists of property subject to custody and control of the Commonwealth under this article.

PRINTER'S NO.    2197

                  THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                      HOUSE BILL
                      No. 1786
                                             Session of
                                               2025

     INTRODUCED BY BASHLINE, BARGER, DOUGHERTY, INGLIS, RASEL,
        BIZZARRO, NEILSON, SANCHEZ, ANDERSON, SHAFFER, ZIMMERMAN,
        SHUSTERMAN, SMITH, HADDOCK, KLUNK AND K.HARRIS,
        AUGUST 5, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, AUGUST 10, 2025


                                  AN ACT
 1   Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled
 2      "An act relating to the finances of the State government;
 3      providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for
 4      ambulatory surgical center data collection, for the Joint
 5      Underwriting Association, for entertainment business
 6      financial management firms, for private dam financial
 7      assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for
 8      the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,
 9      bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the
10      collection and recovery of fees and other money or property
11      due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
12      including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,
13      the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds
14      and securities belonging to or in the possession of the
15      Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the
16      Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the
17      courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the
18      Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and
19      all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
20      moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
21      and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
22      authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
23      to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
24      section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
25      Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
26      certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
27      department, board, commission, and officer of the State
28      government, every political subdivision of the State, and
29      certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
30      association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
31      collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
32      imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
 1      other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
 2      every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
 3      Commonwealth," in disposition of abandoned and unclaimed
 4      property, further providing for certificate of finder
 5      registration and for notice and publication of lists of
 6      property subject to custody and control of the Commonwealth
 7      under this article.
 8      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 9   hereby enacts as follows:
10      Section 1.     Section 1301.11a(b), (d) and (e) introductory
11   paragraph of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known
12   as The Fiscal Code, are amended to read:
13      Section 1301.11a.     Certificate of Finder Registration.--* * *
14      (b)    An application for a certificate of registration shall
15   be in writing and on the form prescribed by the State Treasurer
16   and accompanied by a recent full face color photograph of the
17   applicant. In addition to information that may be requested by
18   the State Treasurer, the application shall provide the
19   following:
20      1.    the applicant's full name, telephone number, e-mail
21   address, home address and work address;
22      2.    a statement that the applicant has not, during the ten-
23   year (10) period immediately preceding the submission of the
24   application, violated a provision of this article or been
25   convicted of a felony or an offense of:
26      (i)    theft or other related offenses against property as
27   enumerated under 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 39 (relating to theft and
28   related offenses) or its equivalent if committed in another
29   jurisdiction;
30      (ii)    forgery or other fraudulent practices as enumerated in
31   18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 41 (relating to forgery and fraudulent practices)
32   or its equivalent if committed in another jurisdiction; [or]
33      (iii)     perjury, false swearing, fraud or other offense as


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 1   enumerated in 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 49 Subch. A (relating to perjury
 2   and falsification in official matters) or its equivalent if
 3   committed in another jurisdiction;
 4      (iv)    burglary and other criminal intrusion as enumerated
 5   under 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 35 (relating to burglary and other criminal
 6   intrusion) or its equivalent if committed in another
 7   jurisdiction;
 8      (v)    robbery as enumerated under 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 37 (relating
 9   to robbery) or its equivalent if committed in another
10   jurisdiction;
11      (vi)    bribery and corrupt influence as enumerated under 18
12   Pa.C.S. Ch. 47 (relating to bribery and corrupt influence) or
13   its equivalent if committed in another jurisdiction; or
14      (vii)    obstructing governmental operations as enumerated
15   under 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 51 (relating to obstructing governmental
16   operations) or its equivalent if committed in another
17   jurisdiction;
18      3.    A statement that, to the applicant's knowledge, the
19   applicant is not the subject of an ongoing investigation or
20   prosecution involving an alleged violation of a provision of
21   this article or an offense of:
22      (i)    theft or other related offenses against property as
23   enumerated under 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 39 or its equivalent if
24   committed in another jurisdiction;
25      (ii)    forgery or other fraudulent practices as enumerated in
26   18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 41 or its equivalent if committed in another
27   jurisdiction; [or]
28      (iii)    perjury, false swearing, fraud or other offense as
29   enumerated in 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 49 Subch. A or its equivalent if
30   committed in another jurisdiction; [and]

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 1      (iv)    burglary and other criminal intrusion as enumerated
 2   under 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 35 or its equivalent if committed in
 3   another jurisdiction;
 4      (v)    robbery as enumerated under 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 37 or its
 5   equivalent if committed in another jurisdiction;
 6      (vi)    bribery and corrupt influence as enumerated under 18
 7   Pa.C.S. Ch. 47 or its equivalent if committed in another
 8   jurisdiction; or
 9      (vii)    obstructing governmental operations as enumerated
10   under 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 51 or its equivalent if committed in
11   another jurisdiction;
12      4.    The notarized signature of the applicant immediately
13   following an acknowledgment that a false or perjured statement
14   subjects the applicant to criminal liability[.];
15      5.    a completed Federal criminal history background check, of
16   which:
17      (i)    the State Treasurer shall prescribe the manner by which
18   the background check shall be submitted, which shall include a
19   method by which applicants may submit fingerprints to be
20   transmitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for Federal
21   criminal history record information pursuant to applicable
22   Federal law;
23      (ii)    the background check shall be submitted with the
24   initial or renewal application and shall be no more than five
25   (5) years old at the time of the application; and
26      (iii)    the State Treasurer shall maintain a copy of the
27   background check, which shall be made available to the applicant
28   in a manner prescribed by the State Treasurer;
29      6.    the State Treasurer shall reject any application if the
30   applicant refuses or fails to comply with clause 5; and

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 1      7.    a sworn statement of compliance with all applicable
 2   ethics standards, on a form and in a manner as prescribed by the
 3   State Treasurer.
 4      * * *
 5      (d)     A certificate of registration with a unique registration
 6   number may be issued to an applicant if the following conditions
 7   are met:
 8      1.    During the ten-year (10) period immediately preceding the
 9   submission of the application, the applicant has not violated a
10   provision of this article or been convicted of a felony or an
11   offense of:
12      (i)     theft or other related offenses against property as
13   enumerated under 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 39 or its equivalent if
14   committed in another jurisdiction;
15      (ii)     forgery or other fraudulent practices as enumerated in
16   18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 41 or its equivalent if committed in another
17   jurisdiction; [or]
18      (iii)     perjury, false swearing, fraud or other offense as
19   enumerated in 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 49 Subch. A or its equivalent if
20   committed in another jurisdiction; [and]
21      (iv)     burglary and other criminal intrusion as enumerated
22   under 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 35 or its equivalent if committed in
23   another jurisdiction;
24      (v)     robbery as enumerated under 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 37 or its
25   equivalent if committed in another jurisdiction;
26      (vi)     bribery and corrupt influence as enumerated under 18
27   Pa.C.S. Ch. 47 or its equivalent if committed in another
28   jurisdiction; or
29      (vii)     obstructing governmental operations as enumerated
30   under 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 51 or its equivalent if committed in

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 1   another jurisdiction; and
 2      2.    The applicant has executed a sworn statement that is a
 3   commitment to conduct his actions as a finder of abandoned and
 4   unclaimed property in compliance with this article and the
 5   regulations promulgated under this article.
 6      (e)    The certificate of registration issued under this
 7   section is for a period of [two (2)] five (5) years and may be
 8   renewed every [two (2)] five (5) years if the following
 9   conditions are met:
10      * * *
11      Section 2.     Section 1301.12(b)3 of the act is amended,
12   subsection (b) is amended by adding a clause and the section is
13   amended by adding a subsection to read:
14      Section 1301.12.     Notice and Publication of Lists of Property
15   Subject to Custody and Control of the Commonwealth under this
16   Article.--* * *
17      (b)    The published notice shall be entitled "Notice of Names
18   of Persons Appearing to be Owners of Abandoned and Unclaimed
19   Property," and shall contain:
20      * * *
21      3.    A statement that a proof of claim should be presented by
22   the owner to the holder within three (3) months from the date of
23   the published notice, and that thereafter claims should be filed
24   with the State Treasurer[.];
25      4.    Information regarding the process by which an owner can
26   claim property through the State Treasurer with no charge.
27      * * *
28      (g)    The State Treasurer shall maintain on the publicly
29   accessible Internet website of the Treasury Department a sample
30   finder agreement.

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1     Section 3.    This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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