Substitute House Bill 1127 (H-1456.2), introduced in the 2025 regular session by House Finance at the request of the Department of Revenue and read first on 02/20/25, amends Washington’s unclaimed property law (chapter 63.30 RCW) and related statutes and adds new sections. The bill requires certain trusts created under chapter 18.39 (prearrangement funeral service contracts) that have not matured or been refunded and for which no beneficiary can be located, to be transferred to the state as unclaimed property. It creates a new presumption of abandonment for proceeds of prearrangement funeral service contract trusts and prescribes reporting rules, definitions, and rules for determining reportable amounts and apparent owners. The bill revises definitions and expands the types of intangible property covered (including virtual currency, stored value cards and payroll cards, among others), changes dormancy periods for many categories of property (for example, prearrangement funeral trust proceeds are presumed abandoned three years after specified triggering events, stored value cards three years, traveler’s checks 15 years, money orders five years, many deposits three years, and wages/commissions one year), and sets detailed holder notice and reporting requirements (including notice by first-class mail for property of $50 or more, reporting thresholds for owner identifying information at $5, deadlines for annual reports, electronic filing/payment rules, and special rules for pension/retirement accounts). The bill also requires liquidation of virtual currency before reporting, limits when holders may deduct dormancy charges, and preserves certain exceptions (for example, specific rules for governmental pension accounts). The bill changes procedures and enforcement in chapter 63.30: it tightens rules for holder examinations and contractor procurement and caps contingent fees, establishes sale and delivery procedures for safe deposit box and security property (including a two-year wait before sale of safe deposit contents and a ban on sale of U.S. military medals), sets confidentiality protections for holder reports and examination records, creates a formal refund/return process with decision and limitation timelines, updates interest and penalty provisions (including interest per RCW 82.32.050, penalties for failure to report or deliver, enhanced penalties for fraudulent or willful failures, and a 5% penalty for failure to file/pay electronically), provides appeal procedures (administrative petition deadlines and a right to de novo appeal in Thurston County Superior Court), repeals RCW 63.30.670, and specifies effective and retroactive application for various sections (sections 1–2 apply to prearrangement contracts regardless of execution date; several sections apply retroactively and prospectively to January 1, 2023; others take effect January 1, 2026). Some referenced statutory amendments and full definitions (notably the complete definition of “property” and certain cross-referenced amendments) are not included in the extracted material.

If enacted, the bill makes it more likely that money held in prearrangement funeral service trusts and a wider range of intangible assets (including virtual currency, stored value cards, payroll cards, and several other account types) will be treated as unclaimed and moved into state custody unless owners or beneficiaries are found under the new timelines. Businesses and institutions that hold those funds—funeral establishments, banks, insurers, retailers, employers, and issuers—will face tighter notice, reporting, and payment rules (including earlier or clarified dormancy periods, deadlines for annual reports, requirements to liquidate virtual currency before remitting, and electronic payment obligations unless excused), limits on what dormancy fees they can take, and stiffer penalty and audit enforcement; owners may lose any post-liquidation gains on virtual currency. The Department of Revenue will take on expanded collection, notice, sale, and claims duties and must manage new contracting, confidentiality, and indemnity rules, with many provisions applied retroactively to January 1, 2023 and some taking effect January 1, 2026. Key practical uncertainties remain from the provided text—most notably the full statutory definition of "property" and certain procedural details about when email suffices instead of mailed notice—so holders and owners will need the complete bill text or agency rules to know exactly how specific assets and notice processes are handled.