Senate Bill No. 27
(By Senators Edgell, Minard and Unger)
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[Introduced January 8, 2003; referred to the Committee on
Military and then to the committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section twelve, article eight, chapter
thirty-six of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to exempting certain
abandoned property consisting of military awards and
decorations from sale at public auction by the state
treasurer.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twelve, article eight, chapter thirty-six of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. UNIFORM UNCLAIMED PROPERTY ACT.
§36-8-12. Public sale of abandoned property.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the
administrator, within three years after the receipt of abandoned
property, shall sell it to the highest bidder at public sale at a location in the state which in the judgment of the administrator
affords the most favorable market for the property. The
administrator may decline the highest bid and reoffer the property
for sale if the administrator considers the bid to be insufficient.
The administrator need not offer the property for sale if the
administrator considers that the probable cost of sale will exceed
the proceeds of the sale. A sale held under this section must be
preceded by a single publication of notice, at least three weeks
before sale, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in
which the property is to be sold.
(b) Securities listed on an established stock exchange must be
sold at prices prevailing on the exchange at the time of sale.
Other securities may be sold over the counter at prices prevailing
at the time of sale or by any reasonable method selected by the
administrator. If securities are sold by the administrator before
the expiration of three years after their delivery to the
administrator, a person making a claim under this article before
the end of the three-year period is entitled to the proceeds of the
sale of the securities less any deduction for expenses of sale. A
person making a claim under this article after the expiration of
the three-year period is entitled to receive the securities
delivered to the administrator by the holder, if they still remain
in the custody of the administrator, or the net proceeds received
from sale, and is not entitled to receive any appreciation in the value of the property occurring after delivery to the
administrator, except in a case of intentional misconduct or
malfeasance by the administrator.
(c) A purchaser of property at a sale conducted by the
administrator pursuant to this article takes the property free of
all claims of the owner or previous holder and of all persons
claiming through or under them. The administrator shall execute
all documents necessary to complete the transfer of ownership.
(d) All abandoned property consisting of military awards and
decorations delivered to the administrator is exempt from the
provisions of subsection (a) of this section, and must be held in
trust by the division of veterans affairs. A person claiming an
interest in the abandoned property may file a claim to the property
pursuant to the provisions of this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exempt certain abandoned
property consisting of military awards and decorations from sale at
public auction by the state treasurer.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.