SB 403: Unclaimed Property; property is presumed abandoned; provide for exceptions

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From the bill

Discussed in meetings (14)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

1. Senate Finance Committee, February 2, 2026

   From 0:18:41 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 403 would return unclaimed money faster with fewer forms and administrative barriers. The sponsor described automatic payments of $500 or less using tax-record matches, reporting of abandoned cryptocurrency, simpler inheritance claims through small-estate affidavits, stronger outreach by property holders, state ownership of some small or long-abandoned property, and publication after the state receives property. A Department of Revenue representative said claims had doubled over the previous year and were expected to double again, making automation important with limited staffing. Asked about dormant accounts, the representative said online account viewing would count as activity and help prevent property from being treated as abandoned. The representative said automatic payments would require confirmed identity and address matches. In response to inheritance questions, the representative said recipients signing affidavits would be responsible for distributing money owed to other heirs. The representative said no interest is paid and abandoned cryptocurrency would be converted to dollars, like stocks. Department representatives could not confirm whether they use an insurance-policy locator and offered to follow up. The committee adopted a credit-union-requested amendment adding financial organizations alongside banking organizations in the cryptocurrency provision, then approved the amended substitute. No opposition was voiced.

2. Senate Rules Committee, February 4, 2026

   From 0:15:22 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described SB 403 as a Department of Revenue agency bill intended to return unclaimed money to Georgians faster, with fewer forms, lower costs and fewer administrative barriers. The sponsor said $3.3 billion in people's unclaimed money was being held in the general fund. No members asked questions. Later, a committee member requested the bill for the floor calendar, and the committee unanimously approved sending it to the floor along with two other bills.

3. Senate floor session, February 5, 2026 (legislative day 13)

   From 1:55:50 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Engrossed)

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The Senate first approved a joint motion covering SB 403 and HB 414 to prevent floor amendments, by 29-20 after objections from two senators. Later, the sponsor presented a committee substitute for SB 403, saying the Department of Revenue held $3.3 billion in unclaimed property and the claims process was cumbersome. The sponsor said the bill would automatically return small amounts through exact matches with tax records, allow virtual currency to be reported and transferred, and let small estates use an affidavit rather than probate. The sponsor also described stronger outreach before property reaches the state, permanent state ownership of very small or long-abandoned property, including a 25-year period, and delayed publication of listings until property is received. The sponsor said these changes would return money faster with fewer forms, costs and barriers. No questions were asked. The Senate adopted the committee substitute without objection and passed the bill by substitute, 50-0.

4. House Judiciary Committee, March 16, 2026

   From 0:33:29 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 403 would return unclaimed property faster, citing $3.3 billion held by Georgia. The sponsor described automatic tax-record-matched payments of $500 or less, heir claims up to $15,000 by affidavit instead of a probate order, stronger owner outreach, and liquidation of abandoned cryptocurrency before transfer to the state. The bill would also permit permanent state ownership after 25 years, or after five years for amounts under $10. One member opposed presuming cryptocurrency abandoned when owners intended to leave it untouched. A Department of Revenue representative described account-interaction protections and a process for managers to identify property as not abandoned. Members questioned creditor notice and affidavit risks; department lawyers described old or unprobated estates and existing creditor claims through court orders. Other members raised due-process concerns, including owners unable to access online registries. Department representatives cited other states’ laws, acknowledged Ohio litigation, and said processing claims costs $25 to $30 each. One member supported avoiding those costs for tiny claims. A member suggested changing the probate language to cover previously filed cases; department representatives accepted the idea, but no amendment was voted on. The chair held the bill after the hearing and said it would return Thursday.

5. House Judiciary Committee, March 19, 2026

   From 2:13:03 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenting member said the revised bill aimed to return more of the state’s approximately $3 billion in unclaimed property to owners. The member described cryptocurrency provisions limited to accounts opened July 1, 2026, or later, a simplified estate-claim threshold reduced from $15,000 to $7,500, and protections for previously filed or pending Georgia probate cases. The member also described ending claims to amounts under $20 after seven years and amounts under $7,500 after 30 years, with those provisions beginning in 2028. Department of Revenue witnesses discussed proposed language allowing a custodian to receive virtual currency and liquidate it upon receipt. One committee member questioned the timing, legal authority and cost of an automatic matching system, and warned that ending claims could take owners’ property and invite litigation. Department witnesses said the system required authorization, could be developed by existing staff without additional funding, and was expected by summer 2027. They said ending claims was separate from automatic matching and was not necessary for it. The presenting member proposed replacing a remaining reference to escheatment with waiver-and-release language, which the department supported. No motion to advance the bill was made, and the chair declared it failed.

6. House Rules Committee, March 27, 2026

   From 0:23:57 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described SB 403 as a Department of Revenue proposal to simplify finding unclaimed property and returning it to its owners. The sponsor said Georgia held $3.3 billion in unclaimed property and that the Judiciary Committee had removed two sections to address members’ concerns. No members asked questions. Later, the committee placed the bill on the legislative day 38 floor calendar without stated opposition.

7. House floor session, March 27, 2026 (legislative day 38, part 2)

   From 1:11:07 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 3386

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter said SB 403 would make it easier to return unclaimed money through an exact-match program that could issue payments similarly to tax refunds. The presenter said the state held $3 billion in unclaimed funds and that the committee had extensively amended the bill after three hearings, including adding probate safeguards. No questions were asked. The House adopted the committee substitute and passed the bill 158 to 0.

8. Senate floor session, March 31, 2026 (legislative day 39, part 2)

   From 3:45:36 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub)

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described the bill as a Department of Revenue proposal to return unclaimed property. The sponsor said the House removed provisions on cryptocurrency and on the state keeping money after 25 years because of objections in House Judiciary. The sponsor said the remaining bill would allow exact matching with tax records to help return $3.3 billion in unclaimed property to taxpayers. No questions followed. The Senate agreed to the House substitute, 49 to 0.

• Read aloud: Senate floor session, January 16, 2026 (legislative day 5), 0:18:27
• Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 3, 2026 (legislative day 11), 0:30:11
• Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 4, 2026 (legislative day 12), 0:27:21
• Read aloud: House floor session, February 6, 2026 (legislative day 14), 0:49:03
• Read aloud: House floor session, February 9, 2026 (legislative day 15), 0:38:02
• Read aloud: House floor session, March 25, 2026 (legislative day 37, AM), 0:43:20

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