SB 5316 Washington Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Modifying provisions of the revised uniform unclaimed property act.

SB 5316 modifies Washington's unclaimed property laws specifically for prearrangement funeral service contracts. It establishes a new 3-year abandonment period for these funds, starting from the beneficiary's death (or their 107th birthday, or 50 years after contract signing), after which the funds must be reported as unclaimed property to the state. Funeral businesses (holders) must now follow these updated timelines and reporting procedures for funds held in trust, with the state's Department of Revenue handling the transferred property. The bill also clarifies key terms like "contract beneficiary" and "apparent owner" to streamline the process. It became law on April 8, 2025, and takes effect July 27, 2025.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Apr 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Signed into Law

Apr 2025

Introduced Jan 16, 2025 Signed Apr 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Substitute Bill → Substitute Passed Legislature · 3 edits

MINOR

The document changed from a draft bill version to the official certification of enrollment, confirming the bill has passed both legislative chambers. This version adds formal signatures, vote counts, and a certificate of authenticity from the Secretary of the Senate, indicating the bill is now ready for the Governor's signature. No substantive policy, funding, or eligibility changes were made to the bill's text itself.

TECHNICAL

Added certification header, vote counts, and signatures from legislative officers to confirm the bill passed both chambers.

Removed the draft bill title 'S-1303.1' and replaced it with the official 'CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT' title.

Changed the document status from a draft bill to an enrolled bill ready for executive action.

Bill → Substitute Bill · 10 edits

MAJOR

This bill updates Washington's unclaimed property laws to modernize reporting rules, clarify ownership for funeral contracts, and adjust deadlines. It extends the reporting deadline for certain items like storage facility proceeds and adds specific definitions for funeral service contracts to ensure proper handling of abandoned funds. The changes also shift filing and payment deadlines for unclaimed property reports from November to October and adjust the notice period for owners before funds are turned over to the state.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of unclaimed property reporting to include excess proceeds from self-service storage sales (changed from six months to one year) and clarifies the scope of 'prearrangement funeral service contracts' to include implied beneficiaries.

TIMELINE

Extended the reporting deadline for excess proceeds from self-service storage sales from six months to one year after the sale.

Changed the unclaimed property report filing and payment deadline from November 1st to October 31st for most holders, and from May 1st to April 30th for insurance companies.

Changed the effective date for new reporting and notice requirements from January 1, 2026, to January 1, 2026 (no change in date, but renumbered sections).

REQUIREMENT

Reduced the minimum value threshold for sending notice to owners before reporting unclaimed property from $75 to $50.

Extended the notice period sent to owners before filing a report from 60-180 days to 60-180 days (no change in range, but clarified the requirement to send both mail and email if consented).

Repealed a requirement for holders to liquidate virtual currency within 30 days before filing a report, removing the specific liquidation mandate.

Removed the requirement for holders to deduct dormancy charges from unclaimed property, eliminating the $10/$20 annual fee caps.

DEFINITION

Added specific definitions for 'contract beneficiary', 'contract purchaser', 'funeral establishment', and 'prearrangement funeral service contract' to clarify who owns abandoned funeral funds.

Removed the specific definition of 'prearrangement funeral service contract' that included the phrase 'specified consideration' and replaced it with a broader definition covering any contract for funeral services.

ENFORCEMENT

Modified the statute of limitations for the state to pursue unclaimed property claims from 10 years to 10 years from the duty arising, with specific exceptions for fraudulent or incomplete reports.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 25, 2025 · House Mar 31, 2025

How they voted

51–0

Passed

Total votes 51

Feb 25, 2025

D Democratic31

31 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican20

20 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Apr 8, 2025

Signed into law

Governor signed.

executive

Apr 2, 2025

Lower · Passed

Speaker signed.

lower

Apr 1, 2025

Upper · Passed

President signed.

upper

Mar 31, 2025

House · Passed

House Vote: pass (92-7-1)

house

Mar 24, 2025

Committee

Referred to Rules 2 Review.

lower

Mar 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

Minority; without recommendation.

lower

Mar 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

FIN - Majority; do pass.

lower

Mar 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

Executive action taken in the House Committee on Finance at 1:30 PM.

lower

Feb 25, 2025

Senate · Passed

Senate Vote: pass (51-0)

senate

Feb 6, 2025

Upper · Passed

Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 4:00 PM.

upper

Jan 28, 2025

Upper · Passed

Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 4:00 PM.

upper

1 primary · 3 co-sponsors