House Bill 1675

(As Sent to Governor)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 89-12-3, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO DEFINE THE TERM FARM CREDIT SYSTEM COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE UNIFORM DISPOSITION OF UNCLAIMED PROPERTY ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 89-12-11, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO EXEMPT FARM CREDIT SYSTEM COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS FROM THE REQUIREMENTS TO DISPOSE OF STOCK OR OTHER INTANGIBLE OWNERSHIP INTERESTS, DIVIDENDS, DISTRIBUTIONS OR PROPERTY PRESUMED TO BE ABANDONED BY AN OWNER AFTER THE SPECIFIED FIVE-YEAR PERIOD IN THE MANNER PRESCRIBED BY LAW; TO ALLOW FARM CREDIT SYSTEM COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS TO RETAIN THE UNCLAIMED FUNDS WHICH SHALL BE USED FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP OF THE ASSOCIATION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 89-12-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

89-12-3. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Banking organization" means any national or state bank, trust company, savings bank, land bank, private banker, or any similar organization which is engaged in business in this state.

(b) "Business association" means any corporation, joint-stock company, business trust, partnership, or any association for business purposes of two (2) or more individuals, whether organized for profit or nonprofit, including, but not limited to, a banking organization, financial organization, life insurance corporation and utility.

(c) "Financial organization" means any federal or state savings and loan association, building and loan association, credit union, cooperative bank or investment company, farm credit system cooperative, or any similar organization which is engaged in business in this state.

(d) "Holder" means any person in possession of property subject to the provisions of this chapter belonging to another, or who is trustee in case of a trust, or is indebted to another on an obligation subject to the provisions of this chapter.

(e) "Insurance corporation" means any association or corporation transacting in this state the business of insurance involving in any manner a person or property; however, this term does not include self-insured workers' compensation groups or associations comprised of members who have joint and several liability for the workers' compensation obligation of the other members.

(f) "Intangible personal property" includes, but is not limited to:

(i) Monies, checks, drafts, deposits, interest, dividends, and income;

(ii) Credit balances, customer overpayments, gift certificates, security deposits, refunds, credit memos, unpaid wages, unused airline tickets, and unidentified remittances; except future and prior dividends made by the workers' compensation groups or associations described in paragraph (e);

(iii) Monies deposited to redeem stocks, bonds, coupons, and other securities, or to make distributions;

(iv) Amounts due and payable under the terms of insurance policies;

(v) Amounts distributable from a trust or custodial fund established under a plan to provide health, welfare, pension, vacation, severance, retirement, death, stock purchase, profit sharing, employee savings, supplemental unemployment insurance, or similar benefits;

(vi) Shares of corporate stock and other intangible ownership interests in business associations; and

(vii) Bonds, notes and other debt obligations.

(g) "Owner" means a depositor in case of a deposit, a beneficiary in case of a trust, a creditor, claimant or payee in case of other choses in action, or any person having a legal or equitable interest in property subject to the provisions of this chapter, or his legal representative.

(h) "Apparent owner" means the person who appears from the records of the holder to be entitled to property held by the holder.

(i) "Person" means any individual, business association, government or political subdivision or agency, corporation, public authority, estate, trust, two (2) or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity whether such person is acting in his own right or in a representative capacity.

(j) "Treasurer" means the State Treasurer of the State of Mississippi.

(k) "Utility" means any person who owns or operates in this state for public use, any plant, equipment, property, franchise, or license for the transmission of communications or the production, storage, transmission, sale, delivery, or furnishing of electricity, water, steam or gas.

(l) "Farm credit system cooperative association" means a farmer-owned cooperative system established under the authority of the Farm Credit Act of 1971, as amended, for the purpose of making credit available to farmers and ranchers and their cooperatives, for rural residences, and to associations and other entities upon which farming operations are dependent, to provide for an adequate and flexible flow of money into rural areas, and to modernize and consolidate existing farm credit law to meet current and future rural credit needs, and for other purposes, and which are chartered by and subject to the regulatory control of the Farm Credit Administration. For purposes of this chapter, the term includes:

(i) Farm credit banks;

(ii) The bank for cooperatives;

(iii) Agricultural credit banks;

(iv) Federal land bank associations;

(v) Federal land credit associations;

(vi) Production credit associations;

(vii) Agricultural credit associations;

(viii) The federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation;

(ix) The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation;

(x) Service corporations established pursuant to Section 12 USCS Section 2211; and

(xi) Such other institutions as may be made a part of the Farm Credit System.

SECTION 2. Section 89-12-11, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

89-12-11. (1) Subject to the provisions of Section 89-12-17, and except as otherwise provided in subsections (2) and (5) of this section, stock or other intangible ownership interest in a business association which is held by the association, the existence of which is evidenced by records available to the association, is presumed abandoned if a dividend, distribution or other sum payable as a result of the interest has remained unclaimed by the owner for five (5) years and during that time the owner has not:

(a) Communicated in writing with the association regarding the interest or a dividend, distribution or other sum payable as a result of the interest; or

(b) Otherwise communicated with the association regarding the interest or a dividend, distribution or other sum payable as a result of the interest, as evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file with the association prepared by an employee of the association.

(2) At the expiration of a five-year period following the failure of the owner to claim a dividend, distribution or other sum payable to the owner as a result of the interest, the interest is not presumed abandoned unless there have been at least five (5) dividends, distributions or other sums paid during the period, none of which has been claimed by the owner. If five (5) dividends, distributions or other sums are paid during the five-year period, the time period leading to a presumption of abandonment commences on the date that payment of the first unclaimed dividend, distribution or other sum became due and payable. If five (5) dividends, distributions or other sums are not paid during the presumptive period, the period continues to run until there have been five (5) dividends, distributions or other sums that have not been claimed by the owner.

(3) The running of the five-year period of abandonment ceases immediately upon the occurrence of a communication as described in subsection (1) of this section. If any future dividend, distribution or other sum payable to the owner as a result of the interest is subsequently not claimed by the owner, a new period of abandonment commences and relates back to the time a subsequent dividend, distribution or other sum became due and payable.

(4) At the time an interest is presumed abandoned under this section, any dividend, distribution or other sum then held for or owing to the owner as a result of the interest, and not previously abandoned, is presumed abandoned.

(5) This section does not apply to any stock or other intangible ownership of interest enrolled in a plan that provides for the automatic reinvestment of dividends, distributions or other sums payable as a result of the interest unless the records available to the State Treasurer show, with respect to any intangible ownership interest not enrolled in the reinvestment plan, that the owner has not within five (5) years communicated in any manner described in subsection (1) of this section.

(6) Notwithstanding anything in this section or any other section in this chapter to the contrary, the property presumed abandoned under this chapter shall not include capital credits or patronage refunds offered for payment by nonprofit cooperative electric power associations, nonprofit cooperative water and sewer associations, * * *or nonprofit agricultural cooperative marketing associations * * *~~, but rather~~, or farm credit system cooperative associations, as defined in Section 89-12-3. Such unclaimed funds shall be used for the benefit of the general membership of such associations.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.