S2424

An Act concerning rural electric cooperatives and amending R.S.46:30B-74.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. R.S.46:30B-74 is amended to read as follows:

46:30B-74. The administrator shall establish and manage four separate trust funds to be known as the Unclaimed County Deposits Trust Fund, the Unclaimed Child Support Trust Fund, the Unclaimed Utility Deposits Trust Fund, and the Unclaimed Personal Property Trust Fund.

a. All moneys received as unclaimed county deposits and the accretions thereon shall be deposited into the Unclaimed County Deposits Trust Fund. Each year, unless the administrator deems it prudent and advisable to do otherwise, the administrator shall pay to each county, within 45 days of the receipt of [such] the funds, [75%] 75 percent of the unclaimed county deposits received from that county by the administrator. The remaining portion shall be retained in the trust fund, administered and invested by the State Treasurer, and used to pay claims duly presented and allowed and all expenses and costs incurred by the State of New Jersey. If the Unclaimed County Deposits Trust Fund is insufficient to pay specific claims against a county, the administrator shall report the fact to the county governing body and the unpaid claim shall become an affirmative obligation of that county.

Upon the effective date of this act, any county deposits paid to the administrator between April 18, 1989 and the effective date of this act shall be transferred from the Unclaimed Personal Property Trust Fund to the Unclaimed County Deposits Trust Fund.

b. All moneys received in unclaimed property deposits from electric and gas public utilities shall be deposited into the Unclaimed Utility Deposits Trust Fund. Each year, unless the administrator deems it prudent and advisable to do otherwise, the administrator shall pay to the New Jersey Statewide Heating Assistance and Referral for Energy Services (SHARES) nonprofit corporation, or to another Statewide nonprofit energy assistance organization designated by the Board of Public Utilities within 45 days of the receipt of [such] the funds, [75%] 75 percent of the unclaimed utility deposits received from each of the electric and gas public utilities by the administrator. [Such] The payments received from the administrator shall be used exclusively for the payment of expenses associated with the restoration of electric or gas service, or to prevent the termination of electric or gas service provided to utility ratepayers seeking assistance from New Jersey SHARES, or an equivalent nonprofit energy assistance organization designated by the Board of Public Utilities. The remaining portion shall be retained in the trust fund, administered and invested by the State Treasurer, and used to pay claims duly presented and allowed and all expenses and costs incurred by the State of New Jersey.

Upon the effective date of P.L.2000, c.132 (C.48:2-29.38 et al.), any unclaimed deposits held by electric and gas public utilities paid to the administrator between July 1, 1998 and the effective date of this act shall be transferred from the Unclaimed Personal Property Trust Fund to the Unclaimed Utility Deposits Trust Fund.

c. All other moneys received as unclaimed property presumed abandoned, the accretions thereon, and the proceeds of sale of unclaimed property shall be deposited into the Unclaimed Personal Property Trust Fund. Unless the administrator deems it prudent and advisable to do otherwise, [75%] 75 percent of all funds received shall be transferred to the General State Fund. The remaining portion shall be retained in the trust fund, administered and invested by the State Treasurer, and used to pay claims duly presented and allowed and all expenses and costs incurred by the State of New Jersey.

Upon the effective date of this act, all funds and assets of the trust funds established pursuant to N.J.S.2A:37-41, section 8 of P.L.1945, c.199 (C.17:9-25), and N.J.S.17B:31-7, shall be transferred to and become part of the Unclaimed Personal Property Trust Fund established by this act, which shall be responsible for payment of any allowed claims for restitution of unclaimed property paid into those three funds.

d. All moneys received as abandoned child support and the accretions thereon shall be deposited in the Unclaimed Child Support Trust Fund. Each year, the administrator shall pay to the judiciary, within 45 days of the receipt of [such] the funds, the federal government's Title IV-D share of the abandoned child support received from the Probation Division of the Superior Court. The remaining portions shall be retained in the trust fund, administered and invested by the State Treasurer, and used to pay claims duly presented and allowed and all expenses and costs incurred by the State of New Jersey. If the Unclaimed Child Support Trust Fund is insufficient to pay specific claims against a county, the administrator shall report the fact to the judiciary and the unpaid claim shall become an affirmative obligation of the judiciary.

Upon the effective date of P.L.1995, c.115, any abandoned child support paid to the administrator between April 18, 1989 and that effective date shall be transferred from the Unclaimed Personal Property Trust Fund to the Unclaimed Child Support Trust Fund.

e. As used in this section:

"Abandoned child support" means any payments for the support of a child or a child and the custodial parent paid to the Probation Division of the Superior Court pursuant to a court order that could not be distributed to the payee or returned to the payor within one year of its receipt.

[(1)] "County deposits" means the proceeds of a judgment received in favor of a minor and placed under the control of a county surrogate or any devise or distribution from an estate paid into the county surrogate's court prior to April 14, 1989; any unclaimed bail and any interest thereon deposited prior to January 1, 1995; and [50%] 50 percent of any unclaimed bail and any interest thereon deposited after January 1, 1995[;] .

[(2) "Abandoned child support" means any payments for the support of a child or a child and the custodial parent paid to the Probation Division of the Superior Court pursuant to a court order that could not be distributed to the payee or returned to the payor within one year of its receipt ;]

“Electric public utility” or “gas public utility” means “public utility” as provided in R.S.48:2-13. “Electric public utility” or “gas public utility” shall not mean a rural electric cooperative that is exempt from the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Utilities pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1983, c.78 (C.48:2-13.1).

[(3)] "Title IV-D" means Part D, "Child Support and Establishment of Paternity," of subchapter IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 651 et seq.) under which states receive partial federal reimbursement of their administrative expenses for establishing paternity and collecting child support [;] .

[(4)] "Unclaimed property deposits from electric and gas public utilities" means any unclaimed deposits held by electric and gas public utilities in accordance with the requirements of R.S.46:30B-29 and any unclaimed stock and dividends of electric and gas public utilities in accordance with the requirements of R.S.46:30B-31 and any unclaimed wages of electric and gas public utilities in accordance with the requirements of R.S.46:30B-44 and any other unclaimed property of electric and gas public utilities in accordance with the requirements of R.S.46:30B-7. "Unclaimed property deposits from electric and gas public utilities" shall not mean any unclaimed deposit, capital credit, wage, or other property held by a rural electric cooperative that is exempt from the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Utilities pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1983, c.78 (C.48:2-13.1).

(cf: P.L.2000, c.132, s.5)

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill amends current law to exempt rural electric cooperatives from the provision of law that requires electric and gas public utilities to deposit unclaimed property into Unclaimed Utility Deposits Trust Fund.

A rural electric cooperative is a non-profit cooperative that provides electric service to its members and is exclusively owned and controlled by the members it serves. The funds deposited into the Unclaimed Utility Deposits Trust Fund are used to restore electric or gas service or to prevent the termination of electric or gas service provided to certain public utility customers and to pay expenses and costs incurred by the State of New Jersey.

The purpose of this bill is to return the capital credit of a rural electric cooperative to its members. The capital credit of a rural electric cooperative is revenue in excess of the actual cost of service of a rural electric cooperative.