State treasurer applauds passage of savings bond legislation

(From State Treasurer Clint Zweifel)

State Treasurer Clint Zweifel (ZWY-ful) today applauded the General Assembly for the passage of House Bill 1693, which passed Wednesday. If signed into law, House Bill 1693 would allow Treasurer Zweifel to begin the process of redeeming U.S. Savings Bonds in his possession in order to reunite Missourians with their money. The bill passed the General Assembly unanimously.

“There are millions of dollars in unredeemed U.S. Savings Bonds waiting to be returned to Missourians,” Treasurer Zweifel said. “With this legislation, I will be able to help Missourians get back their money currently held by the federal government when their bonds have been misplaced or lost.”

House Bill 1693, sponsored by Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, authorizes Treasurer Zweifel’s office to initiate legal action in order to obtain title to the matured savings bonds in his possession. This will allow Treasurer Zweifel to safeguard the cash value of the bonds for their owners and enable the Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property team to begin the process of returning the proceeds to their rightful owner. When fully implemented, Missourians will be able to search for and claim these proceeds through the Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property database at ShowMeMoney.com.

“This is about good government and ensuring that we are doing everything we can to protect Missourians’ hard-earned money,” Treasurer Zweifel said. “I thank Representative Barnes for his work on this issue.”

Treasurer Zweifel currently holds more than 7,000 bonds with an estimated value of $1 million. The Treasurer’s Office holds more than $810 million in Unclaimed Property for more than 4.7 million owners. In Fiscal Year 2013, he returned a record breaking $39.5 million to more than 135,000 accounts.