1540.
(a) Any person, excluding another state, who claims an interest in property paid or delivered to the Controller under this chapter may file a claim to the property or to the net proceeds from its sale. The claim shall be on a form prescribed by the Controller and shall be verified by the claimant.(b) The Controller shall consider each claim within 180 days after it is filed and may hold a hearing and receive evidence. The Controller shall give written notice to the claimant if he or she denies the claim in whole or in part. The notice may be given by mailing it to the address, if any, stated in the claim as the address to which notices are to be sent. If no address is stated in the claim, the notice may be mailed to the
address, if any, of the claimant as stated in the claim. No notice of denial need be given if the claim fails to state either an address to which notices are to be sent or an address of the claimant.
(c) (1) The Controller shall add interest at the rate of 5 percent per year or the bond equivalent rate of 13-week United States Treasury bills, whichever is lower, to the amount of any claim paid the owner under this section for the period the property was on deposit in the Unclaimed Property Fund. No interest shall be payable for any period prior to January 1, 2014. Any interest required to be paid by the state pursuant to this section shall be computed as simple interest, not as compound interest.
(2) For purposes of this section, the bond equivalent rate of 13-week United States Treasury bills shall be defined in accordance with the following criteria:
(A) The bond equivalent rate of 13-week United States Treasury bills established at the first auction held during the month of January shall apply for the following July 1 to December 31, inclusive.
(B) The bond equivalent rate of 13-week United States Treasury bills established at the first auction held during the month of July shall apply for the following January 1 to June 30, inclusive.
(d) A former holder of property, who, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 1560,
compensates the owner of property that has escheated and been remitted to the state, shall also pay interest as provided in subdivision (c) in addition to the value of the property. Upon payment of the principal and interest pursuant to this subdivision, the owner shall be deemed to have forfeited his or her interest in the escheated property and the former holder may seek and receive reimbursement from the Controller in the amount that the former holder paid to the owner of the escheated property. The request for reimbursement must be properly submitted in the form prescribed by the Controller.
(e) For the purposes of this section, “owner” means the person who had legal right to the property prior to its escheat, his or her heirs, his or her legal representative, or a public administrator acting pursuant to the authority granted in Sections 7660 and 7661 of the Probate Code.
(f) Following a public hearing, the Controller shall adopt guidelines and forms that shall provide specific instructions to assist owners in filing claims pursuant to this article.