republic-os/legislation/us/states/ga/2025-26/sb-403.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Unclaimed Property; property is presumed abandoned; provide for exceptions"
description: "A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 5 of Chapter 12 of Title 44 of the O.C.G.A., relating to disposition of unclaimed property, so as to provide for exceptions to when property is presumed abandoned; to provide for abandonment and liquidation of virtual currency; to authorize delay of publication of notice on the \"Georgia Unclaimed Property List\" under certain circumstances; to provide for methods of payment of claims; to waive the requirement of a probate court order for claims of heirs under certain circumstances; to provide for circumstances under which a claim is void; to provide for definitions; to amend Title 48 of the O.C.G.A., relating to revenue and taxation, so as to waive confidentiality of certain tax records; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ga"
legislature: "Georgia General Assembly"
session: "2025_26"
identifier: "SB 403"
citation: "Georgia SB 403 (2025_26)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["COMMERCE AND TRADE", "PROPERTY"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Ben Watson", "Billy Hickman", "Bo Hatchett", "Brian Strickland", "Carden Summers", "Chuck Hufstetler", "Chuck Payne", "Clint Dixon", "Drew Echols", "Ed Harbison", "Ed Setzler", "Elena Parent", "Jason Anavitarte", "Jason T. Dickerson", "John Albers", "Kay Kirkpatrick", "Larry Walker, III", "Lee Anderson", "Marty Harbin", "Matt Brass", "Max Burns", "Mike Hodges", "Nan Orrock", "Randy Robertson", "Rick Williams", "Russ Goodman", "Sally Harrell", "Sam Watson", "Shawn Still", "Sonya Halpern", "Timothy Bearden"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 17
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2026-01-15"
last_action: "2026-07-01"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/d2af4b2d-6c38-49fe-af8c-0223ad485216"
source_url: "http://webservices.legis.ga.gov/GGAServices/Legislation/Service.svc?wsdl"
source_hash: "fdb35984a8f274fda8d2a9aa0f531664e2c83abe570c520c836cbd6d272123fe"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ga"]
---

# Georgia SB 403 (2025_26) — Unclaimed Property; property is presumed abandoned; provide for exceptions

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 5 of Chapter 12 of Title 44 of the O.C.G.A., relating to disposition of unclaimed property, so as to provide for exceptions to when property is presumed abandoned; to provide for abandonment and liquidation of virtual currency; to authorize delay of publication of notice on the "Georgia Unclaimed Property List" under certain circumstances; to provide for methods of payment of claims; to waive the requirement of a probate court order for claims of heirs under certain circumstances; to provide for circumstances under which a claim is void; to provide for definitions; to amend Title 48 of the O.C.G.A., relating to revenue and taxation, so as to waive confidentiality of certain tax records; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **As Passed Senate** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/241671.pdf)
2. **As introduced LC 44 3300** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/239912.pdf)
3. **Committee Sub LC 59 0297S** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/241294.pdf)
4. **LC 59 0457S/hss** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/247213.pdf)
5. **SB 403/AP*** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/20252026/248669.pdf)

## Votes

- Senate Vote #518 - 2025-2026 Regular Session — **29–20** (pass) · upper
- House Vote #785 - 2025-2026 Regular Session — **158–0** (pass) · lower
- Senate Vote #520 - 2025-2026 Regular Session — **50–0** (pass) · upper
- Senate Vote #915 - 2025-2026 Regular Session — **49–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Ben Watson — primary (person)
- Billy Hickman — primary (person)
- Bo Hatchett — primary (person)
- Brian Strickland — primary (person)
- Carden Summers — primary (person)
- Chuck Hufstetler — primary (person)
- Chuck Payne — primary (person)
- Clint Dixon — primary (person)
- Drew Echols — primary (person)
- Ed Harbison — primary (person)
- Ed Setzler — primary (person)
- Elena Parent — primary (person)
- Jason Anavitarte — primary (person)
- Jason T. Dickerson — primary (person)
- John Albers — primary (person)
- Kay Kirkpatrick — primary (person)
- Larry Walker, III — primary (person)
- Lee Anderson — primary (person)
- Marty Harbin — primary (person)
- Matt Brass — primary (person)
- Max Burns — primary (person)
- Mike Hodges — primary (person)
- Nan Orrock — primary (person)
- Randy Robertson — primary (person)
- Rick Williams — primary (person)
- Russ Goodman — primary (person)
- Sally Harrell — primary (person)
- Sam Watson — primary (person)
- Shawn Still — primary (person)
- Sonya Halpern — primary (person)
- Timothy Bearden — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2026-01-15** Senate Hopper `introduction`
- **2026-01-16** Senate Read and Referred `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-03** Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-02-04** Senate Read Second Time `reading-2`
- **2026-02-05** Senate Engrossed `passage`
- **2026-02-05** Senate Third Read `reading-3`
- **2026-02-05** Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute `passage`
- **2026-02-06** House First Readers `reading-1`
- **2026-02-09** House Second Readers `reading-2`
- **2026-03-25** House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-03-27** House Third Readers `reading-3`
- **2026-03-27** House Passed/Adopted By Substitute `passage`
- **2026-03-31** Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub
- **2026-04-10** Senate Sent to Governor `executive-receipt`
- **2026-05-05** Senate Date Signed by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2026-05-05** Act 410 `executive-signature`
- **2026-07-01** Effective Date

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/d2af4b2d-6c38-49fe-af8c-0223ad485216`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Georgia legislature records).