BILL NUMBER: AB 1758	CHAPTERED  09/03/02

	CHAPTER  332
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 3, 2002
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  AUGUST 31, 2002
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 15, 2002
	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 12, 2002
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 7, 2002
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 27, 2002
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 23, 2002
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 15, 2002
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 18, 2002

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Nakano and Shelley
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Alquist, Cedillo, Chavez, Cohn,
Diaz, Keeley, Koretz, Liu, Longville, Pavley, Salinas, Steinberg,
Strickland, Strom-Martin, and Wayne)
   (Coauthors:  Senators Alarcon, Escutia, Karnette, Kuehl,
McClintock, and Romero)

                        JANUARY 7, 2002

   An act to add Section  354.3 to the Code of Civil Procedure,
relating to limitation of actions.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1758, Nakano.  Limitation of actions:  Holocaust-era artwork.
   Existing law authorizes actions for the taking, detaining, or
injuring of any good or chattel, or for the specific recovery of
personal property to be commenced within 3 years.  Existing law
authorizes actions for the theft of any article of historical,
interpretive, scientific, or artistic significance to be commenced
within 3 years of the discovery of the article by various entities,
as defined.
   This bill would authorize any owner, or heir or beneficiary of the
owner, of Holocaust-era artwork, as defined, to bring an action in
superior court to recover that artwork from any museum or gallery.
This bill would provide that any action brought under these
provisions may not be dismissed for failure to comply with the
applicable statute of limitation, provided the action is commenced on
or before December 31, 2010.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares the following:
   (a) In addition to the many atrocities that befell the victims of
the Nazi regime, treasured pieces of artwork were wrongfully taken.
   (b) Thousands of victims of Nazi persecution, and the heirs of
victims of Nazi persecution, are residents of the State of
California.  Many of these victims and descendants are investigating
the whereabouts of artwork that rightfully belonged to their
families.
   (c) California has a moral and public policy interest in assuring
that its residents and citizens are given a reasonable opportunity to
commence an action in court for those pieces of artwork now located
in museums and galleries.
   (d) Museums are committed to resolving claims for Holocaust-era
artwork in an amicable and timely manner, and to undertaking every
effort to conduct thorough provenance research to identify artwork
that may have been stolen during the Holocaust Era.
   (e) Currently, an individual has three years, after discovering
the whereabouts of the artwork, to commence an action in court.
   (f) Due to the unique circumstances surrounding the theft of
Holocaust-era artwork, commencement of an action requires detailed
investigation in several countries, involving numerous historical
documents and the input of experts.
   (g) In order to obtain all necessary data, investigating a
prospective action may take several years.
   (h) The current three-year statute of limitation, after discovery
of the whereabouts of the artwork, is an insufficient amount of time
to finance, investigate, and commence an action.
   (i) To the extent that the enactment of this act will extend the
statute of limitation, that extension of the limitation period is
intended to be applied retroactively, irrespective of whether the
claims were barred by any applicable statute of limitation under any
other provision of law prior to the enactment of this act.
  SEC. 2.  Section  354.3 is added to the Code of Civil Procedure, to
read:
   354.3.  (a) The following definitions govern the construction of
this section:
   (1) "Entity" means any museum or gallery that displays, exhibits,
or sells any article of historical, interpretive, scientific, or
artistic significance.
   (2) "Holocaust-era artwork" means any article of artistic
significance taken as a result of Nazi persecution during the period
of 1929 to 1945, inclusive.
   (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any owner, or heir
or beneficiary of an owner, of Holocaust-era artwork, may bring an
action to recover Holocaust-era artwork from any entity described in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).  Subject to Section 410.10, that
action may be brought in a superior court of this state, which court
shall have jurisdiction over that action until its completion or
resolution.  Section 361 does not apply to this section.
   (c) Any action brought under this section shall not be dismissed
for failure to comply with the applicable statute of limitation, if
the action is commenced on or before December 31, 2010.