BILL ANALYSIS AB 1890 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 6, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION Marty Block, Chair AB 1890 (Committee on Higher Education) - As Introduced: February 16, 2010 SUBJECT : Property: lost and unclaimed property. SUMMARY : Establishes a value threshold of $300 for unclaimed, lost, or abandoned property that must be held in the possession of the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU) and provides that such property must be held for three months prior to being placed for sale at a public auction. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : Background: Under current law, when an item is turned into a UC or CSU campus, the campus is required to hold this item for a defined period (three months for UC, six months for CSU). After this period of time UC and CSU are required to sell the collected lost and abandoned property at a public auction. According to the CSU Chancellor's Office, any revenues collected by the selling of items at CSU campuses are placed in a scholarship fund, and any items that have not been sold at auction are donated to non-profit organizations. The CSU Chancellor's Office reports that larger campuses maintain two full-time employees to manage the lost property inventory, which often includes items such as books, sunglasses, and articles of clothing, in addition to more valuable, tangible items like bicycles and computers. The CSU Chancellor's Office is the sponsor of this bill and argues that the changes to the management of lost and abandoned property proposed by this bill would allow campuses to streamline their process and use staff more appropriately. Differences between UC and CSU provisions : Currently CSU is required to hold property for six months, while UC, public agencies like the Department of General Services, the Department of Parks and Recreation, city, county, city and county, and public safety departments are required to keep property for only three months. This bill would conform the statutes governing CSU to those governing UC and other public agencies by requiring CSU to hold property for three months, rather than six, before AB 1890 Page 2 placing those items up for public auction. Property value thresholds : Currently, UC and CSU must hold onto all items, regardless of value, for the aforementioned specified time periods. This bill would establish that only items valued above $300 must be held and then placed for sale at public auction. UC and CSU would be allowed to treat items valued below $300 as the systems deem appropriate. There is precedent in other areas of California law for establishing a value threshold for formal processing of unclaimed/lost property. For example, California landlord-tenant law provides that property left behind by tenants valued under $300 may be kept, sold, or destroyed if not claimed. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California State University (sponsor) Opposition None on File Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960