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
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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