(a) In order to better implement the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq.) and this chapter, the Regents of the University of California shall not use state funds for the handling or maintenance of Native American human remains and cultural items unless the regents do all the following:

(1) Facilitate the establishment, composition, and function of systemwide and campus-level committees, established pursuant to Section 8026, with respect to reviewing and advising the university on matters related to the university’s implementation of legal requirements to increase repatriation outcomes or dispositions of Native American human remains and cultural items to California Indian tribes.

(2) (A) Adopt and implement systemwide policies regarding the respectful and culturally appropriate treatment of Native American human remains and cultural items while in the possession of a University of California campus or museum, including policies regarding research requests and testing of any identified or potential Native American human remains or cultural items.

(B) Adopt and implement clear and transparent policies and procedures on the systemwide requirements for submitting, processing, and implementing claims for the repatriation of human remains and cultural items, demonstrating cultural affiliation, notification to tribes of human remains and cultural items deemed culturally affiliated and unidentifiable and from whose state aboriginal territory the items were removed, but that are not subject to a repatriation claim, dispute resolution regarding repatriation claims, and any other relevant subject governed by the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq.), Part 10 (commencing with Section 10.1) of Subtitle A of Title 43 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and this chapter.

(C) Adopt or amend, in consultation with California Indian tribes, systemwide University of California museum collection management policies to explicitly provide for the deaccession of collections containing Native American human remains and cultural items to effect the timely and respectful return of those items pursuant to valid claims submitted by a California Indian tribe.

(D) Adopt systemwide University of California policies and procedures for the identification and disposition of culturally unidentifiable human remains and cultural items, as required by the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Regulations (43 C.F.R. part 10). Those policies shall include updates to existing inventories in order to determine whether cultural affiliation can be determined, or to confirm that the human remains are “culturally unidentifiable” as defined in paragraph (2) of subsection (e) of Section 10.2 of Part 10 of Title 43 of the Code of Federal Regulations. These policies also shall include updates to existing inventories or summaries to identify cultural items that may not have been identified in the original inventories or summaries because traditional tribal knowledge was not incorporated into the identification process.

(3) Develop all policies and procedures pursuant to paragraph (2) in consultation with California Indian tribes on the contact list maintained by the Native American Heritage Commission pursuant to Section 8013. Each California Indian tribe appearing on the contact list shall be invited to consult on the proposed policies and procedures. For purposes of this section, “consultation” has the same meaning as defined in § 65352.4 of the Government Code.

(4) Timely submit the policies and procedures adopted pursuant to paragraph (2) to the commission, so they may review and comment upon them pursuant to subdivision (p) of § 5097.94 of the Public Resources Code.

(5) Implement the systemwide policies adopted pursuant to paragraph (2) by January 1, 2021, and implement any campus policies within one year after the adoption of the systemwide policies.

(6) Ensure that each campus Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Implementation Committee implements the policies and procedures adopted pursuant to paragraph (2).

(7) Adopt procedures to support appeals and dispute resolution when a tribe disagrees with a campus determination regarding repatriation or disposition of human remains or cultural items directly to the Office of the President of the University of California or a different oversight committee.

(b) A campus of the University of California may adopt policies to supplement the systemwide policies adopted pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), if the campus determines that individual circumstances involving that campus are not adequately addressed in the adopted and approved systemwide policies, in consultation with California Indian tribes. A policy or procedure adopted by a campus pursuant to this subdivision shall not conflict with the approved systemwide policies.

(Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 167, Sec. 13. (AB 275) Effective January 1, 2021.)