(a)  Prior to a museum accepting donated property pursuant to § 34-44.1-2, or taking ownership of abandoned property pursuant to § 34-44.1-3, the museum shall make a reasonable good faith effort to find the address of the lender and provide notice that the museum may become the owner of the property. The notice shall be sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address of the lender on record with the museum.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 34-44.1-5

  • Museum: means an organized and permanent nonprofit or public institution in Rhode Island operated by, or a division of, a nonprofit corporation, trust, association, educational institution, or public agency, that is primarily educational, scientific, historic, or aesthetic in purpose, and that owns, borrows, cares for, studies, archives, or exhibits property. See Rhode Island General Laws 34-44.1-1
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Property: means any tangible object in the possession of and under a museum's care that has intrinsic educational, scientific, historical, artistic, aesthetic, or cultural value, excluding the property of any agency or public body as defined in § 38-1-1. See Rhode Island General Laws 34-44.1-1
  • Publication: means inclusion in the online publication of lists of abandoned property established pursuant to § 33-21. See Rhode Island General Laws 34-44.1-1

(b)  If the museum does not have an address on record for the lender of the property, or the museum does not receive written proof of receipt of the mailed notice within thirty (30) days after the date the notice was mailed, notice shall be published for a duration of six (6) months in the lists of abandoned property advertised by the general treasurer as prescribed in § 33-21.1-18. The museum shall provide to the general treasurer the following information to be included in the notice:

(1)  The name and address of the museum and a brief and general description of the unclaimed property, including date of the property or the approximate date the property came into the custody of the museum;

(2)  If known, the name and address of the lender on record with the museum, if any;

(3)  A request that all persons who may have any knowledge of the whereabouts of the lender provide written notice to the museum;

(4)  The name and contact information of the person at the museum to be contacted regarding the property; and

(5)  A statement that if no claim of ownership is made or action to recover the property is filed with the museum on or before sixty (60) days from the last day that the notice is included in the unclaimed property publication, the property shall be deemed donated or abandoned and shall become the property of the museum.

History of Section.
P.L. 2013, ch. 160, § 1; P.L. 2013, ch. 219, § 1.