Senate File 119 - IntroducedA Bill ForAn Act 1relating to documentation of loans and gifts to museums
2and including applicability provisions.
3BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1   Section 1.  Section 305B.2, Code 2019, is amended to read as
2follows:
   3305B.2  Definitions.
   4As used in this chapter, unless the context requires
5otherwise:
   61.  “Claimant” means a person who files a notice of intent
7to preserve an interest in property on loan to a museum as
8provided in section 305B.8.
   92.  “Claimant’s address” means the most recent address as
10shown on a notice of intent to preserve an interest in property
11on loan to a museum, or notice of change of address, which
12notice is on file with the museum.
   133.  “Donor” means a person who gives a gift to a museum.
   144.  “Gift” means a voluntary, gratuitous conveyance of
15property to a museum.
   163.    5.  “Lender” means a person who has temporarily
17transferred custody of property to a museum and
whose name
18appears on the records of the museum or in the registry of
19museum loans and gifts
as the person legally entitled to
20property held or owing by the museum.
   214.    6.  “Lender’s address” means the most recent address as
22shown on the a museum’s records, or in the registry of museum
23loans and gifts,
pertaining to the property on loan from the
24lender.
   255.    7.  “Loan” or “loaned” means a deposit temporary transfer
26of custody
of property that is not accompanied by a transfer of
27title to the property.
   286.    8.  “Museum” means an institution located in Iowa
29operated by a nonprofit corporation or a public agency,
30primarily for educational, scientific, historic preservation,
31or aesthetic purposes, which owns, borrows, cares for,
32exhibits, studies, archives, or catalogs property. “Museum”
33includes, but is not limited to, historical societies, historic
34sites or landmarks, parks, monuments, and libraries.
   357.    9.  “Property” means a tangible object, animate or
-1-1inanimate, under a museum’s care which has intrinsic historic,
2artistic, scientific, or cultural value.
   310.  “Registry of museum loans and gifts” means a record of
4loans and gifts made to museums that is maintained by the state
5historical society pursuant to section 305B.2A, subsection 4.
   68.    11.  “Undocumented property” means property in the
7possession of a museum for which the museum cannot determine
 8the property’s owner by reference to the museum’s records the
9property’s owner
 or to the registry of museum loans and gifts.
10   Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  305B.2A  Documentation of gifts and
11loans.
   121.  A museum shall complete a gift form or a loan form,
13available from the state historical society, documenting each
14gift and loan made to the museum.
   152.  Each gift or loan form shall include all of the
16following:
   17a.  The name of the donor or lender of the property.
   18b.  The address, email address, and telephone number of the
19donor or lender.
   20c.  A detailed description of the property being gifted or
21loaned.
   22d.  The date of the gift or the loan.
   23e.  If a loan, the duration of the loan.
   24f.  Any terms or restrictions governing the gift or loan.
   25g.  The name and work telephone number of the individual
26responsible for receiving the gift or loan on behalf of the
27museum.
   28h.  The name, address, and main phone number of the museum
29receiving the gift or loan.
   30i.  The physical address where the gift or loan will be
31housed if different than the address in paragraph “h”.
   323.  A copy of the completed form shall be submitted by the
33museum to the state historical society within thirty calendar
34days of the date of the loan or the gift to the museum.
   354.  The state historical society shall maintain such forms
-2-1in a registry of museum loans and gifts. A gift form shall be
2maintained for twenty-five years from the date of such gift. A
3loan form shall be maintained for ten years after the date of
4any of the following:
   5a.  The property is returned to the lender or claimant.
   6b.  The property is disposed of pursuant to section 305B.4.
   7c.  The museum acquires title to the property pursuant to
8section 305B.6 or 305B.7.
   95.  The director of the department of cultural affairs shall
10adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A as necessary to administer
11this section.
12   Sec. 3.  Section 305B.3, subsections 2 and 3, Code 2019, are
13amended to read as follows:
   142.  Mailed notice.  All notices given by a museum pursuant
15to this chapter shall be mailed to the lender’s, and any
16claimant’s, last known address by restricted certified mail,
17as defined in section 618.15. The last known address shall be
18determined by a review of the museum’s records and the registry
19of museum loans and gifts.
Notice is deemed given if the
20United States post offices provides
the museum receives proof
21of receipt within thirty days of mailing the notice.
   223.  Published notice.  If the museum does not know the
23identity of the lender, or does not have an address for the
24lender, or if proof of receipt is not received by the museum
 25from the United States post office within thirty days of
26mailing a notice under subsection 2, notice is deemed given
27if the museum publishes notice at least once a week for three
28consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in both
29of the following:
   30a.  The county in which the museum is located.
   31b.  The county of the lender’s or claimant’s address, if any.
32   Sec. 4.  Section 305B.4, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph
331, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   34Unless there is a written loan agreement to the contrary,
35a museum may apply conservation measures to or dispose
-3-1of property on loan to the museum without the lender’s or
2claimant’s permission, or and without formal notice to the
3lender or claimant
, if immediate action is required to protect
4the property on loan or other property in the custody of the
5museum, or if the property on loan is determined to be a hazard
6to the health and safety of the public or the museum staff and
7if any of the following apply:
8   Sec. 5.  Section 305B.4, subsection 1, paragraphs a and b,
9Code 2019, are amended to read as follows:
   10a.  The museum is unable to reach the lender or claimant at
11the lender’s or claimant’s last known address or phone number,
12as determined by a review of the museum’s records and the
13registry of museum loans and gifts,
if action is to be taken
14within more than three days but less than one week between
15four and six calendar days
from the time the museum determined
16
 determines action was is necessary.
   17b.  The museum is unable to reach the lender or claimant
18at the lender’s or claimant’s last known phone number, as
19determined by a review of the museum’s records and the registry
20of museum loans and gifts,
prior to taking action if the action
21is to be taken within three days or less from the time the
22museum determined determines action was is necessary.
23   Sec. 6.  Section 305B.4, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code
242019, is amended to read as follows:
   25a.  Has a lien on the property and on the proceeds of any
26disposition of the property for the costs incurred by the
27museum for the conservation measures or the disposal of the
28property
.
29   Sec. 7.  Section 305B.4, subsection 2, paragraph b,
30subparagraph (2), Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   31(2)  Exercised reasonable care in the choice selection and
32application of conservation measures.
33   Sec. 8.  Section 305B.5, Code 2019, is amended to read as
34follows:
   35305B.5  Notice of injury damage or loss.
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   1A museum shall give a lender or claimant prompt notice of
2any known injury damage to or loss of property on loan. The
3
 on a notice of damage or loss form adopted by the department
4of cultural affairs shall adopt by rule a form for notice
5of injury or loss, no later than January 1, 1989, and shall
6distribute the rule and form to all identified museums in Iowa
7within sixty days after adoption of the rule
. The notice shall
8be mailed to the lender’s or claimant’s last known address in
9event of injury or loss of property on loan to the museum
 as
10determined by a review of the museum’s records and the registry
11of museum loans and gifts
. Published notice of injury damage
12 or loss of undocumented property shall not be required.
13   Sec. 9.  Section 305B.6, subsections 2 and 3, Code 2019, are
14amended to read as follows:
   152.  If the lender or claimant does not respond to the
16notice of termination provided under subsection 1 within one
17year by filing a notice of intent to preserve an interest in
18property on loan, the museum acquires shall acquire title to
19the property.
   203.  A notice of intent to terminate a loan must include a
21statement containing substantially the following information:
22The records of (name of museum) indicate that you have
23property on loan to it. The institution wishes to terminate
24the loan. You must contact the institution, establish your
25ownership of the property pursuant to Code section 305B.8,
26and make arrangements to collect the property. If you fail
27to do so promptly, you will be considered to have donated the
28property will be considered a gift to the institution.
29   Sec. 10.  Section 305B.7, subsections 1 and 3, Code 2019, are
30amended to read as follows:
   311.  A museum may acquire title to undocumented property
32held by a museum for seven years or longer with no valid claim
33or written contact by any person, all verifiable as verified
34 through the museum’s written records, by giving published
35 notice pursuant to section 305B.3, subsection 3, of acquisition
-5-1of
 intent to acquire title to undocumented property.
   23.  A notice of acquisition of intent to acquire title to
3undocumented property
must include a statement containing
4substantially the following information:
5The records of (name of museum) fail to indicate the
6owner of record of certain property in its possession. The
7museum intends to acquire title to the below described
8property: (general description of the property detailed
9enough to allow a party to identify the property
). If you
10claim ownership or other legal interest in this property you
11must contact the institution, establish your ownership of the
12property pursuant to Code section 305B.8, and make arrangements
13to collect the property. If you fail to do so promptly, you
14will be considered to have waived any claim you may have had to
15the property.
16   Sec. 11.  Section 305B.8, subsection 1, Code 2019, is amended
17to read as follows:
   181.  A notice of intent to preserve an interest in property
19on loan to a museum filed pursuant to this chapter shall be
20in writing, or on a form available from the department of
21cultural affairs pursuant to subsection 3,
and contain all of
22the following information:
   23a.  A description of the property adequate to enable the
24museum to identify the property.
   25b.  Documentation sufficient to establish the claimant as
26owner of the property.
   27c.  The claimant’s address and phone number.
   28c.    d.  A statement attesting to the truth, to the best of
29the signer’s knowledge, of all information included in or with
30the notice.
   31d.    e.  The signature, under penalty of perjury, of the
32claimant or a person authorized to act on behalf of the
33claimant.
34   Sec. 12.  Section 305B.9, subsections 1, 6, and 7, Code 2019,
35are amended to read as follows:
-6-   11.  An action shall not be brought against a museum for
2damages because of injury damage to or loss of property loaned
3to the museum more than three years from the date the museum
4gives the lender or claimant notice of the injury damage or
5loss, or ten years from the date of the injury damage or loss,
6whichever occurs earlier.
   76.  Notwithstanding subsections 3 and 4, a lender or claimant
8who was is not given notice as provided in this chapter that
9the a museum intended intends to terminate a loan, as provided
10in
 pursuant to section 305B.6, and who proves that the museum
11received an adequate notice of intent to preserve an interest
12in loaned property, which satisfies all of the requirements of
13
 pursuant to section 305B.8, within the seven years immediately
14preceding the filing of an action to recover the property, may
15recover the property or, if the property has been disposed of,
 16recover the reasonable value of the property at the time it was
17disposed of plus interest at the legal rate.
   187.  A museum is not liable at any time immune from civil
19liability
, in the absence of a court order, for returning
20property to the original lender, even if a claimant other than
21the lender has filed a notice of intent to preserve an interest
22in property. If persons claim competing interests in property
23in the possession of a museum, the burden is upon the claimants
24
 a claimant to prove their the claimant’s interest in an action
25in equity initiated by a claimant. A museum is not liable at
26any time
 immune from civil liability for returning property
27to an uncontested claimant who produced reasonable proof of
28ownership pursuant to section 305B.8.
29   Sec. 13.  Section 305B.10, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code
302019, is amended to read as follows:
   31In order to take title to property pursuant to this chapter a
32museum has the following obligations to a lender or claimant:
33   Sec. 14.  Section 305B.10, subsection 3, Code 2019, is
34amended to read as follows:
   353.  A museum accepting a loan of property on or after January
-7-11, 1989,
shall inform the lender in writing at the time of the
2loan of the provisions of this chapter. A copy of the form
 3for notice prescribed in of intent to preserve an interest in
4property pursuant to
section 305B.8, or a citation to this
5chapter, is adequate for this purpose.
6   Sec. 15.  Section 305B.11, subsection 1, unnumbered
7paragraph 1, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   8On or after January 1, 1989, a A museum shall at minimum
9maintain and retain the following records, either originals
10or accurate copies, for a period of not less than twenty-five
11years:
12   Sec. 16.  Section 305B.11, subsection 1, paragraphs b and c,
13Code 2019, are amended to read as follows:
   14b.  The A loan agreement, if any, and a receipt or ledger for
15property on loan.
   16c.  A receipt or ledger for property delivered returned to an
17owner or claimant.
18   Sec. 17.  Section 305B.12, subsection 1, Code 2019, is
19amended to read as follows:
   201.  The lender or claimant of property on loan to a museum
21shall notify the museum of a change of address or change in
22ownership of the property. Within thirty calendar days of
23receipt, the museum shall submit a copy of such notice to the
24state historical society. The state historical society shall
25file the notice with the corresponding loan form on file in
26the registry of museum loans and gifts.
Failure to notify
27the museum of these changes may result in the lender’s or
28claimant’s loss of rights in the property.
29   Sec. 18.  Section 305B.13, subsection 1, Code 2019, is
30amended to read as follows:
   311.  Sections 305B.1, 305B.2, and 305B.3 through 305B.8 are
32retroactively applicable to all property in the possession of a
33museum within the state on or after January 1, 1988.
34   Sec. 19.  APPLICABILITY.  The following applies to all gifts
35and loans to a museum on or after July 1, 2019:
-8-
   1The section of this Act enacting section 305B.2A.
2EXPLANATION
3The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
4the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   5This bill relates to documentation of loans and gifts to
6museums.
   7The bill requires a museum to fill out a gift form or a loan
8form, available from the state historical society, documenting
9each gift and loan made to the museum. The form is required to
10include the name, address, email address, and phone number of
11the lender or donor, a detailed description of and the date of
12the loan or gift, the duration of a loan, any terms governing
13the gift or loan, the name and phone number of the individual
14receiving the gift or loan on behalf of the museum, the name,
15address, and phone number of the museum receiving the gift or
16loan, and the physical address where the gift or loan will be
17housed. “Donor” and “gift” are defined in the bill.
   18The bill requires the museum to submit a copy of the
19completed form to the state historical society. The historical
20society must maintain all of the forms in a registry of museum
21loans and gifts. A gift form must be maintained for 25 years
22from the date of the gift. A loan form must be maintained
23for 10 years after the date the property is returned to the
24lender or claimant, or the property is disposed of, or the
25museum acquires title to the property due to termination of
26a loan or certain circumstances where a legal owner of the
27property cannot be identified. The director of the department
28of cultural affairs shall adopt rules to administer the forms
29and the registry of museum loans and gifts.
   30If a lender or claimant of property on loan to a museum
31notifies the museum of a change of address, or a change in
32ownership of the property, the bill requires the museum to
33submit a copy of the notice to the historical society. The
34historical society must file the notice with the corresponding
35loan form on file in the registry of museum loans and gifts.
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   1The bill provides that a museum must check its records,
2as well as the registry of museum loans and gifts, prior to
3declaring property undocumented, or providing any notice
4required pursuant to Code chapter 305B. “Undocumented
5property” is defined in the bill as property in the possession
6of a museum for which the museum cannot determine the
7property’s owner.
   8The section of the bill enacting new Code section 305B.2A is
9applicable to all gifts and loans to a museum on or after July
101, 2019.
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