| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to lost or abandoned property; amending s. |
| 3 | 705.101, F.S.; revising the definition of the term "lost |
| 4 | property"; defining the term "private property"; amending |
| 5 | s. 705.103, F.S.; amending procedures for lost or |
| 6 | abandoned property to include lost or abandoned property |
| 7 | found on private property; providing an effective date. |
| 8 |
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| 9 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 10 |
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| 11 | Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 705.101, Florida |
| 12 | Statutes, is amended, and subsection (7) is added to said |
| 13 | section, to read: |
| 14 | 705.101 Definitions.--As used in this chapter: |
| 15 | (2) "Lost property" means all tangible personal property |
| 16 | which does not have an identifiable owner and which has been |
| 17 | mislaid on public or private property, upon a public conveyance, |
| 18 | on premises used at the time for business purposes, or in parks, |
| 19 | places of amusement, public recreation areas, or other places |
| 20 | open to the public in a substantially operable, functioning |
| 21 | condition or which has an apparent intrinsic value to the |
| 22 | rightful owner. |
| 23 | (7) "Private property" means any property that belongs |
| 24 | absolutely to an individual and over which he or she has the |
| 25 | exclusive right of disposition. Private property also means |
| 26 | property of a specific, fixed, and tangible nature, capable of |
| 27 | being possessed and transmitted to another, such as houses, |
| 28 | lands, and chattels. |
| 29 | Section 2. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 705.103, |
| 30 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 31 | 705.103 Procedure for abandoned or lost property.-- |
| 32 | (1) Whenever a law enforcement officer ascertains that an |
| 33 | article of lost or abandoned property is present on public or |
| 34 | private property and is of such nature that it can be easily |
| 35 | removed, the officer shall take such article into custody and |
| 36 | shall make a reasonable attempt to ascertain the rightful owner |
| 37 | or lienholder pursuant to the provisions of this section. |
| 38 | (2) Whenever a law enforcement officer ascertains that an |
| 39 | article of lost or abandoned property is present on public or |
| 40 | private property and is of such nature that it cannot be easily |
| 41 | removed, the officer shall cause a notice to be placed upon such |
| 42 | article in substantially the following form: |
| 43 |
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| 44 | NOTICE TO THE OWNER AND ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN THE ATTACHED |
| 45 | PROPERTY. This property, to wit: (setting forth brief |
| 46 | description) is unlawfully upon public or private property |
| 47 | known as (setting forth brief description of location) and |
| 48 | must be removed within 5 days; otherwise, it will be removed and |
| 49 | disposed of pursuant to chapter 705, Florida Statutes. The owner |
| 50 | will be liable for the costs of removal, storage, and |
| 51 | publication of notice. Dated this: (setting forth the date of |
| 52 | posting of notice) , signed: (setting forth name, title, |
| 53 | address, and telephone number of law enforcement officer) . |
| 54 |
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| 55 | Such notice shall be not less than 8 inches by 10 inches and |
| 56 | shall be sufficiently weatherproof to withstand normal exposure |
| 57 | to the elements. In addition to posting, the law enforcement |
| 58 | officer shall make a reasonable effort to ascertain the name and |
| 59 | address of the owner. If such is reasonably available to the |
| 60 | officer, she or he shall mail a copy of such notice to the owner |
| 61 | on or before the date of posting. If the property is a motor |
| 62 | vehicle as defined in s. 320.01(1) or a vessel as defined in s. |
| 63 | 327.02, the law enforcement agency shall contact the Department |
| 64 | of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles in order to determine the |
| 65 | name and address of the owner and any person who has filed a |
| 66 | lien on the vehicle or vessel as provided in s. 319.27(2) or (3) |
| 67 | or s. 328.15(1). On receipt of this information, the law |
| 68 | enforcement agency shall mail a copy of the notice by certified |
| 69 | mail, return receipt requested, to the owner and to the |
| 70 | lienholder, if any. If, at the end of 5 days after posting the |
| 71 | notice and mailing such notice, if required, the owner or any |
| 72 | person interested in the lost or abandoned article or articles |
| 73 | described has not removed the article or articles from public or |
| 74 | private property or shown reasonable cause for failure to do so, |
| 75 | the following shall apply: |
| 76 | (a) For abandoned property, the law enforcement agency may |
| 77 | retain any or all of the property for its own use or for use by |
| 78 | the state or unit of local government, trade such property to |
| 79 | another unit of local government or state agency, donate the |
| 80 | property to a charitable organization, sell the property, or |
| 81 | notify the appropriate refuse removal service. |
| 82 | (b) For lost property, the officer shall take custody and |
| 83 | the agency shall retain custody of the property for 90 days. The |
| 84 | agency shall publish notice of the intended disposition of the |
| 85 | property, as provided in this section, during the first 45 days |
| 86 | of this time period. |
| 87 | 1. If the agency elects to retain the property for use by |
| 88 | the unit of government, donate the property to a charitable |
| 89 | organization, surrender such property to the finder, sell the |
| 90 | property, or trade the property to another unit of local |
| 91 | government or state agency, notice of such election shall be |
| 92 | given by an advertisement published once a week for 2 |
| 93 | consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the |
| 94 | county where the property was found if the value of the property |
| 95 | is more than $100. If the value of the property is $100 or less, |
| 96 | notice shall be given by posting a description of the property |
| 97 | at the law enforcement agency where the property was turned in. |
| 98 | The notice must be posted for not less than 2 consecutive weeks |
| 99 | in a public place designated by the law enforcement agency. The |
| 100 | notice must describe the property in a manner reasonably |
| 101 | adequate to permit the rightful owner of the property to claim |
| 102 | it. |
| 103 | 2. If the agency elects to sell the property, it must do |
| 104 | so at public sale by competitive bidding. Notice of the time and |
| 105 | place of the sale shall be given by an advertisement of the sale |
| 106 | published once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of |
| 107 | general circulation in the county where the sale is to be held. |
| 108 | The notice shall include a statement that the sale shall be |
| 109 | subject to any and all liens. The sale must be held at the |
| 110 | nearest suitable place to that where the lost or abandoned |
| 111 | property is held or stored. The advertisement must include a |
| 112 | description of the goods and the time and place of the sale. The |
| 113 | sale may take place no earlier than 10 days after the final |
| 114 | publication. If there is no newspaper of general circulation in |
| 115 | the county where the sale is to be held, the advertisement shall |
| 116 | be posted at the door of the courthouse and at three other |
| 117 | public places in the county at least 10 days prior to sale. |
| 118 | Notice of the agency's intended disposition shall describe the |
| 119 | property in a manner reasonably adequate to permit the rightful |
| 120 | owner of the property to identify it. |
| 121 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |