MUSEUMS: NOTICE TO ACQUIRE PROPERTY

An Act relating to notice requirements allowing museums to acquire title to undocumented property.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: REPRESENTATIVES STORY, Carrick
Last action: 2025-05-14
Official status: (H) CRA
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill amends AS 14.57.210(b), but does not define 'undocumented property' or specify which museums are covered.

HB227: Museum Notice Rules for Undocumented Property

This bill changes Alaska law to require museums to publish specific notices before they can legally own property with no known owner.

What This Bill Does

Requires museums to post a notice on their dedicated website for at least four consecutive weeks.
Mandates that the same notice appear once a week for four consecutive weeks in either a local newspaper or on a museum social media account.
Lists what information must be included, such as a description of the item and how to contact the museum.
States that museums can take ownership if no valid claim is received within 45 days after the last notice is published.

Who It Names or Affects

Museums in Alaska holding undocumented property
Potential owners of items held by these museums

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not define what counts as 'undocumented property'.
It is unclear if the law applies to all types of museums or only specific ones.
No effective date is listed in the provided text.

Bill History

2025-05-14 1195
(H) REFERRED TO COMMUNITY & REGIONAL AFFAIRS
2025-05-14 1195
(H) CRA, STA
2025-05-14 1195
(H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS

Official Summary Text

MUSEUMS: NOTICE TO ACQUIRE PROPERTY
An Act relating to notice requirements allowing museums to acquire title to undocumented property.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB0227a -1- HB 227
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

34-LS0988\A

HOUSE BILL NO. 227

IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION

BY REPRESENTATIVES STORY, Carrick

Introduced: 5/14/25
Referred: Community and Regional Affairs, State Affairs

A BILL

FOR AN ACT ENTITLED

"An Act relating to notice requirements allowing museums to acq uire title to 1
undocumented property." 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 3
* Section 1. AS 14.57.210(b) is amended to read: 4
(b) To acquire title under (a) of this section, the museum sha ll publish a notice 5
for at least four consecutive weeks on a dedicated Internet web page maintained 6
by the museum responsible for the undocumented property and at least once a 7
week for four consecutive weeks in either a newspaper of general circulation in the 8
judicial district where the museum is located or on a social media account 9
maintained by the museum. The notice must include 10
(1) a brief and general description of the property; 11
(2) the date or approximate d ate, if known, of the acquisition o f t h e 12
property by the museum; 13
(3) the name, address, electronic mail address, and telephone number 14
34-LS0988\A
HB 227 -2- HB0227a
New Text Underlined [DELETED TEXT BRACKETED]

of the museum representative to contact for more information or to make a claim of 1
ownership; 2
(4) the initial date of publication on the Internet webpage [DATE 3
OF THE LAST PUBLICATION OF THE NOTICE UNDER THIS SUBSECTION]; 4
and 5
(5) a statement that the museum will acquire title to the prop erty if a 6
valid claim of an owner to the p roperty is not received by the museum within 45 days 7
from the date of the last publication of the notice under this subsection. 8