Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Oklahoma Legislature, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 1st Session of the 60th Legislature (2025)
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3 SENATE BILL 996 By: Jech
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to museums; defining terms; providing
7 for acquisition of legal title to certain
8 undocumented property; providing for acquisition of
8 legal title of certain loaned property; requiring
9 furnishing of notice; requiring fulfillment of
9 certain obligations; establishing time limit to bring
10 certain action; providing for application of certain
10 conservation measures; limiting actions that may be
11 taken against a museum; providing recourse for
11 certain lenders following inadequate notice;
12 providing for ownership of certain property following
12 death of lender; providing for codification; and
13 providing an effective date.
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16 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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17 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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18 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2001 of Title 60, unless there
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19 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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20 As used in this act:
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21 1. "Lender" means a person whose name appears in the records of
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22 the museum as the person legally entitled to property held by or on
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23 loan to the museum;
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1 2. "Lender's last known address" means a description of the
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2 physical or mailing address of the lender, as shown on the museum's
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3 records pertaining to the property on loan from the lender, which is
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4 sufficient for the purpose of delivering mail;
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5 3. "Loan", "loaned", and "on loan" mean all deposits of
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6 property with a museum which are not accompanied by a transfer of
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7 title to the property;
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8 4. "Museum" means an organization which uses a professional
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9 staff or the equivalent, whether paid or unpaid, that is primarily
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10 engaged in the acquisition, care, and exhibition to the public of
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11 objects, interactive displays, and exhibits owned or used by the
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12 organization. Museums shall include organizations that:
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13 a. are organized on a permanent or regular basis for
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14 essentially educational or aesthetic purposes,
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15 b. own or use tangible objects, either animate or
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16 inanimate, care for such objects, and exhibit such
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17 objects to the general public on a regular basis at or
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18 in facilities owned or operated by such organizations,
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19 and
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20 c. provide educational and cultural programming;
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21 5. "Person" means an individual, association, trust
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22 partnership, corporation, or similar organization having a legal
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23 interest in property in the possession of a museum;
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1 6. "Property" means all tangible objects, animate and
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2 inanimate, under a museum's care which have intrinsic scientific,
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3 historic, artistic, or cultural value; and
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4 7. "Undocumented property" means property in the possession of
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5 a museum for which the museum cannot determine the person with legal
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6 interest by referencing the museum's records.
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7 SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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8 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2002 of Title 60, unless there
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9 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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10 A. A museum may acquire legal title to undocumented property
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11 held by a museum for seven (7) years or longer, verifiable through
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12 written records, if there is no valid claim or contact by any person
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13 in the following manner:
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14 1. The museum shall publish a notice by publication in a
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15 newspaper of record in the county of the museum. This notice shall
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16 include:
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17 a. a brief and general description of the property,
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18 b. the date or approximate date of the acquisition by the
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19 museum, if known,
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20 c. notice of the intent of the museum to claim title if
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21 no valid claims are made within ninety (90) days from
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22 the date of the second notice prescribed in paragraph
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23 2 of this subsection, and
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1 d. the name and address of the museum representative to
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2 contact for more information or to make a claim; and
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3 2. If no valid claim is made after the ninetieth day, the
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4 museum shall publish a second notice by publication in the same
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5 manner as prescribed in paragraph 1 of this subsection and shall
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6 include the same provisions.
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7 B. If the ninety-day notice period prescribed in subparagraph c
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8 of paragraph 1 of subsection A of this section lapses without
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9 submission of a valid claim, clear and unrestricted title shall be
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10 transferred to the museum as of the date described in subparagraph c
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11 of paragraph 1 of subsection A of this section.
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12 SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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13 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2003 of Title 53, unless there
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14 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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15 A. A museum may acquire legal title to loaned property pursuant
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16 to this section. Upon the expiration date of the loan, the museum
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17 shall attempt to notify the lender in writing to return the loaned
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18 property. If there is no written contact between the lender and the
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19 museum for two (2) years following the expiration of the loan, the
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20 museum shall send a notice by certified mail, return receipt
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21 requested, to the lender's last known address. The notice shall
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22 contain a statement that the loan is now terminated as well as all
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23 information required in the notice under paragraphs 1 and 2 of
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24 subsection A of Section 2 of this act. Notice is deemed to be
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1 provided if the museum receives proof of receipt within thirty (30)
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2 days after mailing the notice. If proof of delivery of the notice
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3 is not received within thirty (30) days from the date the notice was
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4 mailed, the museum shall publish a notice by publication in a
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5 newspaper of record in the county of the museum.
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6 B. If the requirements of subsection A of this section are met,
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7 the museum may acquire title to the loaned property by sending a
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8 notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the lender's
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9 last known address.
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10 C. After title to the property is transferred to the museum,
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11 any person having legal interest in the property shall have two (2)
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12 years to bring an action against the museum to claim the property.
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13 At the end of this two-year period, no action or proceeding may be
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14 brought against the museum or its employees or agents by a lender
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15 for any good-faith action taken by the museum pursuant to this
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16 chapter.
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17 D. In order to take title to a loaned property pursuant to this
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18 act, a museum shall have the following obligations to a lender:
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19 1. The museum shall keep written records regarding the property
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20 for at least two (2) years prior to the date of taking title
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21 pursuant to this section;
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22 2. The museum shall keep written records on all loans acquired.
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23 Records shall contain the owner's name, address, phone number, the
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1 duration of the loan period, beginning date of the loan period, and
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2 an itemized list of property being loaned;
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3 3. The museum shall notify a lender of property to the museum
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4 of a museum's change of address or dissolution;
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5 4. The museum shall inform a lender of property, at the time
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6 the loan is made, of state laws governing unclaimed property; and
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7 5. Upon expiration of the loan, the museum shall attempt to
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8 contact the lender to return the loaned property by phone,
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9 electronic mail, and by certified mail.
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10 E. Any person who lends property to a museum shall notify the
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11 museum of a change of address or of a change in ownership of the
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12 loaned property to ensure the retention of rights to the loaned
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13 property.
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14 SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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15 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2004 of Title 53, unless there
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16 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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17 A. Unless there is a written loan agreement to the contrary, a
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18 museum may apply conservation measures to or dispose of property on
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19 loan to the museum without a lender's permission if immediate action
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20 is required to protect the property on loan or to protect other
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21 property in the custody of the museum, or the property on loan has
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22 become a hazard to the health and safety of the public or of the
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23 museum's staff, and:
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1 1. The museum cannot reach the lender at the lender's last
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2 known address of record so that the museum and the lender can
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3 promptly agree on a solution; or
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4 2. The lender will not agree to the protective measures the
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5 museum recommends and is unwilling or unable to terminate the loan
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6 and retrieve the property.
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7 B. If a museum applies conservation measures to or disposes of
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8 property under subsection A of this section, the museum shall:
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9 1. Have a lien on the property and on the proceeds from any
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10 disposition of the property for the costs incurred by the museum;
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11 and
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12 2. Not be liable for injury to or loss of the property if the
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13 museum:
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14 a. had a reasonable belief at the time the action was
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15 taken that the action was necessary to protect the
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16 property on loan or other property in the custody of
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17 the museum, or that the property on loan constituted a
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18 hazard to the health and safety of the public or the
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19 museum's staff, and
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20 b. exercised reasonable care in the choice and
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21 application of the conservation measures.
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22 C. A museum may apply conservation measures to or dispose of
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23 undocumented property in the possession of the museum if immediate
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24 action is required to protect the property or to protect other
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1 property in the custody of the museum, or the property has become a
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2 hazard to the health and safety of the public or of the museum's
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3 staff.
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4 D. If a museum applies conservation measures to or disposes of
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5 undocumented property, the museum:
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6 1. May impose a lien on the undocumented property and on the
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7 proceeds from any disposition of the property for the costs incurred
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8 by the museum; and
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9 2. Is not liable for injury to or loss of the undocumented
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10 property if the museum:
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11 a. had a reasonable belief at the time the action was
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12 taken that the action was necessary to protect the
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13 property or other property in the custody of the
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14 museum, or that the property constituted a hazard to
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15 the health and safety of the public or the museum's
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16 staff, and
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17 b. exercised reasonable care in the choice and
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18 application of the conservation measures.
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19 SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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20 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 2005 of Title 53, unless there
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21 is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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22 A. An action shall not be brought against a museum for damages
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23 because of injury to or loss of property loaned to the museum more
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24 than two (2) years from the date the museum gives the lender or
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1 person with legal interest notice of the injury or loss or two (2)
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2 years from the date of the injury or loss, whichever occurs earlier.
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3 B. An action shall not be brought against a museum to recover
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4 property more than two (2) years after the date the museum gives the
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5 lender or person with legal interest notice of its intent to acquire
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6 the property.
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7 C. An action shall not be brought against a museum to recover
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8 property on loan more than two (2) years from the date of the last
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9 written contact between the lender or person with legal interest and
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10 the museum as evidenced by the museum's records.
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11 D. A lender is considered to have donated loaned property to
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12 the museum if the lender fails to file an action to recover the
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13 property on loan to the museum within the time periods specified in
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14 subsections A through C of this section.
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15 E. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections C and D of
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16 this section, a lender who was not given notice as provided in this
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17 act, and who proves that the museum received an adequate notice of
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18 intent to preserve an interest in loaned property within the two (2)
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19 years immediately preceding the filing of an action to recover the
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20 property, may recover the property or, if the property has been
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21 disposed of, the reasonable value of the property at the time it was
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22 disposed of plus interest at the legal rate.
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23 F. A museum is not liable at any time, in the absence of a
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24 court order, for returning property to the original lender even if a
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1 person other than the lender has filed a notice of intent to
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2 preserve an interest in property. If a person claims competing
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3 interests in property in the possession of a museum, the burden is
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4 upon the claimant to prove the interest in an action in equity
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5 initiated by a claimant. A museum is not liable at any time for
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6 returning property to an uncontested claimant who produced
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7 reasonable proof of ownership or the existence of a security
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8 interest.
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9 G. Loaned property in the possession of a museum at the time of
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10 the owner's death, which would otherwise escheat to the state, shall
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11 not escheat but shall be property of the museum to which it is
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12 loaned.
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13 SECTION 6. This act shall become effective November 1, 2025.
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15 60-1-1451 RD 1/19/2025 5:47:27 AM
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Req. No. 1451 Page 10Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.