526
. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any wrecked
property that is an unseaworthy derelict or hulk, abandoned property
as described in Section 522, or property removed from a navigable
waterway pursuant to Section 523 or 524 that is an unseaworthy
derelict or hulk, may be sold or otherwise disposed of by the public
agency that removed or caused the removal of the property pursuant to
this section, subject to the following conditions, except a
surrendered vessel, as defined in Section 526.1, may be disposed of
immediately upon acceptance by a public agency and is not subject to
the following conditions:
(1) The property has been appraised by disinterested persons, and
has an estimated value of less than two thousand dollars ($2,000).
(2) There is no discernable registration, license, hull
identification number, or other identifying insignia on the property,
or the Department of Motor Vehicles is unable to produce any record
of the registered or legal owners or lienholders.
(3) Not less than 72 hours before the property was removed, the
peace officer or authorized public employee securely attached to the
property a distinctive notice stating that the property would be
removed by the public agency.
(4) Within 48 hours after the removal, excluding weekends and
holidays, the public agency that removed or caused the removal of the
property sent notice of the removal to the registered and legal
owners, if known or discovered subsequent to the removal, at their
addresses of record with the Department of Motor Vehicles, and to any
other person known to have an interest in the property. A notice
sent by the public agency shall be sent by certified or first-class
mail.
(5) If the public agency is unable to locate the registered and
legal owners of the property or persons known to have an interest in
the property as provided in paragraph (4), the public agency
published, or caused to be published, the notice of removal for at
least two weeks in succession in one or more daily newspapers
circulated in the county.
(b) The notice of removal required by paragraphs (3) to (5),
inclusive, of subdivision (a) shall state all of the following:
(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the public agency
providing the notice.
(2) A description of the property removed.
(3) The location from which the property is to be or was removed.
(4) The location of the intended or actual place of storage.
(5) The authority and purpose for removal of the property.
(6) A statement that the property may be claimed and recovered
within 15 days of the date the notice of removal was issued pursuant
to paragraph (4) or (5) of subdivision (a), whichever is later, after
payment of any costs incurred by the public agency related to
salvage and storage of the property, and that following the
expiration of the 15-day period, the property will be sold or
otherwise disposed of by the public agency.
(7) A statement that the registered or legal owners or any other
person known to have an interest in the property has the opportunity
for a poststorage hearing before the public agency that removed, or
caused the removal of, the property to determine the validity of the
removal and storage if a request for a hearing is made in person or
in writing to that public agency within 10 days from the date of
notice; that if the registered or legal owners or any other person
known to have an interest in the property disagree with the decision
of the public agency, the decision may be reviewed pursuant to
Section 11523 of the Government Code; and that during the time of the
initial hearing, or during the time the decision is being reviewed
pursuant to Section 11523 of the Government Code, the vessel in
question shall not be sold or otherwise disposed of.
(c) (1) Any requested hearing shall be conducted within 48 hours
of the time the request for a hearing is received by the public
agency, excluding weekends and holidays. The public agency that
removed the vehicle may authorize its own officers or employees to
conduct the hearing, but the hearing officer shall not be the same
person who directed the removal and storage of the property.
(2) The failure of either the registered or legal owners or any
other person known to have an interest in the property to request or
attend a scheduled hearing shall not affect the validity of the
hearing.
(d) The property may be claimed and recovered by its registered
and legal owners, or by any other person known to have an interest in
the property, within 15 days of the date the notice of removal was
issued pursuant to paragraph (4) or (5) of subdivision (a), whichever
is later, after payment of any costs incurred by the public agency
related to salvage and storage of the property.
(e) The property may be sold or otherwise disposed of by the
public agency not less than 15 days from the date the notice of
removal was issued pursuant to paragraph (4) or (5) of subdivision
(a), whichever is later, or the date of actual removal, whichever is
later.
(f) The proceeds from the sale of the property, after deducting
expenses for salvage, storage, sales costs, and any property tax
liens, shall be deposited in the Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund
for grants to local agencies, as specified in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (d) of Section 525.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that this section shall
not be construed to authorize the lien sale or destruction of any
seaworthy vessel, other than a surrendered vessel as defined in
Section 526.1, that is currently registered and operated in
accordance with local, state, and federal law.