(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.

(Amended (as amended by Stats. 2009, Ch. 416, Sec. 3) by Stats. 2013, Ch. 204, Sec. 3. (SB 122) Effective January 1, 2014.)