Texas Government Code Ann. Sec. 403.27(a), (b) (Vernon Sup, 1993) reads:

• If the head of an agency has reasonable cause to believe that any state property in the agency's possession has been lost, destroyed, or damaged through the negligence or fault of any state official or employee, the agency head responsible will immediately report the loss to the State Auditor and to the Attorney General via the Comptroller's office.
• The Attorney General will investigate a report of loss, destruction, or damage to state property, and where appropriate, take legal action to recover the value of the state property.  The Attorney General will determine the value to be recovered based on the value of the asset and the degree of responsibility.

Missing Property

University property is considered missing when it cannot be found, but no evidence of theft is apparent (i.e. forced entry, etc.). The following procedure should be followed immediately for any property determined to be missing:

The department should conduct a thorough search for the property. If it is not located, a Notification of Missing/Stolen Property form should be submitted as soon as possible with the required signatures to the General Accounting Services office. The missing property will be listed as such on the department's inventory listing for two inventory cycles after the initial report. At this time, the State Comptroller will decide whether to remove the missing item from the system or conduct a further search. Missing property is reported to the State Property Accounting System (SPA) on a quarterly basis.

Stolen Property

University property is considered stolen when there is evidence of forced entry. The following procedure will be followed when it is determined that University property has been stolen:

• Notify Campus Police immediately.
• Complete the Missing/Stolen Property Form.
• Send the form and the campus police report to the inventory office as soon as possible.  The Inventory Department is required by State law to report stolen property to the State Auditor within 24 hours of the loss.

Stolen property will remain on the department's inventory listing for two inventory cycles after the initial report. The Office of the Attorney General of the State of Texas will prosecute employees if they are involved in a theft of state property or if there is reasonable evidence that the employee showed negligence in care and security of the property.