BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 316 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 13, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 316 (Carter) - As Amended: March 30, 2011 Policy Committee: Public SafetyVote: 7-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill adds theft of copper material to the list of offenses for which there is a lower monetary requirement to charge an offender with grand theft. Specifically, this bill states theft of copper materials, including, but not limited to, copper wire, copper cable, copper tubing, and copper piping, of a value exceeding $250, may be charged as grand theft, punishable by up to one year in county jail, or 16 months, 2 or 3 years in state prison. (Under current law theft of similar materials with a value of less than $950 would be considered petty theft, punishable by up to six months in county jail.) FISCAL EFFECT Unknown but potentially significant annual GF costs - in excess of $250,000 if only five persons per year are committed to state prison as a result of this bill - for increased state prison commitments. For order of magnitude purposes, in 2009 and 2010, about 3,000 individuals were committed to state prison for grand theft. The state does track the type of materials that were stolen. COMMENTS 1)Rationale . Proponents (including law enforcement and the Farm Bureau) contend the theft of copper materials from farms, ranches, construction sites, schools, etc., causes such significant damage that the value constituting a felony should AB 316 Page 2 be reduced from $950 to $250. 2)Opponents, including the ACLU, suggest $950 is an appropriate threshold, noting this threshold took effect just this year, via AB 2372 (Ammiano), which raised the threshold from $400 to $950 to adjust for 20 years of inflation. 3)Current law defines grand theft as any theft where the money, labor, or real or personal property taken or when the property is taken from the person of another is of a value exceeding $950, except in specified circumstances, such as when domestic fowls, avocados, or other farm crops with a value exceeding $250 are taken, or when fish or other aquacultural products with a value exceeding $250 are taken from a commercial operation. Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081