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
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            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