BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 316| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 316 Author: Carter (D), et al. Amended: 6/28/11 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/21/11 AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Calderon, Liu, Price, Steinberg NO VOTE RECORDED: Harman ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-2, 6/1/11 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Copper theft SOURCE : California Farm Bureau DIGEST : This bill creates a separate section for grand theft of copper materials and add a fine of up to $2,500 on to the existing penalties as specified. ANALYSIS : Existing law generally provides that grand theft is theft when the money, labor, or real or personal property taken is of a value exceeding $950. Existing law makes the amount threshold of the theft of certain items $250, including theft of farm crops and specified agricultural products. This bill creates a separate section for grand theft of copper materials. This bill provides that every person who feloniously CONTINUED AB 316 Page 2 steals, takes, or carries away copper materials of another, including, but not limited to, copper wire, copper cable, copper tubing, and copper piping, which are of a value exceeding $950 is guilty of grand theft. Grand theft of copper shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding $2,500, or imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or both that fine and imprisonment, or imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, two years or three years and a fine not to exceed $10,000. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 6/28/11) California Farm Bureau (source) Alameda County Sherriff California Chamber of Commerce California Chapters of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries California District Attorneys Association California Police Chiefs Association, Inc. City of Riverside Inland Action, Inc. Inland Empire Economic Partnership Kern County Sheriff League of California Cities Los Angeles County District Attorney San Bernardino County Sherriff Tuolumne County Sheriff Yolo County Sherriff ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author: "Metal theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the state and country. The recent rise in scrap metal values has made the theft and sale of these materials increasingly profitable. "With the prevalence of metal thefts from large construction sites, public utility yards, farms, ranches, and schools, AB 316 would classify stolen copper materials exceeding $950 dollars as grand theft in an effort to help decrease the rise of metal theft." CONTINUED AB 316 Page 3 ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-2, 6/1/11 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Perea, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NOES: Nielsen, Norby NO VOTE RECORDED: Garrick, Gorell, Jeffries, V. Manuel Pérez RJG:kc 6/28/11 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED