BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 316|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 316
Author: Carter (D), et al.
Amended: 8/17/11 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 adds a fine of up to $2,500
on to the existing penalties as specified.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/17/11 are technical and
non-substantive and are intended to prevent chaptering out
of the provisions of either this bill or AB 109 (Assembly
Budget Committee), Chapter 15, Statutes of 2011.
Note: This bill passed the Senate on Consent (37-0) on
7/11/11 and has been returned for these amendments.
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
CONTINUED
AB 316
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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
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 8/17/11)
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
AB 316
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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."
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 8/17/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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