BILL NUMBER: SB 1045	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MAY 8, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 17, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 26, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Emmerson

                        FEBRUARY 6, 2012

   An act to add Section 3336.5 to the Civil Code, relating to metal
theft.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1045, as amended, Emmerson.  Metal theft: damages.
   Existing law governs the business of buying, selling, and dealing
in secondhand and used machinery and all ferrous and nonferrous scrap
metals and alloys, also known as "junk." Existing law further
requires junk dealers and recyclers to keep and maintain a written
record of all sales and purchases made in the course of their
business, including the name and address of each person to whom junk
is sold or disposed of.
   This bill would prohibit any junk dealer or recycler from
possessing a fire hydrant, fire department connection, manhole cover
or lid or any part of that cover or lid, or backflow device or
connection to that device without a written certification on the
letterhead of the agency or utility that owns or previously owned the
material certifying that the entity has sold or is offering the
material for sale and that the person possessing and identified in
the certificate is authorized to negotiate the sale of the material.
The bill would make junk dealers and recyclers civilly liable for
actual damages and also for exemplary damages of 3 times the agency's
or utility's actual damages, including the value of the material,
repair and replacement costs, and labor costs  , unless the court
determines that extenuating circumstances do not justify awarding
exemplary damages  .  Under the bill, the agency or
utility could also recover court costs and attorney's fees. 

   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Theft of fire hydrants, manhole covers, and backflow devices
has significantly increased in recent years and represents very
substantial, and growing, health and safety issues.
   (b) Local utilities, public agencies, and private entities have
gone to great lengths to protect their customers, residents, and
properties from the damage that can result from that theft.
   (c) The Legislature believes that any junk dealer or recycler who
is willing to obtain this material from a person who does not have a
written certification letter should, in the event that this act is
adopted, be liable to the owner of the material for three times the
actual damages, including the cost of replacement, labor costs, and
repair costs of any damage that occurs during the theft  ,
plus court costs and reasonable attorney's fees  .
  SEC. 2.  Section 3336.5 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
   3336.5.  (a) (1) Any junk dealer or recycler who possesses a fire
hydrant, fire department connection, including, but not limited to,
brass fittings and parts, manhole cover or lid or part of that cover
or lid, or backflow device or connection to that device or part of
that device without a written certification from the agency or
utility owning or previously owning the material shall be liable to
the agency or utility for the wrongful possession of that material.
   (2) A written certification under this subdivision shall be on the
agency's or utility's letterhead and shall certify both that the
agency or utility has sold the material described or is offering the
material for sale, salvage, or recycling, and that the person
possessing the certification or identified in the certification is
authorized to negotiate the sale of that material.
   (b) A junk dealer or recycler in violation of this section shall
be liable to the agency or utility owning or previously owning the
prohibited material as described in subdivision (a) for the actual
damages incurred by the agency or utility, including the value of the
material, the cost of replacing the material, labor costs, and the
costs of repairing any damage caused by the removal of the material.
The court shall also award exemplary damages of three times the
actual damages incurred by the agency or utility  , unless the
court decides that extenuating circumstances do not justify 
 awarding these exemplary damages  .  The agency or
utility shall also be entitled to recover court costs and reasonable
attorney's fees.