AB 909, as amended, Gray. Metal theft and related recycling crimes.
Existing law provides that any person who feloniously steals, takes, or carries away the personal property of another, or who fraudulently appropriates property that has been entrusted to him or her, is guilty of theft. Existing law also provides that a person who, being a dealer in or collector of junk, metals, or secondhand materials, buys or receives any wire, cable, copper, lead, solder, mercury, iron, or brass that he or she knows or reasonably should know is ordinarily used by, or ordinarily belongs to, a railroad or other transportation, telephone, telegraph, gas, water, or electric light company or county, city, or city and county without using due diligence to ascertain that the person selling or delivering the same has a legal right to do so, is guilty of criminally receiving that property.
Existing law establishes the Department of Justice, which is headed by the Attorney General and tasked with, among other things, representing California in criminal cases.
This bill, on and after January 1, 2015, would require the Department of Justice to establish a Metal Theft Task Force Program to provide grants to applicant regional task forces for the purpose of providing local law enforcement and district attorneys with the tools necessary to successfully interdict the commission of metal theft and related metal recycling crimes. The bill, on and after January 1, 2015, would establish the Metal Theft Task Force Fund, to be administered by the department, and, upon appropriation by the Legislature, would make moneys in the fund available for the purposes of the program.
The bill would require the department to regularly review the program and report to the Governor and the Legislature, and would specify that the program not be implemented until the Department of Finance determines that sufficient funding has been deposited in the Metal Theft Task Force Fund to implement the program and funds have been made available upon appropriation by the Legislature.
This bill would also state findings and declarations of the Legislature relative to metal theft and the intent of the Legislature to provide local law enforcement with the tools to interdict metal theft and related metal recycling crimes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
The Legislature finds and declares both of the
2following:
3(a) The theft of metal is a serious problem in California. Losses
4due to metal theft are not limited to the value of the metal taken,
5but frequently include the cost of repairing or replacing the
6infrastructure, component, or item from which the metal was
7removed, which greatly exceeds the value of the metal itself.
8(b) The United States Department of Energy estimates that metal
9theft costs United States businesses approximately one billion
10dollars ($1,000,000,000) annually.
11(c) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to
12provide local law enforcement and district attorneys with the tools
13necessary to successfully interdict the commission of metal theft
14and related metal recycling crimes.
Title 11.8 (commencing with Section 14190.15) is
16added to Part 4 of the Penal Code, to read:
For the purposes of this title, the following terms
4have the following meanings:
5(a) “Fund” means the Metal Theft Task Force Fund.
6(b) “Department” means the Department of Justice.
7(c) “Program” means the Metal Theft Task Force Program.
(a) The Metal Theft Task Force Fund is hereby
9established within the State Treasury. Transfers to the Metal Theft
10Task Force Fund shall be deposited in the Treasury, or in a state
11depository bank approved by the Treasurer. These funds shall,
12upon appropriation by the Legislature, be available for the purposes
13set forth in this title.
14(b) The fund shall consist of moneys deposited into the fund
15from the federal government, industry, and private sources. General
16Fund moneys shall not be deposited into the fund nor used to
17begin delete implementend deletebegin insert
start up, implement, or support the continuing
18administration ofend insert the provisions of this title.
19(c) Funds provided under this program are intended to ensure
20that law enforcement is equipped with the necessary personnel
21and tools to successfully combat metal theft and related recycling
22crimes, which include, but are not limited to, all of the following
23offenses:
24(1) The theft of metals, including, but not limited to, nonferrous
25metals.
26(2) The purchase and recycling of stolen metals, including, but
27not limited to, recycled metal beverage containers, by recyclers.
28(3) The transportation of stolen metals from this state to another
29state.
30(4) The transportation of stolen metals from another state to this
31state.
(a) The fund shall be administered by the
33department.
34(b) The department may adopt regulations as needed to
35administer this title.
36(c) Administration of the overall program and the evaluation
37and monitoring of all grants made pursuant to this title shall be
38performed by the department.
(a) The department shall establish the Metal Theft
40Task Force Program. Administration of the overall program and
P4 1the evaluation and monitoring of all grants made pursuant to this
2title shall be performed by the department.
3(b) Moneys appropriated to the department for the program shall
4be expended to fund programs that enhance the capacity of local
5law enforcement and prosecutors to deter, investigate, and
6prosecute metal theft and related recycling crimes.
7(c) After deduction of the department’s actual and necessary
8administrative costs, the funds shall be expended to fund programs
9to enhance the capacity of
local law enforcement and prosecutors
10to deter, investigate, and prosecute metal theft and related recycling
11crimes.
12(d) Funds distributed under this program shall be expended for
13the exclusive purpose of deterring, investigating, and prosecuting
14metal theft and related recycling crimes.
15(e) begin deleteUp to 10 percent of the end deletebegin insertThe end insertfunds may, upon appropriation,
16be used for developing and maintaining a statewide database on
17metal theft and related recycling crimes for use in developing and
18distributing intelligence information to participating law
19enforcement agencies.
(a) The department shall develop specific guidelines
21and administrative procedures for the selection of regional task
22forces to receive funds under this program, as follows:
23(1) Each regional task force that seeks funds shall submit a
24written application to the department setting forth in detail the
25proposed use of funds.
26(2) Each regional task force shall be identified by a name that
27is appropriate to the area that it serves. In order to qualify for funds,
28a regional task force shall be comprised of local law enforcement
29and prosecutors from at least two counties.
30(3) Each task force may consult with experts from the United
31States military, the California Military Department, law
32enforcement entities, and various other state and private
33organizations, including pertinent trade associations, as deemed
34necessary to maximize the effectiveness of this program.
35(4) Priority shall be given to regional task forces outside of the
3613 counties funded under the rural crime prevention programs
37authorized pursuant to Sections 14170 and 14180.
38(b) The guidelines shall include all of the following selection
39criteria that shall be considered by the department in awarding
40grant funds:
P5 1(1) The number of metal theft or related recycling crime cases
2filed in the prior year.
3(2) The number of metal theft or related recycling crime cases
4investigated in the prior year.
5(3) The number of victims involved in the cases filed.
6(4) The total aggregate monetary loss suffered by the victims,
7including damage caused by the theft.
8(5) Local funds available to assist the regional task force.
9(6) The number of licensed recycling facilities in the region.
(a) Each regional task force that has been awarded
11funds authorized under the program during the previous
12grant-funding cycle, upon reapplication for funds to the department
13in each successive year, shall submit a detailed accounting of funds
14received and expended in the prior year in addition to any
15information required by this title.
16(b) The accounting shall include all of the following information:
17(1) The amount of funds received and expended.
18(2) The use to which those funds were put, including payment
19of salaries and expenses, purchase of
equipment and supplies, and
20other expenditures by type.
21(3) The number of filed complaints, investigations, arrests, and
22convictions that resulted from the expenditure of the funds.
(a) The department shall regularly review the
24effectiveness of the program in deterring, investigating, and
25prosecuting metal theft and related recycling crimes and shall,
26notwithstanding Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, present
27a report to the Legislature and Governor.
28(b) The report shall be based on information provided by the
29regional task forces in an annual report to the department which
30shall detail all of the following:
31(1) The number of metal theft and recycling crime cases filed
32in the prior year.
33(2) The number of metal
theft and recycling crime cases
34investigated in the prior year.
35(3) The number of victims involved in the cases filed.
36(4) The number of convictions obtained in the prior year.
37(5) The total aggregate monetary loss suffered by the victims,
38including damage caused by the theft.
39(6) An accounting of funds received and expended in the prior
40year, which shall include all of the following:
P6 1(A) The amount of funds received and expended.
2(B) The uses to which those funds were put, including payment
3of salaries and expenses, purchase of supplies, and other
4expenditures.
5(C) Any other relevant information requested.
(a) The program established pursuant to this title
7shall not be implemented until the Department of Finance
8determines that sufficient funds have been deposited in the Metal
9Theft Task Force Fund to implement the provisions of this title
10and funds have been made available for the purposes of this title
11upon appropriation by the Legislature as provided in subdivision
12(a) of Section 14190.20.
13(b) The department shall be required to implement the provisions
14of this title only upon the availability of funds appropriated for
15that purpose, in an amount sufficient to cover all costs relating to
16thebegin delete implementationend deletebegin insert
startup, implementation,end insert and continuing
17administration of the provisions of this title.
This title shall become operative on January 1, 2015.
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