BILL NUMBER: AB 2312 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 5, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Nestande and Olsen
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Gray, Linder, and Patterson)
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
An act to amend Section 12703.1 of, and to add Section 21608.7 to,
the Business and Professions Code, and to add Article 6 (commencing
with Section 11199.5) to Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part 4 of the Penal
Code, relating to metal theft.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2312, as amended, Nestande. Metal theft.
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 requires junk
dealers and recyclers to keep 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, and
to preserve the written record for at least 2 years after making the
final entry of any purchase or sale of junk.
Existing law provides that it is a crime for a dealer in or
collector of junk, metals, or secondhand materials, or the agent,
employee, or representative of that dealer or collector, who buys or
receives any wire, cable, copper, lead, solder, mercury, iron, or
brass which 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, city and county, or
other political subdivision of this state engaged in furnishing
public utility service without using due diligence to ascertain that
the person selling or delivering the same has a legal right to do so.
Existing law, until January 1, 2019, requires the Department of
Food and Agriculture to require a recycler or junk dealer who is an
applicant for a new weighmaster license or a renewal of a weighmaster
license to furnish specified additional information on the
application.
This bill would require a junk dealer or recycler to request to
receive theft alert notifications regarding the theft of commodity
metals in the junk dealer's or recycler's geographic region from the
theft alert system maintained by the Institute of Scrap Recycling
Industries, Inc. Inc., unless the institute
or its successor requires payment for use of the theft alert system.
The bill would require the Department of Food and Agriculture,
until January 1, 2019, to require a junk dealer or recycler who is an
applicant for a new weighmaster license or a renewal of a
weighmaster license to also include a statement on the application
indicating that the applicant has requested to receive the theft
alert notifications. notifications, unless
the request requirement does not apply. The bill would also
encourage local law enforcement agencies to report thefts of
commodity metals that have occurred within their jurisdiction to that
theft alert system, in order to ensure that persons using the system
receive timely and thorough information regarding metal thefts. The
bill would prohibit the institute or its successor from
requiring payment for use of the theft alert system by law
enforcement agencies or members of the public, and would prohibit the
sale of selling subscribers' information to 3rd
parties. The bill would state findings and declarations by the
Legislature regarding the theft alert system.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI)
developed ScrapTheftAlert.com
ScrapTheftAlert.com, which is a web-based theft alert system
that allows law enforcement to alert recyclers of reported stolen
material and allows recyclers to alert area law enforcement when they
have received materials they believe might have been stolen.
(b) This alert system broadcasts theft alerts to every registered
user within a 100-mile radius of where the theft occurred and can
expand depending on the circumstances.
(c) ISRI has worked closely with law enforcement and has
integrated their suggestions into the system's latest update to make
its use more user-friendly for law enforcement.
(d) There is no cost to law enforcement or non-ISRI members to use
the system.
(e) Members of ISRI pay for the entire database through their
membership dues.
SEC. 2. Section 12703.1 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
12703.1. (a) In addition to any other requirements for issuance
of a license pursuant to this chapter, if the applicant is a recycler
or junk dealer as defined in Section 21601, the department shall
require the applicant to furnish all of the following information
accurately on any application for a new license or the renewal of a
license issued pursuant to this chapter:
(1) A copy of the applicant's current business license.
(2) A statement indicating that the applicant has either filed an
application for a stormwater permit or is not required to obtain a
stormwater permit.
(3) A statement indicating that the applicant has the equipment
necessary to comply with the photographic and thumbprinting
requirements for the purchase and sale of nonferrous materials
pursuant to Section 21608.5 or a statement indicating that the
applicant will not be purchasing or selling nonferrous materials and
is not required to comply with Section 21608.5.
(4) A statement indicating that the applicant has requested to
receive theft alert notifications pursuant to subdivision (a) of
Section 21608.7. 21608.7, unless that
requirement does not apply pursuant to subdivision (b) of that
section.
(5) The name or names of any deputy weighmasters.
(b) The department shall issue a license to a junk dealer or
recycler upon receipt of an application for a new license or renewal
of a license that contains the information required by subdivision
(a) and that is accompanied by the appropriate fee.
(c) (1) On or before December 31, 2014, upon issuance of a license
to a junk dealer or recycler, or renewal of such a license, the
department shall make a thorough investigation of all of the
information contained in the application within 90 days. If the
license is issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2015, the
department shall make a thorough investigation of all the information
contained in the application within 90 days for a new license, and
within one calendar year for a renewal of a license.
(2) Notwithstanding Section 12708, if the department determines
that the information submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) is
materially inaccurate, the department shall revoke the license issued
to a junk dealer or recycler unless the junk dealer or recycler
complies with the requirements of subdivision (a) within 14 days of
notice from the department of a proposed revocation pursuant to this
subdivision.
(3) A junk dealer or recycler whose license has been revoked
pursuant to this subdivision is entitled to a hearing conducted
pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
(d) The secretary may enter into a cooperative agreement with any
county sealer to carry out the provisions of this section.
(e) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2019, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 3. Section 21608.7 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
21608.7. (a) A junk dealer or recycler
shall request to receive theft alert notifications regarding the
theft of commodity metals, including, but not limited to, ferrous
metal, copper, brass, aluminum, nickel, stainless steel, and alloys,
in the junk dealer's or recycler's geographic region from the theft
alert system maintained by the Institute of Scrap Recycling
Industries, Inc., or its successor.
(b) The requirement in subdivision (a) does not apply if the
institute or its successor requires payment for use of the theft
alert system.
SEC. 4. Article 6 (commencing with Section 11199.5) is added to
Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part 4 of the Penal Code, to read:
Article 6. Reports of Metal Theft
11199.5. Local law enforcement agencies are encouraged to report
thefts of commodity metals, including, but not limited to, ferrous
metal, copper, brass, aluminum, nickel, stainless steel, and alloys,
that have occurred within their jurisdiction to the theft alert
system maintained by the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries,
Inc., or its successor, in order to ensure that persons using that
system receive timely and thorough information regarding metal
thefts. The institute or its successor shall not require
payment for the use of the theft alert system by law enforcement
agencies or members of the public, and shall not sell
subscribers' information received pursuant to this section to third
parties.