Amended in Senate May 1, 2013

Amended in Senate April 1, 2013

Senate BillNo. 450


Introduced by Senator Galgiani

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Olsen)

February 21, 2013


An act to add Section 152.5 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to personal property.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 450, as amended, Galgiani. Unattended collection boxes.

Existing law regulates the placement of unattended collection boxes and requires specified information, including the name, address, and telephone number of the collection box owner and operator, to be displayed on the front of each collection box. Existing lawbegin delete also requires a person or public or private entity that finds and takes possession of any personal property of another to inform the owner, if known, and return itend deletebegin insert authorizes a city, county, or city and county to declare a collection box that is in violation of these provisions a public nuisance and to abate the nuisanceend insert.

This bill would authorize a city or countybegin delete to provide, by ordinance or resolution, immunity from civil liability to an owner of private property, or his or her authorized agent, when the owner or agent removes a collection box placed on the owner’s property if the ordinance or resolution includes specified provisions, including the requirement that the owner or agentend deletebegin insert that has adopted a local ordinance regulating or permitting the placement of unattended collection boxes, as specified, to impose a charge on the owner or operator of a collection box that is in violation of the ordinance for the reasonable costs of its removal and storage if the county or city removes the collection box under the local ordinance. The bill would end insertbegin insertrequire the city or county toend insert send a written notice of removalbegin insert and chargeend insert to the address displayed on the collection boxbegin insert 5 daysend insert prior to removal. The bill would begin deletealso require that the ordinance or resolution include a provision that immunity from civil liability will not be granted to an owner of private property, or his or her authorized agent, who removes the collection box when he or she has given written consent for the collection box to be placed on the property and the consent has not been rescinded, as specified, and a provision that an owner of private property, or his or her authorized agent, who causes the removal of a collection box, or otherwise disposes of it, despite valid written consent from the property owner at the time of removal, is civilly liable to the owner or operator of the collection box for the greater of 4 times the amount of the towing and storage charges or $1,000, unless removal is necessary to comply with local zoning ordinances. end deletebegin insert authorize the city or county to sell or dispose of the collection box and its contents if the collection box owner or operator does not pay the charge.end insert

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

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 152.5 is added to the Welfare and
2Institutions Code
, to read:

begin delete
3

152.5.  

Notwithstanding Section 2080 of the Civil Code, a city,
4county, or city and county may, by ordinance or resolution, provide
5immunity from civil liability to an owner of private property, or
6his or her authorized agent, who removes a collection box placed
7on the owner’s private property if the ordinance or resolution
8includes all of the following provisions:

X
end delete
9begin insert

begin insert152.5.end insert  

end insert
begin insert

(a) A city or county that has adopted a local ordinance
10regulating or permitting the placement of unattended collection
11boxes, which includes a provision that authorizes the city or county
12to remove a collection box that is in violation of the ordinance,
13shall impose a charge on the owner or operator of the collection
14box for the reasonable costs of its removal and storage if the county
15or city removes the collection box pursuant to the local ordinance.

end insert
begin delete

16(a) An owner of private property, or his or her authorized agent,
17who

end delete

P3    1begin insert(b)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertA city or county thatend insert causes the removal of a collection box
2shall send a written notice of removalbegin insert and chargeend insert to the address
3that is conspicuously displayed on the front of every collection
4box pursuant to Section 151. That notice shall be mailed five days
5prior to removal and include the current location of the box. This
6subdivision shall not apply if no address appears on the front of
7the collection box.

begin delete

8(b) Except as provided in subdivision (c), an owner of private
9property, or his or her authorized agent, shall not have immunity
10from civil liability if he or she has given written consent for the
11collection box to be placed on the private property.

12(c)  An owner of private property, or his or her authorized agent,
13who has given written consent for the placement of a collection
14box on the owner’s private property, may rescind his or her consent
15by providing written notice of the rescission to the collection box
16owner or operator. For purposes of this subdivision, consent shall
17be deemed rescinded 10 calendar days after the owner of private
18property mails a written notice of rescission, via certified mail to
19the address displayed on the collection box pursuant to Section
20151.

21(d) (1) An owner of private property, or his or her authorized
22agent, who causes the removal of a collection box to a storage
23facility, or otherwise disposes of a collection box, despite valid
24written consent from the property owner at the time of removal,
25shall be civilly liable to the owner or operator of the collection
26box for four times the amount of the towing and storage charges,
27or one thousand dollars ($1,000), whichever is greater.

28(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to make a person liable for
29removal of a collection box where removal is necessary to comply
30with enforcement of applicable permitting, zoning, or other local
31ordinances.

end delete
begin insert

32(c) If the owner or operator of the collection box does not pay
33the reasonable costs of removal and storage to the city or county,
34the city or county may sell the collection box and its contents or
35dispose of it in any other manner.

end insert


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