BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1182
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
1182 (Santiago)
As Amended September 3, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |79-0 |(June 1, 2015 |SENATE: | 40-0 |(September 8, |
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Original Committee Reference: B. & P.
SUMMARY: Narrows the current definition of tangible personal
property, as specified, and requires the Department of Justice
(DOJ) to annually update the list of items which represent a
significant class of stolen goods, beginning January 1, 2016,
and post it on its Web site, and makes other technical and
clarifying amendments. Specifically, this bill:
1)Revises and narrows the definition of "tangible personal
property" to include tangible personal property that the
attorney general (AG) statistically determines through the
most recent DOJ "Crime in California" report to constitute a
significant class of stolen goods, instead of the AG utilizing
crime reports to determine the list of stolen goods.
2)Requires, beginning January 1, 2016, the AG to publish and
post on its Web site the list of a significant class of stolen
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goods and update the list annually.
3)Defines "significant class of stolen goods" to mean those
items determined through the DOJs annual "Crime in California"
report to constitute more than 10 % of property reported
stolen in the calendar year preceding the annual posting of
the list of significant classes of stolen goods.
4)Requires a secondhand dealer to verify the identification of
the seller or pledger for each transaction, not for each item
that must be reported.
The Senate amendments delete the provision which authorized a
law enforcement agency to utilize its own list of significant
stolen property until the DOJ provides the first annual update
to its list; revises the definition of "tangible personal
property" to mean "tangible personal property' that the AG
determines through the most recent DOJ "Crime in California"
report to constitute a significant class of stolen goods;
requires the DOJ to update this list annually beginning January
1, 2016; defines "significant class of stolen goods;" and,
clarifies that a secondhand dealer must verify the
identification of the seller or pledger for each transaction,
not for each item that must be reported.
EXISTING LAW:
1)States that "tangible personal property" includes, but is not
limited to, all secondhand tangible personal property which
bears a serial number or personalized initials or inscription,
or which at the time it is acquired by the secondhand dealer,
bears evidence of having had a serial number or personalized
initials or inscription. (Business and Professions Code
(BPC) Section 21627(a))
2)States that tangible personal property also includes, but is
not limited to, the following: (BPC Section 21627(b))
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a) All tangible personal property, new or used, including
motor vehicles, received in pledge as security for a loan
by a pawnbroker;
b) All tangible personal property that bears a serial
number or personalized initials or inscription which is
purchased by a secondhand dealer or a pawnbroker or which,
at the time of such purchase, bears evidence of having had
a serial number or personalized initials or inscription;
and,
c) All personal property commonly sold by secondhand
dealers which statistically is found through crime reports
to the DOJ to constitute a significant class of stolen
goods. A list of such personal property shall be supplied
by the DOJ to all local law enforcement agencies. The list
shall be reviewed periodically by the DOJ to insure that it
addresses current problems with stolen goods.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the California Association
of Resellers, ReUsers and Buyers. According to the author, "?
with the passage of AB 391[(Pan) Chapter, 172, Statutes of
2012], secondhand dealers (who do not sell serialized goods or
goods which are statistically found through crime reports to the
[DOJ] to constitute a significant class of stolen goods to be
licensed as a secondhand dealer) will now need to take the name
and current address of the intended seller of the property, take
the identification of the intended seller or pledger and a
legible fingerprint from the intended seller, to report daily,
and to retain for 30 days all tangible personal property
reported.
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"As outlined, California law imposes all of the above-mentioned
regulatory requirements on every secondhand dealer, regardless
of how large the number of identical items or how low the value
of each item bought and sold. As written, separate individual
reports will need to be made for every used book, every old
doorknob, every piece of colored glass, every old name badge or
game piece (amongst thousands of other items) sold within the
State of California. There is also no consideration made for
items that have been gathered over the past several decades for
which re-sellers would be unable to locate the initial owners
(for purposes of gaining their information, fingerprints, and
identification)? With this in mind, [this bill] seeks to clarify
existing law, provide law enforcement useful data they need in
order to curtail the dissemination of stolen property and to
facilitate the recovery of such property, and remove an
unnecessary burden on secondhand dealers."
Background. This bill seeks to revise the definition of
"tangible personal property" by narrowing the list of items
which are considered to be "tangible personal property." By
narrowing the definition, this bill will limit the category of
secondhand items that need to be reported to local law
enforcement on a daily basis. Currently, "tangible personal
property" is defined as those items referenced in BPC Section
21627(b), but current law does not restrict the definition to
only those items listed. This bill will revise the definition
by specifying that "tangible personal property" only includes
the items that are listed under BPC Section 21627(b), such as
items that bear a serial number and all personal property
commonly sold by secondhand dealers which are found through the
DOJ's "Crime in California" report that constitute a significant
class of stolen goods. This bill does not alter the reporting
requirements for secondhand dealers if they acquire an item that
would meet the revised definition of tangible person property,
but specifies that the secondhand dealer must verify the
identification of the seller for each transaction, not each
item.
Secondhand Dealer Transactions and Reporting Requirements.
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Under current law, secondhand dealers are required to report
daily or on the first working day after the receipt or purchase
of secondhand personal property on forms or through the
electronic database (once completely functional), all of the
secondhand tangible personal property which has been purchased,
taken in trade, taken in pawn, or accepted for sale or
consignment. As noted by the author, because the definition of
personal tangible property is so broad, the secondhand dealers
feel compelled to report all secondhand transition items, even
those which may be of minor material value such as door knobs,
used books or old game pieces.
DOJ List. The intent of narrowing the definition of "tangible
personal property" is to limit the number of secondhand
transactions that must be reported by secondhand dealers to
those which are of significance for crime tracking purposes. As
noted, the definition of "tangible personal property" includes
all personal property that bears a serial number or personalized
initials or inscription and those items found on a list compiled
by the DOJ. Currently, BPC Section 21627(3) requires the DOJ to
provide its list of personal property which statistically is
found through crime reports to constitute a significant class of
stolen goods to local law enforcement. Depending on the size,
type, and number of items reported on the list as determined by
the DOJ, it could significantly expand or reduce those items
which are considered "tangible personal property." Currently,
there are only two items on the DOJ's Secondhand Dealer Report
including: jewelry and sterling silverware. This limited list
means that the definition of "tangible personal property" will
only include those two items along with anything that has a
serial number. This bill will require the DOJ to produce a list
of a significant class of stolen goods, based on the DOJ's
"Crime in California" report, which must be updated annually.
Analysis Prepared by:
Elissa Silva / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301 FN:
0002219
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