BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2307|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2307
Author: Chau (D)
Amended: 4/11/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEV. COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/20/16
AYES: Hill, Bates, Block, Gaines, Galgiani, Hernandez,
Jackson, Mendoza, Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/12/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Weights and measures: reporting fraud
SOURCE: California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers
Association
DIGEST: This bill establishes a uniform reporting protocol for
service agents that discover a device that facilitates fraud
found during their repair of a weighing and measuring device.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1) Establishes the office of the county sealer in California's
58 counties and authorizes the sealer to prosecute violations
of laws relating to weights and measures. (Business and
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Page 2
Professions Code (BPC) § 1201; 12015; and 12200; et seq.)
2) Requires that service agents, who act as agents of county
sealers, be registered by the Secretary of Food and
Agriculture. (BPC § 12532(a))
3) Specifies that a device may only be placed into service by a
county sealer or a service agent. (BPC § 12532(d))
4) Specifies that a person who repairs a device is not required
to be registered with the Secretary of Food and Agriculture
as long as the device is placed into service following a
repair by a sealer or registered service agent or registered
service agency. (BPC 12532(e))
This bill:
1) Requires a county sealer who receives information or evidence
indicating that any weighing or measuring device, parking
meter, or other installation under the county sealer's
jurisdiction has been altered in such a way to facilitate any
type of fraud, to coordinate with the appropriate law
enforcement authorities as needed in investigating and
prosecuting the fraudulent activity.
2) Requires a service agency or service agent to report to the
county sealer, within 24 hours, if a measuring device has
been altered in such a way as to facilitate fraud.
3) Requires that if a service agency or service agent has
possession of the device or any mechanism, component,
software, or other device attached to or used in conjunction
with a device that serves to facilitate fraud, then the
service agency or service agent must surrender the device,
mechanism, component, software, or other device to the county
sealer or local law enforcement within 24 hours of
discovering that the measuring device has been altered.
Background
Fraud within Weighing and Measuring Devices. In the course of
fixing a pump, service agents have been encountering the
growing problem of credit card skimmers, devices that can be
created using various electronic parts purchased at stores. The
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devices are inserted into a gas pump where they collect
information from the credit cards being used, including PIN
numbers and security codes. The information is then either
collected later by the individual themselves or is transmitted
wirelessly to a computer where it can be collected and then used
to commit fraud.
Unlike retail stores which typically have cashiers at
point-of-sale who can readily monitor the security of the cash
registers and credit card swiping machines, gas stations
typically have self-service pumps. The cashiers who work inside
of gas station convenience stores simply cannot easily monitor
gas pumps throughout the day to prevent tampering by
individuals. Gas pumps are also an easy target for individuals
because the oil industry received a two-year extension to
October 2017 to comply with new federal regulations that began
requiring all other retailers to install chip enabled credit
card machines by October 2015.
Across the country, individuals are utilizing these devices to
steal money from unsuspecting victims using gas pumps, ATMs, or
other credit card vending machines. Other states hit hard by
this type of fraud include Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio,
Michigan, and Wisconsin.
California has started to see a rise in this type of fraud as
well. In 2015, inspections conducted at 33 gas stations in Los
Angeles and Ventura Counties conducted by personnel from the Los
Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner's office, numerous
federal and local law enforcement agencies, an energy
corporation and a financial services corporation found 10 credit
card skimmers located at eight gas stations.
There is currently no uniform process for dealing with these
devices when they are discovered by a service agent in
California. The author's office underscores that, "Reports from
county sealers throughout California indicate that service
agents often dispose of skimmers into the garbage or hand them
over to gas station attendants instead of reporting the
problem."
AB 2307 will require service agents to report and turn in credit
card skimming devices and other fraudulent mechanisms within 24
hours to their county sealer, or law enforcement.
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FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified8/2/16)
California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association
(source)
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/2/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The California Agricultural
Commissioners and Sealers Association (sponsor) writes that, "AB
2307 will establish a uniform reporting protocol for service
agents alerted to the presence of a credit card skimming device
or who discover a suspicious device during the course of a
repair of a weighing and measuring device. The bill would
direct the service agent to report, to their local county
sealer, any weighing or measuring device that has been altered
in such a way as to facilitate any type of fraud within 24
hours."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/12/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Calderon,
Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
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Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Burke, Jones-Sawyer
Prepared by:Mark Mendoza / B., P. & E.D. / (916) 651-4104
8/3/16 19:00:46
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