BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2805
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Bill Dodd, Chair
AB 2805
(Olsen) - As Amended March 17, 2016
SUBJECT: Cargo theft: prevention program.
SUMMARY: This bill allows specified counties to enter into an
agreement to form the California Agriculture Cargo Theft Crime
Prevention Program (CACTCPP), which would be administered by the
county sheriff's department of each participating county under a
joint powers agreement (JPA). Specifically, this bill:
1)Makes legislative finding and declarations regarding an
increase in cargo theft, monetary impacts of cargo theft and
the need for a proactive response to cargo theft.
2)Allows the following counties: Butte, Colusa, Fresno, Glenn,
Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Merced, Sacramento, San
Benito, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Yolo,
and Yuba, to form the CACTCPP.
a) Requires CACTCPP to be operated jointly by the county
sheriff's department of each participating county as a JPA.
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3)Requires counties that form CACTCPP to operate a task force
known as the California Agriculture Cargo Theft Crime
Prevention Task Force (Task Force).
a) Allows the Task Force member to include representatives
from the respective counties Agriculture Commissioner, the
district attorney, and sheriffs, and, interested property
owners and associations.
b) Requires the Task Force to develop crime control
techniques, encourage timely reporting of crime and
evaluate the work of the Task Force.
c) Allows the Task Force to operate a joint operation
center.
d) Allows the Task Force to work with the United States
(US) military, US Justice Department, other law enforcement
organizations and state or private organizations needed to
help the CACTCPP.
e) Allows the Task Force to solicit community and media
support to further CACTCPP.
f) Requires participating counties to adopt rules and
regulation for implanting and administering CACTCPP.
4)Allows CACTCPP to develop crime prevention programs, computer
software and communication technology, as specified, to
further the goals of the Task Force.
5)Allows the Task Force and participating counties to develop
uniform procedures to collect data on agriculture cargo theft
and create a database to track agriculture cargo theft.
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EXISTING LAW:
1)Creates the Motor Carriers Safety Improvement Fund to cover
the costs for the Department of the California Highway Patrol
to deter commercial motor vehicle cargo, as specified.
2)Creates the Cargo Theft Interdiction Program to combat the
ever increasing cargo theft problem.
3)Creates the Rural Crime Prevention Program to enhance crime
prevention efforts by establishing programs to strengthen law
enforcement agencies in rural areas to detect and monitor
agricultural and rural based crimes.
4)Allows for the formation of a JPA for the purpose of two or
more public agencies, by agreement, to jointly exercise any
power common to the contracting parties.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS: California has seen an increase in incidents of
agricultural cargo theft in recent years. According to
CargoNet, California experienced 158 cargo theft incidents in
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2015, costing businesses over $18.7 million. Between 2012 and
2015 food and beverage cargos accounted for roughly 28% of cargo
theft in California. These losses are spread across all sectors
of our economy including agriculture, retail, and technology.
Organized crime has been responsible for many of these thefts,
and law enforcement officials believe organized criminal
enterprises might be diverting some of the nut cargo to the
export market. However, local law enforcement agencies have
been unable to adequately respond due to a lack of resources and
the inability to coordinate statewide. According to the author,
California needs a proactive solution that will aid law
enforcement, protect businesses, and deter future theft.
According to supporters, the tree nut industry has reported 30
separate incidents of cargo theft in the last six months.
Millions of dollars in almonds, walnuts, cashews and pistachios
have been stolen via thieves, posing as legitimate truck
drivers, creating fraudulent paperwork and picking up cargo.
The industry has responded by fingerprinting truckers who come
in to pick up loads and sometimes photographing big rig drivers.
Processors also are checking truck vehicle identification
numbers and calling to verify information. Others are adopting
high-tech solutions, such as radio-frequency identification tags
to track cargo loads. Supporters say a proactive statewide task
force on cargo theft will help lower the number of thefts.
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To address this issue, AB 2805 will create CACTCPP.
Participating counties will create a task force comprising of
members from each county office of the district attorney,
sheriff, agricultural commissioner, and interested property
owner groups or associations. The task force will be modeled
after the Rural Crime Prevention Task Force. At this time there
is no proposed funding for AB 2805.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Agricultural Council of California
California Farm Bureau Federation
Western Agriculture Processers Association
Western Growers Association
Opposition
AB 2805
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None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Victor Francovich / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084