BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2805|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 2805
Author: Olsen (R), et al.
Amended: 3/17/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/28/16
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 4/28/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Cargo theft: prevention program
SOURCE: Western Agricultural Processors Association
DIGEST: This bill allows specified counties to enter into an
agreement to form the California Agriculture Cargo Theft Crime
Prevention Program, which would be administered by the county
sheriff's department of each participating county under a joint
powers agreement (JPA).
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Includes 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. (Pen.
Code § 14170.)
2)Includes the Cargo Theft Interdiction Program to combat the
ever increasing cargo theft problem. (Pen. Code § 14170.)
3)Includes the Rural Crime Prevention Program to enhance crime
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prevention efforts by establishing programs to strengthen law
enforcement agencies in rural areas to detect and monitor
agricultural and rural based crimes. (Pen. Code § 14170.)
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. (Pen. Code, §
14170.)
5)Provides that grand theft is theft committed in any of the
following cases: (Pen. Code § 487, subd. (h).)
a) When the money, labor, or real or personal property
taken is of a value exceeding nine hundred fifty dollars
($950).
b) Grand theft is committed in any of the following cases:
i) When domestic fowls, avocados, olives, citrus or
deciduous fruits, other fruits, vegetables, nuts,
artichokes, or other farm crops are taken of a value
exceeding two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
ii) For the purposes of establishing that the value of
domestic fowls, avocados, olives, citrus or deciduous
fruits, other fruits, vegetables, nuts, artichokes, or
other farm crops under this paragraph exceeds two hundred
fifty dollars ($250), that value may be shown by the
presentation of credible evidence which establishes that
on the day of the theft domestic fowls, avocados, olives,
citrus or deciduous fruits, other fruits, vegetables,
nuts, artichokes, or other farm crops of the same variety
and weight exceeded two hundred fifty dollars ($250) in
wholesale value.
iii) When fish, shellfish, mollusks, crustaceans, kelp,
algae, or other aquacultural products are taken from a
commercial or research operation which is producing that
product, of a value exceeding two hundred fifty dollars
($250).
iv) Where the money, labor, or real or personal property
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is taken by a servant, agent, or employee from his or her
principal or employer and aggregates nine hundred fifty
dollars ($950) or more in any 12 consecutive month
period.
v) When the property is taken from the person of
another.
vi) When the property taken is any of the following:
(1) An automobile.
(2) A firearm.
This bill:
1)Permits the counties of Butte, Colusa, Fresno, Glenn, Kern,
Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Merced, Sacramento, San Benito,
San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Yolo, and
Yuba to enter into an agreement to form the California
Agriculture Cargo Theft Crime Prevention Program.
2)Requires the California Agriculture Cargo Theft Crime
Prevention Program to be jointly administered by the county
sheriff's department of each participating county under a
joint powers agreement.
3)Requires the parties to the agreement to form a task force
known as the California Agriculture Cargo Theft Crime
Prevention Task Force.
4)Requires the task force to be an interactive team working
together to develop crime prevention, problem solving, and
crime control techniques, to encourage timely reporting of
crimes, and to evaluate the results of these activities.
5)Permits the task force to operate from a joint facility in
order to facilitate investigative coordination.
6)Allows the task force to develop a uniform procedure for all
participating counties to collect data on agricultural cargo
theft crimes.
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Background
According to the author:
California has seen an increase in incidents of cargo
theft in recent years. According to CargoNet,
California experienced 158 cargo theft incidents in
2015, costing businesses over $18.7 million - more
than any other state. These massive 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 the
scope of crime suggests international actors are at
play. However, local law enforcement agencies have
been unable to adequately respond due to a lack of
resources and the inability to coordinate statewide.
California needs a proactive solution that will aid
local law enforcement officials and protect
businesses. AB 2805 provides a solution to this
ever-growing problem.
As noted in author's statement, cargo theft of all kinds is a
growing problem for a wide range of business, although
agriculture has been hit particularly hard. According to the
Western Agricultural Processors Association (Processors), 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 Processors Association, the
Agricultural Council of California and the Farm Bureau argue
that a proactive, coordinated statewide task force will help
lower the number of thefts. 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.
This bill creates the California Agriculture Cargo Theft Crime
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Prevention Program. 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.
This bill is similar in concept to the California Rural Crime
Prevention Program, which was established by AB 2768
(Poochigian, Chapter 327, Statutes of 1996). The program was
renamed the Central Valley Rural Crime Prevention Program
(CVRCPP) in 2002. A parallel program - the Central Coast Rural
Crime Prevention Program (CCRCPP) - was enacted by SB 44
(Denham, Chapter 18, Statutes of 2003) in 2003. The programs -
including a funding distribution formula for participating
counties - are still in statute.
2014 Budget legislation - AB 1468 (Committee on Budget, Chapter
26, Statutes of 2014) included the following funding sources and
allocations for CVRCPP and CCRCPP in Penal Code 13821,
subdivision (c): " Commencing with the 2013-14 fiscal year, the
Central Valley and Central Coast Rural Crime Prevention
Programs, authorized by Sections 14170 and 14180, shall receive
9.06425605 percent," allocated by county as specified.
The experience of the participants in the CVRCPP and the CCRCPP
could be valuable for participants in implementing the program
created by this bill. Participants could limit mistakes and
emphasize strategies that were successful in those programs.
Further, an agricultural cargo crime prevention program could
perhaps use part of collaborative structure created for the
CVRCPP and CCRCPP.
California law defines cargo theft as a separate form of grand
theft. (Pen. Code § 487h.) The basic elements of the crime are
the same as other forms of grand theft, The only difference is
the kind of property taken.
The cargo theft statute was enacted to allow law enforcement to
separately track the incidence of cargo theft in California.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff sponsored the bill that defined
cargo theft - SB 24 (Oropeza, Chapter 607, Statutes of 2009).
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At the time that SB 24 was enacted, the sponsor noted that
federal funding was available for security at ports, including
to combat cargo theft.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified7/7/16)
Western Agricultural Processors Association (source)
Agricultural Council of California
California Farm Bureau Federation
California State Association of Counties
California State Sheriffs' Association
Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
Western Growers Association
OPPOSITION: (Verified7/7/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 4/28/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Dahle, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey,
Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mayes, McCarty,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,
Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
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Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Daly, Mathis, Olsen
Prepared by:Jerome McGuire / PUB. S. /
7/29/16 12:35:05
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