BILL ANALYSIS
AB 237
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 14, 2009
Counsel: Nicole J. Hanson
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Jose Solorio, Chair
AB 237 (Carter) - As Introduced: February 6, 2009
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Authorizes a member of a city police department, or a
member of a county's sheriff's office, whose primary
responsibility is to conduct theft investigations to stop a
vehicle transporting metal products and inspect certain
documents to determine whether the driver is in legal possession
of the load; and upon reasonable belief that the driver of the
vehicle is not in legal possession, to take custody of the
vehicle and load; and imposes duties on the sheriff with respect
to the care and safekeeping of those products. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Includes metal products to the list of items the CHP may stop
a vehicle for and inspect the bills of lading, shipping or
delivery papers, or other evidence to determine whether the
driver is in legal possession of the load, and, upon
reasonable belief that the driver of the vehicle is not in
legal possession, shall take custody of the vehicle and load
and turn them over to the custody of the sheriff of the county
in which the products of those loads, is apprehended.
2)Provides that the sheriff shall receive and provide for the
care and safekeeping of the apprehended meal products of those
loads and, immediately, in cooperation with the department, a
city police department, or the district attorney's office,
proceed with an investigation and legal disposition.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Allows a member of the CHP to stop any vehicle transporting
any timber products, livestock, poultry, farm produce, crude
oil, petroleum products, or inedible kitchen grease, and
inspect the bills of lading, shipping or delivery papers, or
other evidence to determine whether the driver is in legal
possession of the load, and, upon reasonable belief that the
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driver of the vehicle is not in legal possession, shall take
custody of the vehicle and load and turn them over to the
custody of the sheriff of the county in which the timber
products, livestock, poultry, farm produce, crude oil,
petroleum products, or inedible kitchen grease, or any part
thereof, is apprehended. [Vehicle Code Section 2810(a).]
2)States that the sheriff shall receive and provide for the care
and safekeeping of the apprehended timber products, livestock,
poultry, farm produce, crude oil, petroleum products, or
inedible kitchen grease, or any part thereof, and immediately,
in cooperation with the department, proceed with an
investigation and its legal disposition. [Vehicle Code
Section 2810(b).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "With the
prevalence of metal thefts from large construction sites,
public utility yards, farms, ranches, schools, etc., it would
aid law enforcement to curtail the rampant metal thefts by
being allowed to inspect certain loads for metal, in the
furtherance of their investigations. Metal theft is one of
the fastest growing crimes in the state and country. The
recent rise in scrap metal values has made the theft and sale
of these materials increasingly profitable.
"AB 237 amends CVC 2810 to expand statutory authority to inspect
loads for theft without a warrant or probable cause to a
member of the county sheriff's office, a city police
department, or a district attorney investigator whose primary
responsibility is to conduct theft investigations, applicable
with regard to a vehicle that is transporting metal products."
2)Metal Theft in California: The problem of metal theft has
been well documented throughout the state. Last year, the New
York Times reported:
"Theft of scrap metal, mostly copper, has vexed many areas of
American life and industry for the last 18 months, fueled
largely by record-level prices for copper resulting from a
building boom in Asia. Common in developing counties, metal
theft is now committed in nearly every state, largely by
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methamphetamine users who hock the metal to buy drugs, the
authorities say.
"Thieves have stripped the wires out of phone lines, pulled
plaques off cemetery plots, raided air-conditioning systems in
schools and yanked catalytic converters from cars, all to be
resold to scrap metal recyclers.
"But perhaps no group has been as been as consistently singled
out as California farmers, who provide roughly half of the
nation's fruits and vegetables. Irrigation systems, a
treasure trove of copper, tend to be in remote places, out of
the eyes of farmers and, until recently, law enforcement.
" 'This is the No. 1 crime affecting farmers and ranchers
right now,' said Bill Yoshimoto, an assistant district
attorney in the agriculturally rich Tulare County in the
Central Valley.
" 'Virtually every farmer in the Central Valley has been hit,'
Mr. Yoshimoto said. 'But some have been hit far beyond the
value of the metal. For the farmer to replace the pump is
anywhere between $3,000 to $10,000, and then there is
downtime, and loss to crops.'
"Some sheriff's departments in agricultural counties have
rural crime units that investigate metal crimes almost
exclusively these days, setting up sting operations in
recycling shops and tagging copper bait with electronic
tracking devices.
"Metal theft from California farmers rose 400 percent in 2006
over the previous year, according to the Agricultural Crime
Technology Information and Operations Network, a regional law
enforcement group headed by Mr. Yoshimoto. The numbers this
year are equally high. Through the end of June, there were
nearly 1,000 incidents of scrap metal theft on farms, causing
more than $2 billion in losses, the group's figures show.
"'Here in Kern County, there were 213 incidents of copper
theft, the greatest number in the state. They go out and take
a farm pump in the middle of nowhere,' said Sgt. Walt Reed,
head of county's rural crime task force. 'And they can pull
the copper wire strands from the electrical wire box and get
60 feet of wire, remove the insulation and take it to the
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scrap yard for $2 to $3 a pound.'
"Alan Scroggs, an almond farm manager in Wasco, knows the
story only too well. Over the course of three months this
spring, his irrigation system was raided five times by copper
thieves; his well was hit twice, and the booster system that
helps pump the water underground to irrigate the almond trees
three times.
"Copper thieves cut the wires in the conduit that runs to the
power source, tie the wires to the back of a pickup truck and
drive away, pulling the wire behind them and generally making
off with roughly 75 pounds of scrap metal.
" 'When the sheriff's department came out here for the third
time,' Mr. Scroggs said, 'they said, "I can't believe I am
here again." '
" 'Over the last 18 months, copper prices have hovered over
$3.50 a pound, hitting $4 at one point, the highest price the
metal has reached in recent memory,' said Patrick Chidley, a
mining and metals analyst at Barnard Jacobs Mellet in
Stamford, Conn. By comparison, copper fetched 65 cents a
pound in 2001.
" 'It is really the law of supply and demand,' Mr. Chidley
said. 'You have a lot of demand in China, where there is a
big infrastructure build-out. Every building, every car,
every motor, every wind turbine needs copper, and there are
not enough mines out there to keep up.'
"From Hawaii, where an accused copper thief is about to go on
trial for felony theft charges, to Maryland, where a
41-year-old man was electrocuted recently after trying to cut
through a high-voltage line in an abandoned discount store,
stolen metals have filled a market void. This summer in
Oakland, Calif., a memorial to 25 people who were killed
nearly 16 years ago in a fire was stripped of stainless steel
memorial plaques, and metal scavengers were suspected.
"California farmers have faced millions of dollars in losses.
A bill sponsored by Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, Republican of
Modesto, would have made it harder to steal copper, by making
recyclers pay by check - which can be tracked - and photograph
the sellers. But that bill failed, so counties are pursuing
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local ordinances.
"Farmers say a statewide law would be more useful, however, as
many copper thieves work their way from the north through the
Central Valley, often ending their journey in Long Beach,
south of Los Angeles, where they sell to recyclers who quickly
get the metals to the port.
" 'We deal with mother nature and farm out in the open,' said
Mike Young, who lost the alfalfa crops here. 'So it's not
easy. This copper theft is an epidemic.' (Steinhauer,
Unusual Culprits Cripple Farms in California, N.Y. Times,
(Jul. 1, 2007) [as of Apr. 2,
2009].)
"Metal theft has not been confined to farms and rural areas.
The Monterey County Herald reports:
"Demand for copper, brass, platinum, stainless steel and other
valuable metals has turned the underside of cars, abandoned
buildings, farms, freeways and industrial yards into gold
mines for thieves.
" 'It's an easy way to make a quick buck,' said sheriff's
detective Matt Davis. 'Everybody is stealing.'
" 'On Monday, deputies found three men stripping almost 900
feet of copper cable, which appeared to have been stolen from
an industrial yard. They could have sold the copper for about
$6,500,' Davis said.
" 'It's happening all over the state,' he said. . . .
" . . . Robert Gomez, manager of a Salinas auto shop, said
recently he welded a catalytic converter back onto a truck
after thieves tried to remove it. Other shops report making
similar repairs for customers.
"Gomez said catalytic converters are hot items for thieves
because they have valuable metals and are easy to get to.
" 'They can just slide right under (a car) and get to it,' he
said. 'The value is the stuff inside.'
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" 'A stolen converter can be sold for about $100 for the metal
it contains. But the owner of the vehicle may have to spend
up to $500 to replace it,' Gomez said. . . .
" . . . In Southern California, thieves have made off with
guardrails and road signs on freeways, according to the state
Department of Transportation.
"In Contra Costa County, suspected metal thieves are believed
to have caused a toxic spill after they took brass fittings
from tanks at a chemical plant in Richmond.
"Last week at a ballpark in Ventura, thieves stripped wires
from an electrical vault, damaging lights used for Little
League games.
"Jeff Smith, a spokesman for Pacific Gas & Electric Co., said
theft of electrical wire is costly and thieves risk
electrocution, even when the power has been shut off.
" 'During the first six months of 2007, PG&E lost more than
$800,000 worth of copper cable to thievery at service yards,
power plants and utility connections in Northern California,'
Smith said.
" 'Like anything else, when the market value goes up, it
becomes a target,' Smith said. 'It's become increasingly more
serious every year.' " [Lopez, Metal Marauders on Loose,
Monterey County Herald, (May 10, 2008) p. B1.]
3)Argument in Support : According to Alameda County Sheriff,
Gregory J. Ahern; Amador County Sheriff, Martin A. Ryan;
Butte County Sheriff, Perry L. Reniff; Contra Costa County
Sheriff, Warren E. Rupf; Mariposa County Sheriff, Brian
Muller; San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department (the
sponsor of this bill); Shasta County Sheriff, Tom Bosenko;
Tuolumne County Undersheriff, Keith Lunney; Ventura County
Sheriff, Bob Brooks; and Yolo County Sheriff, E.G. Prieto ,
"With the prevalence of metal thefts from large construction
sites, public utility yards, farms, ranches, schools, etc., it
would aid law enforcement to curtail the rampant metal thefts
by being allowed to inspect certain loads for metal, in the
furtherance of their investigations. Metal theft is one of
the fastest growing crimes in the state and county. The
recent rise in scrap metal values has made the theft and sale
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of these materials increasingly profitable.
"AB 237 amends CVC 2810 to expand statutory authority to inspect
loads for theft without a warrant or probable cause to a
member of the county sheriff's office, a city police
department, or a district attorney investigator whose primary
responsibility is to conduct theft investigations, applicable
with regard to a vehicle that is transporting metal products."
4)Prior Legislation :
a) SB 447 (Maldonado), Chapter 732, Statutes of 2009,
assists local law enforcement officials in quickly
investigating stolen metal and apprehending thieves by
requiring scrap metal dealers and recyclers to report what
materials are being scraped at their facilities and by whom
on a daily basis. These rules already apply to pawn shop
dealers.
b) SB 691 (Calderon), Chapter 720, Statutes of 2009,
requires junk dealers and recyclers to take thumbprints of
individuals selling copper, copper alloys, aluminum and
stainless steel. Sellers must also show a government
identification (ID) and proof of their current address.
Recyclers who violate the law face suspension or revocation
of their business license and increased fines and jail
time.
c) AB 844 (Berryhill), Chapter 731, Statutes of 2009,
requires recyclers to hold payment for three days, check a
photo ID and take a thumbprint of anyone selling scrap
metals. AB 844 also requires any person convicted of metal
theft to pay restitution for the materials stolen and for
any collateral damage caused during the theft.
d) AB 1778 (Ma), Chapter 733, Statutes of 2009, requires
recyclers to obtain identifying information of individuals
who bring in more than $50 worth of CRV recyclables and
newspapers. AB 1778 also requires that payments of $50 or
more be made by check.
e) AB 1859 (Adams), Chapter 659, Statutes of 2009, creates
a fine of not more than $3,000 for any person who knowingly
receives any part of a fire hydrant, including bronze or
brass fittings and parts.
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f) AB 2724 (Benoit), of the 2007-08 Legislative Session,
required any person convicted of grand theft involving the
theft of wire, cable, copper, lead, solder, mercury, iron
or brass of a kind ordinarily used by, or that ordinarily
belongs to a railroad or other transportation, telephone,
telegraph, gas, water, or electric light company or county,
city, city and county, or other political subdivision of
this state engaged in furnishing public utility service, or
farm, ranch or industrial facility or other commercial or
residential building, to pay a fine of $100 for a first
offense and $200 for any subsequent offense. AB 2724 failed
passage in the Senate Committee on Public Safety.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
San Bernardino County Sheriff's
Department (Sponsor)
Alameda County Sheriff
Amador County Sheriff
Butte County Sheriff
California Farm Bureau Federation
California State Association of Counties
California State Sheriffs Association
Contra Costa County Sheriff
Mariposa County Sheriff
Shasta County Sheriff
Tuolumne County Undersheriff
Ventura County Sheriff
Yolo County Sheriff
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Nicole J. Hanson / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744