BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 918|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 918
Author: Adams (R)
Amended: 6/22/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE : 4-0, 6/16/10
AYES: Aanestad, Kehoe, DeSaulnier, Price
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 4/30/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Salvageable personal property: collection
boxes
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the front of an unattended
collection box used for soliciting or collecting donations
of personal property to conspicuously display specified
information about itself on the exterior of all such
collection boxes.
ANALYSIS : The California Constitution allows cities and
counties to adopt local police, sanitary, and other
ordinances that don't conflict with the state's general
laws. Using this police power to regulate private behavior
to achieve public goals, cities and counties can adopt
zoning ordinances. Some local zoning ordinances require
property owners to obtain use permits for certain land
uses.
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State laws and local ordinances define crimes, felonies,
misdemeanors, infractions, that are subject to graduated
penalties.
For 50 years, state law has regulated how organizations
solicit and sell "salvageable personal property" by
telephone, by advertising, or by placing boxes on public
property or abutting public sidewalks, streets, or in
businesses open to the public. These organizations must
keep separate accounts and books. Violating this state law
is a misdemeanor. State law recognizes that it doesn't
limit cities and counties from imposing additional
requirements on soliciting and selling salvageable personal
property (SB 928, McBride, 1959).
This bill requires the front of every unattended collection
box to display the name, address, telephone number, and
Internet Web address of the collection box's owner and
operator, plus a statement in two-inch type that the
collection box is owned by either a for-profit or a
nonprofit organization. This bill defines its terms and
classifies a commercial fundraiser as a for-profit
organization. If a nonprofit organization owns the
collection box, the box's front must also display a
statement describing the charitable cause that will benefit
from the donations.
This bill states that it does not supersede or limit the
State Department of Justice's authority over charitable
fundraising or affect the authority of cities and counties
to regulate, monitor, or prohibit collection boxes.
Comments
Charitable organizations collect salvageable property such
as clothes, books, and furniture for resale and
distribution to the poor. Some of these organizations
operate from storefronts, while others collect goods from
unattended collection boxes. Some for-profit firms also
have drop boxes which can be indistinguishable from those
owned by charitable organizations. Donors may not know if
their property is going to a charity or to a for-profit
company. Some charitable organizations want legislators to
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require the owners of unattended collection boxes to inform
donors about where their donations go.
Prior Legislation
AB 2610 (Davis, 2008) tackled the problems posed by
unattended collection boxes with a combination of state
standards, local enforcement, and defined penalties. The
Senate Local Government Committee initially defeated the
2008 Davis bill on a 2-3 vote, reconsidered, and passed the
bill on a 3-2 vote. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the
bill, saying that it was not a priority.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/22/10)
California Association of Nonprofits
City of Sacramento
Council of California Goodwill Industries
Planet Aid
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, DeVore, Duvall,
Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,
Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, Niello,
Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Solorio,
Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico,
Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Carter, De Leon, Miller, Nestande, Smyth
AGB:nl 6/24/10 Senate Floor Analyses
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SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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