BILL ANALYSIS
SB 24
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 24 (Oropeza)
As Amended September 4, 2009
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE : 36-0
PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 15-0
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|Ayes:|Arambula, Hagman, |Ayes:|De Leon, Nielsen, |
| |Ammiano, Furutani, | |Ammiano, Coto, Davis, |
| |Gilmore, Hill, Ma | |Duvall Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |John A. Perez, Skinner, |
| | | |Solorio, Audra |
| | | |Strickland, Torlakson |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Eliminates the sunset date on cargo theft, a
separately defined form of grand theft, and increases the
monetary threshold for cargo theft to nine hundred fifty dollars
($950).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that every person who steals, takes, or carries away
cargo of another, when the cargo taken is of a value in excess
of $400 is guilty of grand theft.
2)Defines "cargo" as any goods, wares, products, or manufactured
merchandise that has been loaded into a trailer, railcar, or
cargo container, awaiting or in transit.
3)Defines "grand theft" as any theft where the money, labor, or
real or personal property taken is of a value exceeding $400,
or when the property is taken from the person of another.
4)Provides that notwithstanding the value of the property taken,
grand theft is committed in any of the following cases:
a) When domestic fowls, avocados, or other farm crops are
taken of a value exceeding $100;
b) When fish or other aquacultural products are taken from
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a commercial or research operation that is producing that
product of a value exceeding $100;
c) Where money, labor or property is taken by a servant or
employee from his or her principal and aggregates $400 or
more in any consecutive 12-month period; and,
d) When the property is taken from the person of another;
or, when the property taken is, among other things, an
automobile, horse or firearm.
5)Provides that if the grand theft involves the theft of a
firearm, it is punishable by imprisonment in state prison for
16 months, two years or three years. In all other cases,
grand theft is punishable by imprisonment in county jail for
not more than one year or in the state prison for 16 months,
two years or three years.
6)Provides that theft in other cases is petty theft.
7)States that petty theft is punishable by a fine not exceeding
$1,000, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding
six months; or both.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, negligible state costs as cargo theft could be
charged under similar statutes if the cargo theft statute sunset
as currently scheduled. In 2008, only one person was sentenced
to state prison under this section.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "SB 24 will permanently
establish 'cargo' as a category under grand theft for purposes
of accurately tracking the offense at California's ports to
obtain Homeland Security dollars. The Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) estimates that this type of theft costs the
United States $12 billion dollars each year; 42% of the nation's
total container-cargo enters through the Ports of Long Beach and
Los Angeles - California requires a larger portion of federal
security money.
"Before AB 1814 (2004), which set today's standard, when cargo
was stolen from a trailer, rail car, or storage container at the
ports, the crime had no automatic classification. Depending on
the circumstances surrounding the theft the action would be
classified as burglary, robbery, larceny, grand theft, or a
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number other felony charges. This lack of coherency made it
difficult to itemize how much money was being stolen from our
ports. Four years later, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Office has received approximately $6 million for their special
investigative detail, the Cargo Criminal Apprehension Team, or
'Cargo Cats'. Between 2006 and 2008, the 'Cargo Cats' recovered
more than $56 million in theft. Further, this legislation has
been so successful other states have emulated it. The FBI is
even considering tracking cargo theft in its Uniform Crime
Report.
"In short, California's law enforcement needs this bill to
permanently establish cargo theft - not as a new - but as a
separate reportable crime for the purposes of data collection."
Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this
bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
FN: 0002941