BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1978|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1978
Author: Galgiani (D), et al.
Amended: 7/3/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 3-1, 6/26/12
AYES: Evans, Corbett, Leno
NOES: Harman
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blakeslee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 71-0, 4/23/12 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Personal property: collection boxes
SOURCE : Goodwill Industries of Sacramento Valley &
Northern
Nevada, Inc.
Goodwill Industries of San Joaquin Valley, Inc.
DIGEST : This bill provides that a person may not place
or maintain a collection box on private property unless the
owner or operator of the collection box first obtains the
written consent of the property owner; provides civil
immunity for owners of property who act reasonably to
remove a collection box placed on the property without
consent, and for tow truck operators who act reasonably in
removing a collection box upon the authorization of the
property owner; and imposes liability on a property owner
or person in lawful possession of private property who
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causes the removal of a collection box despite valid
written consent, as specified. The provisions of this bill
become operative on March 1, 2013.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires the front of every
collection box to conspicuously display both of the
following: (1) the name, address, telephone number, and,
if available, the Internet Web site address of the owner
and operator of the collection box; and (2) a statement
that either reads "this collection box is owned and
operated by a for-profit organization" or "this collection
box is owned and operated by a nonprofit organization."
(Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 151(a))
Existing law requires collection boxes owned by a nonprofit
organization to display a statement describing the
charitable cause that will benefit from the donations and
requires a collection box owned by a for-profit entity to
display a statement that the donation is not tax
deductible. (WIC Section 151(b)-(c))
Existing law authorizes a city, county, or city and county
to have the authority to declare a collection box in
violation of the above provisions to be a public nuisance
and abate the nuisance accordingly. (WIC Section 152)
Existing law provides that nothing in the above provisions
shall be construed to limit or infringe upon the powers of
a city, county, or city and county to impose additional
requirements upon the solicitation and sale of salvageable
personal property. (WIC Section 153)
This bill provides that a person may not place or maintain
a collection box on private property unless the owner or
operator of the collection box first obtains the written
consent of the property owner. An owner may rescind
his/her written consent by providing written notice of the
rescission to the collection box owner or operator. For
purposes of this section, consent shall be deemed rescinded
10 calendar days after the owner of private property
deposits a written notice of rescission in the United
States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the address
displayed on the collection box pursuant to Section 151.
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This bill provides the following civil immunities relating
to the removal of collection boxes:
an owner of property, who acts reasonably, shall not be
civilly liable to a collection box owner or operator for
the removal of a collection box placed on the owner's
property without the owner's written consent;
an owner of property who has rescinded his or her written
consent shall not be civilly liable to the owner or
operator of the collection box if the property owner has
acted reasonably in the removal or disposal of the
collection box; and
a tow truck operator, who acts reasonably, shall not be
civilly liable to a collection box owner or operator for
the removal of a collection box from private property if
the operator first obtains authorization from the
property owner.
This bill further provides that a property owner or person
in lawful possession of private property who causes the
removal of a collection box to a storage facility, or
otherwise disposes of a collection box, despite valid
written consent from the property owner at the time of
removal, shall be civilly liable to the owner or operator
of the collection box for four times the amount of towing
and storage charges, or $1,000, whichever is higher.
This bill provides that the above civil liability will not
apply if removal of a collection box is necessary to comply
with enforcement of applicable permitting, zoning, or other
local ordinances.
This bill further provides a property owner who causes the
removal of a collection box shall send a written notice of
removal to the address that is conspicuously displayed on
the front of every collection box pursuant to Section 151.
That notice shall be mailed within five days of removal and
include the current location of the box. This section
shall not apply fi no address appears on the front of the
collection box. For purposes of this section, a property
owner's agent may provide written consent for the placement
of the collection box pursuant to paragraph (1) of
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subdivision (a) if that consent is consistent with the
authority conferred upon the agent by the property owner in
writing. That agent may also rescind his or her consent
pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
This bill provides that a property owner's agent shall be
considered a property owner for purposes of subdivisions
(b), (c), and (d) provided that the requirements of the
subdivisions are otherwise met.
The provisions of the bill become operative on March 1,
2013.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/8/12)
Goodwill Industries of Sacramento Valley & Northern Nevada,
Inc. (co-source)
Goodwill Industries of San Joaquin Valley, Inc. (co-source)
Browman Development Company, Inc.
California Business Properties Association
California Council of Goodwill Industries
California Retailers Association
California Waste Recovery Systems
Goodwill Industries of Santa Cruz, Monterey & San Luis
Obispo Counties
Goodwill Industries of Southern California
Goodwill Industries of the Greater East Bay
Goodwill Industries of the Redwood Empire
Target
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/8/12)
Arco (San Marcos)
Berry Bros. Towing & Transport, Inc.
California Police Chiefs Association
Campus California
Canyon Medical Alliance (Corona)
Carmel Valley Market (Del Mar)
Carniceria Del Sol (Corona)
Corner House Caf� (San Diego)
Country Store (Chino Hills)
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D.A.R.E.
El Cerrito Liquors (Corona)
Fontana Brake Shop (Fontana)
J.B. New Feed Store (Fontana)
Joint Venture (Fontana)
Kiki's Flowers (Upland)
LK Mini Storage (Fontana)
L&L Market (Upland)
Northern California Recycling Association
Mohsen Oil, Inc. (Oceanside)
Pacific Carwash (Upland)
Planet Aid
Samis lx Market & Liquor (Fontana)
Sizzling Skillets
The Gaia Movement
USAgain, LLC
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "Current
law . . . does not require the owner or operator of an
unattended donation box to obtain the consent of the
property owner to employ their collection box. In
addition, local governments who decide to adopt ordinances
governing unattended donation boxes are restricted by
resources necessary to enforce such an ordinance. In
recent years, we have witnessed a flood of unattended
collection boxes being placed on commercial properties
without any knowledge or permission of property owners.
Not only are these unattended collection boxes a nuisance
and violation of property rights, but they siphon millions
of dollars in donations away from our legitimate local
charities and into the hands of for-profit companies that
share a tiny fraction of the amounts they make with
charitable causes."
Goodwill Industries of Sacramento Valley & Northern Nevada,
in support, similarly notes: "Several local governments
have approved and deployed ordinances in an effort to
create accountability, transparency and prevent unsupported
placement of donation boxes on private and public property.
However with local governments strapped for budget
funding, enforcement of these ordinances become�s] near
impossible."
To address those issues, the author asserts that "AB 1978
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creates an enforcement mechanism that protects the public's
intent to donate goods for charitable purposes, the rights
of property owners, and the rights of collection boxes."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : USAgain, LLC expresses concern
that this bill "does not attach liability to unscrupulous
tow truck operators who remove bins without proper written
consent . . . and notice to collection box operators.
There have been incidents in New York and Georgia where tow
truck operators have removed USAgain boxes without consent
and scrapped the metal for a profit, causing a loss to
USAgain. We strongly urge that the bill be amended to . .
. hold truck operators accountable or in the alternative
that it make reference to Vehicle Code Section 22658, which
governs the removal of property by private tow truck
operators."
Campus California and Planet Aid similarly contend that
this bill would cause violations of the charitable trust,
is vague and broad, and would reduce charitable giving.
Eva Nielsen, President of the Gaia Movement, further
asserts that the sponsor "does not use collection boxes in
its operations, but a chain of collection sites and retail
outlets," that this bill will create a chaotic situation.
?"
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 71-0, 4/23/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Buchanan, Butler, Campos, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook,
Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Beth
Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Gorell, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nielsen,
Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Silva,
Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Brownley, Charles Calderon, Cedillo,
Davis, Fletcher, Furutani, Nestande, Norby, Smyth
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RJG:m 8/8/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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