BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2312
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Date of Hearing: April 22, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Susan A. Bonilla, Chair
AB 2312 (Nestande and Olsen) - As Amended: April 10, 2014
SUBJECT : Metal theft.
SUMMARY : Requires a junk dealer or recycler to request to
receive metal theft alert notifications from an Internet-based
theft alert system and requires a junk dealer or recycler to
provide a statement that they have requested to receive theft
alert notifications when seeking a weighmasters license.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a junk dealer or recycler to include a statement in
the application for a weighmasters license that he or she has
requested to receive online theft alert notifications, as
specified.
2)Requires a junk dealer or recycler to request to receive theft
alert notifications regarding the theft of commodity metals,
including, but not limited to, ferrous metal, copper, brass,
aluminum, nickel, stainless steel, and alloys, in the junk
dealer's or recycler's geographic region from the theft alert
system maintained by the Institute of Scrap Recycling
Industries, Inc., (ISRI) or its successor.
3)Encourages but does not require local law enforcement agencies
to report thefts of commodity metals, including but not
limited to, ferrous metal, copper, brass, aluminum, nickel,
stainless steel, and alloys, that have occurred within their
jurisdiction to the theft alert system maintained by ISRI, or
its successor, in order to ensure that persons using that
system receive timely and thorough information regarding metal
thefts.
4)Prohibits ISRI or its successor from requiring payment for the
use of the theft alert system by law enforcement agencies or
members of the public, and prohibits ISRI or its successor
from selling subscribers information to third parties.
5)Makes finding and declarations that:
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a) ISRI developed ScrapTheftAlert.com which is a web-based
theft alert system that allows law enforcement to alert
recyclers of reported stolen material and allows recyclers
to alert area law enforcement when they have received
materials they believe might have been stolen;
b) This alert system broadcasts theft alerts to every
registered user within a 100-mile radius of where the theft
occurred and can expand depending on the circumstances;
and,
c) ISRI has worked closely with law enforcement and has
integrated their suggestions into the system's latest
update to make its use more user-friendly for law
enforcement, including no cost to law enforcement or
non-ISRI members and specifies that members of ISRI pay for
the entire database through their membership dues.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines "junk" as secondhand and used machinery and all
ferrous and nonferrous scrap metals and alloys including any
and all secondhand and used furniture, pallets, or other
personal property, other than livestock. (Business and
Professions Code (BPC) Section 21600)
2)Defines a "junk dealer" as anyone engaged in the business of
buying, selling and dealing in junk; any person purchasing,
gathering, collecting or soliciting or procuring junk; or, any
person operating, carrying on, conducting or maintaining a
junk yard. (BPC 21601)
3)Requires junk dealers and recyclers to allow for periodic
inspection of any premises maintained and any junk to
determine compliance with record keeping requirements, and
requires junk dealers and recyclers to produce his or her
records of sales and purchases for inspection, as specified.
(BPC 21606.5)
4)Defines a weighmaster as "any person who, for hire or
otherwise, weighs, measures, or counts any commodity and
issues a statement or memorandum of the weight, measure or
count which is used as the basis for either the purchase or
sale of the commodity or charge for service." (BPC 12700)
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of this bill . In an effort to help industry
representatives better detect items of metal theft, this bill
would require a junk dealer or recycler to register to receive
metal theft alert notifications from the online theft alert
system, ScrapTheftAlert.com , which is maintained by ISRI.
This bill also requires a junk dealer or recycler seeking a
weighmasters license to verify during the application process
that they have requested to receive the theft alert
notifications. In addition, this bill encourages (but does
not require) local law enforcement representatives to report
the theft of certain metal commodities to the theft alert
system in order to ensure individuals receive timely theft
alert notifications. This bill is sponsored by the author.
2)Author's statement . According to the author, "Metal theft is
a growing problem in California and the costs of repairing
damage done by thieves is a huge burden on government
agencies, non-profits, businesses and property owners alike.
Thieves are becoming more sophisticated and often operate
inter-cities networks were metals are stolen from one location
only to be sold as scrap to recycling centers many miles away.
Enhancing regional cooperation against metal theft is key to
any efforts to stem the growth of this type of crime.
"Since many scrap metal recycling centers are often not informed
about recently stolen items, they unwittingly help provide a
market for the thieves to sell stolen property. Providing this
market for stolen goods provides easy cash to thieves and a
strong incentive for future thefts.
"This bill will require recycling centers to subscribe to ISRI's
metal theft alert system (at no cost to the recycling center)
so they will receive theft alerts occurring within 100 miles
of their location. This will allow them to be cognizant of
stolen items that could be brought [to] their recycling center
and will provide a strong deterrent to thieves operating in
regional networks because every recycling center will be aware
of recently stolen items."
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3)The ongoing problem of metal theft . According to the author,
metal theft continues to be a serious problem in California.
In addition to the loss of property, repairing the damage from
metal theft can also be costly.
For example, the Woodland Daily Democrat reported on November 9,
2013, that someone stole $10 worth of copper from a
construction site, but repairing the damage from the theft
would cost $1,000. In a separate story reported by Fresno's
KFSN television news on November 8, 2013, a registered
California historic landmark memorial was stolen from the
Pinedale Remembrance Plaza. The brass from the stolen
memorial was worth approximately $50 at a recycling facility,
but it will cost an estimated $5000 to replace. The Desert
Sun reported on February 14, 2014, that less than two months
into 2014, the Coachella Valley Water District is on its way
to losing more equipment to metal thieves this year than it
did in 2013.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) released a report
in 2013 regarding metal theft which reported that "thieves
have been willing to go to almost any length to obtain the
metal. They have stripped sheets of metal from building
rooftops, stolen memorial decorations from cemeteries, ripped
apart air conditioners for the copper coils within, and
stripped homes and buildings of wiring and piping? The thieves
can endanger the safety of themselves and those in the
surrounding community, and weaken the infrastructure vital to
our everyday lives. Unoccupied buildings have exploded due to
gas lines being stolen, stretches of highway have been left
dark after thieves stole wiring from utility poles, and
tornado warning sirens have been rendered inoperable due to
wiring being stolen? Regardless of the motive, the damage
caused by such thefts is often several times the value of the
metal stolen, leaving the victims with hefty repair costs
which are then often passed on to insurance companies."
(Metal Theft Claims and Questionable Claim Referrals from
January 1 2010 to December 31, 2012, April 19, 2013, NICB).
4)The growing nonferrous metal recycling industry . According to
ISRI, nonferrous (not iron-based) metals are among the few
materials that do not degrade or lose their chemical or
physical properties in the recycling process. Because of
this, these metals have the capacity to be recycled a nearly
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infinite number of times. Nonferrous materials include
copper, copper alloys, stainless steel, or aluminum (but not
beverage containers, as defined in the California Public
Resources Code).
In the United States, the value of the nonferrous scrap industry
approached $50 billion in 2012. In terms of volume,
nonferrous scrap materials make up a small percentage of the
total quantity of material recycled in the United States, but
by value they account for more than half of the total earnings
of the scrap recycling industry. In 2012, the U.S. exported
nearly $14 billion worth of nonferrous scrap to more than 90
countries.
5)Theft alert notifications . ScrapTheftAlert.com is a free tool
for junk dealers and recyclers, law enforcement, and other
local agencies to allow an individual to alert others in the
scrap industry of significant thefts of materials within the
United States and Canada.
Alerts posted by individuals are broadcast by email to all
subscribed users within a 100 mile radius of where the
incident occurred, and depending on the incident, that radius
can be increased. Once an alert has been broadcast, it can be
in the recipient's email inbox in minutes.
ScrapTheftAlert.com currently has 513 active users in California
and 240 active alerts. Nationwide, the Web site has over
16,000 total users and has helped recover over one million
dollars of stolen material. ScrapTheftAlert.com is maintained
by ISRI and there is no separate cost for users because ISRI
members pay for the operation of the Web site.
This bill requires junk dealers and recyclers to request to
receive theft alert email notifications, and junk dealers and
recyclers seeking a weighmasters license must provide a
statement in their application that they have registered to
receive email alerts from the theft alert system as a
condition for licensure. This bill also provides that ISRI
or its successor will not charge a fee for the use of the
theft system and is not permitted to sell subscribers'
information to third parties.
6)Previous legislation : SB 485 (Calderon) Chapter 518, Statutes
of 2013 requires a junk dealer or recycler to submit
additional information regarding its junk dealer business to
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DFA when applying for a weighmaster's license or a renewal
license, requires the DFA to complete an investigation of the
information on the application or renewal within a specified
period of time and revoke the license if the information
submitted in the application or renewal is materially
inaccurate, increases the fees that junk dealers or recyclers
pay for each fixed location, and sunsets those provisions on
January 1, 2019.
AB 909 (Gray) of 2013 would require the Board of State and
Community Corrections to establish the Metal Theft Task Force
Program to provide, evaluate and monitor grants disbursed to
enhance the capacity of local law enforcement and prosecutors
to deter, investigate, and prosecute metal theft and related
metal theft crimes. This bill was vetoed.
AB 841 (Torres) of 2013 would require junk dealers and
recyclers to provide payment to sellers of nonferrous material
by mailed check only, as specified. This bill was vetoed.
AB 316 (Carter), Chapter 317, Statutes of 2011, provided that
every person who steals, takes, or carries away copper
materials which are of a value exceeding $950 is guilty of
grand theft, punishable as specified.
SB 447 (Maldonado), Chapter 732, Statutes of 2008, required
scrap metal dealers and recyclers to report what materials are
being scraped at their facilities and by whom on a daily
basis.
AB 844 (Berryhill), Chapter 731, Statutes of 2008, required
recyclers to hold payment for three days, check photo
identification and take a thumbprint of anyone selling scrap
metals. AB 844 also required any person convicted of metal
theft to pay restitution for the materials stolen and for any
collateral damage caused during the theft.
SB 691 (Calderon), Chapter 730, Statutes of 2008, required
junk dealers and recyclers to take thumbprints of individuals
selling copper, copper alloys, aluminum and stainless steel,
and required sellers to show government identification and
proof of their current address.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
AB 2312
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Support
Allied Riverside County Chiefs of Police and Sheriff
Association of California Water Agencies
Blythe Police Department
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Municipal Utilities Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
California Women for Agriculture
Californians Against Waste
City of Beaumont
City of Indio Police Department
City of Rancho Mirage
Coachella Valley Economic Partnership
Coachella Valley Water District
Desert Sands Unified School District
Desert Valley Builders Association
Eastern Municipal Water District
General Patton Memorial Museum
Indio Chamber of Commerce
West Coast Chapter of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industry
Two individuals
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Elissa Silva / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301