BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2313
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Date of Hearing: April 22, 2014
Counsel: Shaun Naidu
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2313 (Nestande) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
SUMMARY : Creates the Metal Theft Task Force (MTTF) Program to
provide funding for local law enforcement agencies, as
specified, to combat metal theft and related recycling crimes.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Establishes the MTTF Fund within the State Treasury for the
purposes set forth in this bill.
2)Provides that the fund is to consist of moneys deposited into
it from the federal government, industry, and private sources,
and from fees collected pursuant to this bill.
3)Requires the fund to be administered by the Office of
Emergency Services (OES).
4)Provides that moneys distributed from the fund pursuant to
this bill are intended to ensure that local law enforcement
and district attorneys are equipped with the necessary
personnel and tools to successfully combat metal theft and
related recycling crimes, which include, but are not limited
to, all of the following offenses:
a) The theft of metals, including, but not limited to,
nonferrous metals;
b) The purchase and recycling of stolen metals, including,
but not limited to, recycled metal beverage containers, by
recyclers;
c) The transportation of stolen metals from this state to
another state;
d) The transportation of stolen metals from another state
to this state; and,
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e) Unlicensed recycling operations.
5)Requires OES to establish the MTTF Program, to administer the
overall program, and to evaluate and monitor all grants made
pursuant to this bill.
6)Requires that moneys appropriated to OES for the program,
after deduction of OES's actual and necessary administrative
costs, to be expended for programs that enhance the capacity
of local law enforcement and prosecutors to deter,
investigate, and prosecute metal theft and related recycling
crimes.
7)Allows agencies that receive moneys pursuant to the program to
consult with experts from the United States military, the
California Military Department, law enforcement entities, and
various other state and private organizations, including
pertinent trade associations, as necessary to maximize the
effectiveness of this program.
8)Requires OES to develop administrative procedures that
include, at a minimum, the following requirements for the
selection of agencies to receive a grant under this program:
a) That each agency seeking a grant submit a written
application to the department setting forth in detail the
proposed use of the grant funds;
b) That, if an applicant agency is a regional task force,
the task force is identified by a name that is appropriate
to the area that it serves and, in order to qualify for a
grant, it is comprised of local law enforcement and
prosecutors from at least two counties;
c) That 65% of each grant issued be dedicated to the
investigation and prosecution of unlicensed junk dealers;
and,
d) That priority is given to applicant agencies in areas
with high rates of reported metal thefts.
9)Requires OES to develop specific guidelines for the selection
of agencies to receive a grant under the MTTF program. The
guidelines should include, at a minimum, the following: The
number of metal theft or related recycling crime cases filed
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in the immediately preceding year; the number of metal theft
or related recycling crime cases investigated in the
immediately preceding year; the number of victims involved in
the cases filed; the total aggregate monetary loss suffered by
the victims, including damage caused by the theft; local
moneys available to assist the agencies; and the number of
licensed recycling facilities in the area.
10)Requires each agency awarded a grant under the MTTF program
during the previous funding cycle to, upon reapplication for
funds to OES in each successive year to submit a detailed
accounting of moneys received and expended in the immediately
preceding year, as specified.
11)Requires agencies receiving MTTF program funding to submit an
annual report to OES, as specified, and requires OES to
regularly review the effectiveness of the MTTF program in
deterring, investigating, and prosecuting metal theft and
related recycling crimes and submit a report to the
Legislature and Governor that is based on reports submitted to
OES by agencies. Requires OES, no later than December 31,
2019, to submit a comprehensive report to the Legislature on
the status and progress of the program, as specified.
12)Assesses a fee determined by OES not exceeding 1% of the
purchase price for each junk sale that involves the sale of
any scrap metals or alloys on the seller of junk for the
purpose of regulating that seller. Requires the fee to be
collected by junk dealers and recyclers, as those entities are
defined, at the time each sale is conducted, and submit it to
the Treasurer for deposit into the MTTF fund. Provides that
junk sales or transactions involving the sale of any scrap
metals or allows between junk dealers and recyclers are not
subject to the fee.
13)Provides that the MTTF Program is not be implemented until
OES determines that sufficient moneys have been deposited in
the MTTF Fund to implement the provisions of this bill; that
OES is required to implement the provisions of this bill upon
the availability of moneys in the fund in an amount sufficient
to cover all costs relating to the startup, implementation,
and continuing administration of the provisions of this bill;
and that OES may adopt regulations as needed to administer
provisions of this bill.
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14)Provides that the provisions of this bill are to remain in
effect only until December 31, 2020 unless a later-enacted
statute deletes or extends that date.
15)Defines specified terms.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Prohibits as grand theft, except as specified, the taking of
money, labor, or real or personal property with a value more
than $950. (Pen. Code, � 487, subd. (a).)
2)Provides that every person who steals, takes, or carries away
copper materials, including, but not limited to, copper wire,
copper cable, copper tubing, and copper piping, where the
value exceeds $950 is guilty of grand theft. (Pen. Code, �
487j.)
3)Punishes the grand theft of copper by a fine not exceeding
$2,500, by imprisonment in the county jail up to one year, or
by both that fine and imprisonment; or by imprisonment under
realignment and a fine not exceeding $10,000. (Pen. Code, �
487j.)
4)Provides that every person who is a dealer in or collector of
junk, metals, or secondhand materials, or the agent thereof,
and who buys or receives any wire, cable, copper, lead,
solder, mercury, iron, or brass which he or she knows or
reasonably should know is ordinarily used by or ordinarily
belongs to a railroad or other transportation, telephone,
telegraph, gas, water, or electric light company, or a county,
city, city and county, or other political subdivision of this
state engaged in furnishing public utility service, without
using due diligence to ascertain that the person selling or
delivering the same has a legal right to do so is guilty of
stolen property and punishes such offense as an alternate
misdemeanor/felony by imprisonment, a fine of not more than
$1,000, or both that fine and imprisonment. (Pen. Code, �
496a, subd. (a).)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Metal theft
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continues to grow in California despite numerous recent laws
passed to combat it. Clearly law enforcement needs more
resources to deal with the problem. AB 2313 would create the
Metal Theft Task Force within the DOJ which would distribute
grants to the areas most affected by metal theft for
prosecution and investigation efforts. These funds would be
generated by a 1% fee on payments received by sellers of scrap
metal when brought to recycling centers. This small fee could
generate an estimated $35[ million] to $70[ million] a year
for law enforcement to investigate metal thefts and prosecute
recycling centers that are knowingly accepting stolen metals.
The unfortunate reality of metal theft is the costs of
repairing the damage done by thieves is often exponentially
higher than the value of the scrap metal. Business,
non-profits, schools and governments agencies have all been
victims. This would be hugely beneficial for cleaning up the
scrap recycling industry and would reward recycling centers
who follow the law by eliminating their competitors who are
not following the rules."
2)Governor's Veto Message : Last year, the Legislature passed AB
909 (Gray) which was substantially similar to this bill, with
the major differences being that AB 909 had the Department of
Justice establish and oversee the MTTF Program and did not
provide a funding source for the MTTF. The Governor vetoed AB
909 with the following rationale in his veto message: "[AB
909] creates a new enforcement effort without identifying a
funding source. Today I signed SB 485, which does provide a
funding source for greater enforcement within the existing
infrastructure. More can certainly be done, but let's build on
stable funding base."
3)Metal Theft in California : Metal theft has been well
documented throughout California. In 2007, the New York Times
reported:
"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
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$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 1000 incidents of scrap metal theft on farms,
causing more than $2 billion in losses, the group's
figures show.
(Unusual Culprits Cripple Farms in California, New York Times
(July 1, 2007).)
Moreover, metal theft is not confined to only farms and rural
areas. (See Metal Marauders on Loose, Monterey County Herald
(May 10, 2008) [stating: "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.'].)
4)Arguments in Support :
a) The Coachella Valley Economic Partnership and other
supporters argue that "[l]aw enforcement agencies often do
not have the resources or expertise needed to investigate
metal theft crimes. By utilizing a grant-based approach,
the DOJ taskforce can distribute the funding to the law
enforcement agencies or regional partnerships with the
greatest needs. Increasing resources in these areas
through grants will create stronger deterrents for
potential thieves as successful investigations lead to
convictions.
"The creation of this fee on scrap metal is key because it
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will provide a reliable funding source specifically
dedicated to stopping metal theft. The grants can be used
for training, equipment and other essential tools that will
allow for better investigation of metal theft crimes.
"With funding increases for better enforcement of existing
laws, metal theft crimes will begin to decline. This will
save homeowners, businesses, and public agencies thousands
of dollars in costly repairs each time a theft occurs.
Additionally, it will also help combat the underground
scrap metal market which has grown tremendously in recent
years. This will in turn benefit the legitimate law
abiding businesses which have seen a decline in business."
b) Allied Riverside County Chiefs of Police and Sheriff
states that "metal theft is a serious and costly crime that
crosses jurisdictional boundaries sometimes involves
sophisticated networks of criminals and illegitimate
recyclers. These factors create unique challenges for our
law enforcement professionals. For these reasons, we
believe your proposed 'regional task force' concept is the
right approach to making a significant impact. The task
force model is a proven best-practice for combating
regional crime like metal theft. There is evidence of this
fact in our county when we look at the success of the
multi-agency Regional Gang Task Force and the Post-release
Accountability and Corrections Team."
5)Argument in Opposition : According to the Institute of Scrap
Recycling Industries , it "supported the policy concept
presented in AB 2313 (Nestande) when it was first introduced
by Assembly Member Ma two years ago and again by Assembly
Member Gray last year. However, with the passage of SB 485 by
Senator Calderon last year, the content of AB 2313 is neither
necessary nor relevant. In fact, it is simply pass�. Its
purpose is to put into place a task force, still rather ill
defined, to study and develop a means of better enforcement of
the current metal theft laws on the books. SB 485 has already
accomplished that end and, even after only a few months, it
appears to be working very effectively. Simply stated, AB 2313
is no longer necessary.
"The scrap metal industry, working in cooperation with the
state Department of Food and Agriculture, Division of
Measurement Standards, has put into law an effective
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enforcement process which is operated by the Division and
enforced by the county sealers who are public safety officers
under the law. The scrap metal industry currently pays for a
hundred percent (100%) of this program. There is no need to
impose an unnecessary taskforce and new tax on the industry
when the basic concerns of the bill have already been
addressed. The prudent approach at this point in time is to
let the current enforcement program take its course over the
next year or two and to assess its effectiveness at the end of
that time. Sometimes ideas run their course when they are
replaced with better ideas."
6)Current Legislation : AB 2312 (Nestande) would require junk
dealers and recyclers to request to receive commodity metals
theft alert notifications. AB 2312 is pending in the Assembly
Committee on Business, Professions and Consumer Protection.
7)Prior Legislation :
a) AB 909 (Gray), of this Legislative Session, would have
created a MTTF Program substantially similar to this bill
but delegated establishment and oversight of the program to
the Department of Justice. AB 909 was vetoed by the
Governor.
b) AB 2298 (Ma), Chapter 823, Statutes of 2012, prior to
its chaptered version, was substantially similar to this
bill but delegated the establishment and oversight of the
MTTF Program to the Board of State and Community
Corrections. AB 2298 was amended completely to address a
different topic.
c) AB 2768 (Poochigian), Chapter 327, Statutes of 1996,
created the Rural Crime Prevention Program, which
authorized the County of Tulare to enter into a
joint-powers agreement to share resources, personnel hours,
and information regarding rural crimes, including metal
theft.
d) AB 374 (Matthews), Chapter 719, Statutes of 2002,
extended the operation of the Rural Crime Prevention
Program to July 1, 2005, and renamed the program the
Central Valley Rural Crime Prevention Program.
e) SB 44 (Denham), Chapter 18, Statutes of 2003, authorized
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the counties of Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara,
Santa Cruz, and San Benito, until July 1, 2010, to develop
the Central Coast Rural Crime Prevention Programs modeled
on the Central Valley Rural Crime Prevention Programs, to
be administered by the county sheriff's office in Monterey
County and by the district attorney's office in each of the
other four counties.
f) SB 1023 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter
43, Statutes of 2012, among other provisions, deleted the
provisions repealing the authorization for the Central
Valley Rural Crime Prevention Program and Central Coast
Rural Crime Prevention Program, thereby making the programs
operative indefinitely.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Farm Bureau Federation (Sponsor)
Allied Riverside County Chiefs of Police and Sheriff
Blythe Police Department
California Police Chiefs Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
City of Beaumont
City of San Jacinto
Coachella Valley Economic Partnership
Desert Fresh, Inc.
Desert Sands Unified School District
Desert Valleys Builders Association
Eastern Municipal Water District
Indio Chamber of Commerce
Indio Police Department
Riverside County Board of Supervisors
Opposition
Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries
Schnitzer Steel Industries
Analysis Prepared by : Shaun Naidu / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
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