Bill Text: CA SB1045 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Metal theft: damages.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2012-09-19 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 393, Statutes of 2012. [SB1045 Detail]
Download: California-2011-SB1045-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1045 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 393
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 19, 2012
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 19, 2012
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 22, 2012
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 20, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 16, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 8, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 17, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 26, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator Emmerson
FEBRUARY 6, 2012
An act to add Section 3336.5 to the Civil Code, relating to metal
theft.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1045, Emmerson. Metal theft: damages.
Existing law governs the business of buying, selling, and dealing
in secondhand and used machinery and all ferrous and nonferrous scrap
metals and alloys, also known as "junk." Existing law further
requires junk dealers and recyclers to keep and maintain a written
record of all sales and purchases made in the course of their
business, including the name and address of each person to whom junk
is sold or disposed of.
This bill would prohibit any junk dealer or recycler from
possessing a fire hydrant, fire department connection, manhole cover
or lid or any part of that cover or lid, or backflow device or
connection to that device without a written certification on the
letterhead of the agency or utility that owns or previously owned the
material certifying that the entity has sold or is offering the
material for sale and that the person possessing and identified in
the certificate is authorized to negotiate the sale of the material.
The bill would make junk dealers and recyclers civilly liable for
actual damages and also for exemplary damages of 3 times the agency's
or utility's actual damages, including the value of the material,
repair and replacement costs, and labor costs, unless the court
determines that extenuating circumstances do not justify awarding
exemplary damages. This bill would require a junk dealer or recycler
who unknowingly takes possession of one or more of these prohibited
materials as part of a load of otherwise nonprohibited materials
without the above-described written certification to notify the
appropriate law enforcement agency, as defined, by the next business
day upon discovery of the prohibited materials. Under the bill,
written confirmation of the notice from the law enforcement agency
would relieve the junk dealer or recycler of liability to the public
agency. The bill would further state the Legislature's intent not to
create liability on the part of junk dealers or recyclers to 3rd
parties injured or damaged by the theft of the prohibited materials.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Theft of fire hydrants, manhole covers, and backflow devices
has significantly increased in recent years and represents very
substantial, and growing, health and safety issues.
(b) Local utilities, public agencies, and private entities have
gone to great lengths to protect their customers, residents, and
properties from the damage that can result from that theft.
(c) The Legislature believes that any junk dealer or recycler who
is willing to obtain this material from a person who does not have a
written certification letter should, in the event that this act is
adopted, be liable to the owner of the material for three times the
actual damages, including the cost of replacement, labor costs, and
repair costs of any damage that occurs during the theft.
SEC. 2. Section 3336.5 is added to the Civil Code, to read:
3336.5. (a) (1) Any junk dealer or recycler who possesses a fire
hydrant, fire department connection, including, but not limited to,
brass fittings and parts, manhole cover or lid or part of that cover
or lid, or backflow device or connection to that device or part of
that device without a written certification from the agency or
utility owning or previously owning the material shall be liable to
the agency or utility for the wrongful possession of that material as
provided in subdivision (b).
(2) A written certification under this subdivision shall be on the
agency's or utility's letterhead and shall certify both that the
agency or utility has sold the material described or is offering the
material for sale, salvage, or recycling, and that the person
possessing the certification or identified in the certification is
authorized to negotiate the sale of that material.
(b) Except as provided in subdivision (c), a junk dealer or
recycler in violation of this section shall be liable to the agency
or utility owning or previously owning the prohibited material as
described in subdivision (a) for the actual damages incurred by the
agency or utility, including the value of the material, the cost of
replacing the material, labor costs, and the costs of repairing any
damage caused by the removal of the material. The court shall also
award exemplary damages of three times the actual damages incurred by
the agency or utility, unless the court decides that extenuating
circumstances do not justify awarding these exemplary damages.
(c) (1) A junk dealer or recycler who unknowingly takes possession
of one or more of the materials described in subdivision (a) as part
of a load of otherwise nonprohibited materials without the written
certification described in subdivision (a) shall notify the
appropriate law enforcement agency by the end of the next business
day upon discovery of the prohibited materials. Written confirmation
of that notice shall relieve the junk dealer or recycler of liability
to the agency or utility for the possession of those materials.
(2) The following definitions shall apply for purposes of this
subdivision:
(A) "Appropriate law enforcement agency" means, in the case of any
material described in subdivision (a) that is located within the
territorial limits of an incorporated city, the police chief of the
city or his or her designee, or, in the case of any material
described in subdivision (a) that is located outside the territorial
limits of an incorporated city, the sheriff of the county or his or
her designee.
(B) "Written confirmation" means any confirmation received from
the law enforcement agency as electronic mail, facsimile, or other
written correspondence, including, but not limited to, a letter
delivered in person or by certified mail.
(d) Nothing in this section is intended to create a basis for
liability on the part of the junk dealers and recyclers to third
parties for damages or injuries related to or arising from the theft
of the materials described in this section.
