BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1182


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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS


          AB  
          1182 (Santiago)


          As Amended  September 3, 2015


          Majority vote


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          Original Committee Reference:  B. & P.


          SUMMARY:  Narrows the current definition of tangible personal  
          property, as specified, and requires the Department of Justice  
          (DOJ) to annually update the list of items which represent a  
          significant class of stolen goods, beginning January 1, 2016,  
          and post it on its Web site, and makes other technical and  
          clarifying amendments.  Specifically, this bill:


          1)Revises and narrows the definition of "tangible personal  
            property" to include tangible personal property that the  
            attorney general (AG) statistically determines through the  
            most recent DOJ "Crime in California" report to constitute a  
            significant class of stolen goods, instead of the AG utilizing  
            crime reports to determine the list of stolen goods.


          2)Requires, beginning January 1, 2016, the AG to publish and  
            post on its Web site the list of a significant class of stolen  








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            goods and update the list annually. 


          3)Defines "significant class of stolen goods" to mean those  
            items determined through the DOJs annual "Crime in California"  
            report to constitute more than 10 % of property reported  
            stolen in the calendar year preceding the annual posting of  
            the list of significant classes of stolen goods.


          4)Requires a secondhand dealer to verify the identification of  
            the seller or pledger for each transaction, not for each item  
            that must be reported.


          The Senate amendments delete the provision which authorized a  
          law enforcement agency to utilize its own list of significant  
          stolen property until the DOJ provides the first annual update  
          to its list; revises the definition of "tangible personal  
          property" to mean "tangible personal property' that the AG  
          determines through the most recent DOJ "Crime in California"  
          report to constitute a significant class of stolen goods;  
          requires the DOJ to update this list annually beginning January  
          1, 2016; defines "significant class of stolen goods;" and,  
          clarifies that a secondhand dealer must verify the  
          identification of the seller or pledger for each transaction,  
          not for each item that must be reported.  


          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)States that "tangible personal property" includes, but is not  
            limited to, all secondhand tangible personal property which  
            bears a serial number or personalized initials or inscription,  
            or which at the time it is acquired by the secondhand dealer,  
            bears evidence of having had a serial number or personalized  
            initials or inscription.   (Business and Professions Code  
            (BPC) Section 21627(a))
          2)States that tangible personal property also includes, but is  
            not limited to, the following:  (BPC Section 21627(b))









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             a)   All tangible personal property, new or used, including  
               motor vehicles, received in pledge as security for a loan  
               by a pawnbroker; 
             b)   All tangible personal property that bears a serial  
               number or personalized initials or inscription which is  
               purchased by a secondhand dealer or a pawnbroker or which,  
               at the time of such purchase, bears evidence of having had  
               a serial number or personalized initials or inscription;  
               and,


             c)   All personal property commonly sold by secondhand  
               dealers which statistically is found through crime reports  
               to the DOJ to constitute a significant class of stolen  
               goods.  A list of such personal property shall be supplied  
               by the DOJ to all local law enforcement agencies.  The list  
               shall be reviewed periodically by the DOJ to insure that it  
               addresses current problems with stolen goods.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.  



          COMMENTS:  


          Purpose.  This bill is sponsored by the California Association  
          of Resellers, ReUsers and Buyers.  According to the author, "?  
          with the passage of AB 391[(Pan) Chapter, 172, Statutes of  
          2012], secondhand dealers (who do not sell serialized goods or  
          goods which are statistically found through crime reports to the  
          [DOJ] to constitute a significant class of stolen goods to be  
          licensed as a secondhand dealer) will now need to take the name  
          and current address of the intended seller of the property, take  
          the identification of the intended seller or pledger and a  
          legible fingerprint from the intended seller, to report daily,  
          and to retain for 30 days all tangible personal property  
          reported.  









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          "As outlined, California law imposes all of the above-mentioned  
          regulatory requirements on every secondhand dealer, regardless  
          of how large the number of identical items or how low the value  
          of each item bought and sold.  As written, separate individual  
          reports will need to be made for every used book, every old  
          doorknob, every piece of colored glass, every old name badge or  
          game piece (amongst thousands of other items) sold within the  
          State of California.  There is also no consideration made for  
          items that have been gathered over the past several decades for  
          which re-sellers would be unable to locate the initial owners  
          (for purposes of gaining their information, fingerprints, and  
          identification)? With this in mind, [this bill] seeks to clarify  
          existing law, provide law enforcement useful data they need in  
          order to curtail the dissemination of stolen property and to  
          facilitate the recovery of such property, and remove an  
          unnecessary burden on secondhand dealers."  


          Background.  This bill seeks to revise the definition of  
          "tangible personal property" by narrowing the list of items  
          which are considered to be "tangible personal property."  By  
          narrowing the definition, this bill will limit the category of  
          secondhand items that need to be reported to local law  
          enforcement on a daily basis.  Currently, "tangible personal  
          property" is defined as those items referenced in BPC Section  
          21627(b), but current law does not restrict the definition to  
          only those items listed.  This bill will revise the definition  
          by specifying that "tangible personal property" only includes  
          the items that are listed under BPC Section 21627(b), such as  
          items that bear a serial number and all personal property  
          commonly sold by secondhand dealers which are found through the  
          DOJ's "Crime in California" report that constitute a significant  
          class of stolen goods.  This bill does not alter the reporting  
          requirements for secondhand dealers if they acquire an item that  
          would meet the revised definition of tangible person property,  
          but specifies that the secondhand dealer must verify the  
          identification of the seller for each transaction, not each  
          item.  


          Secondhand Dealer Transactions and Reporting Requirements.   








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          Under current law, secondhand dealers are required to report  
          daily or on the first working day after the receipt or purchase  
          of secondhand personal property on forms or through the  
          electronic database (once completely functional), all of the  
          secondhand tangible personal property which has been purchased,  
          taken in trade, taken in pawn, or accepted for sale or  
          consignment.  As noted by the author, because the definition of  
          personal tangible property is so broad, the secondhand dealers  
          feel compelled to report all secondhand transition items, even  
          those which may be of minor material value such as door knobs,  
          used books or old game pieces.  


          DOJ List.  The intent of narrowing the definition of "tangible  
          personal property" is to limit the number of secondhand  
          transactions that must be reported by secondhand dealers to  
          those which are of significance for crime tracking purposes.  As  
          noted, the definition of "tangible personal property" includes  
          all personal property that bears a serial number or personalized  
          initials or inscription and those items found on a list compiled  
          by the DOJ.  Currently, BPC Section 21627(3) requires the DOJ to  
          provide its list of personal property which statistically is  
          found through crime reports to constitute a significant class of  
          stolen goods to local law enforcement.  Depending on the size,  
          type, and number of items reported on the list as determined by  
          the DOJ, it could significantly expand or reduce those items  
          which are considered "tangible personal property."  Currently,  
          there are only two items on the DOJ's Secondhand Dealer Report  
          including: jewelry and sterling silverware.  This limited list  
          means that the definition of "tangible personal property" will  
          only include those two items along with anything that has a  
          serial number.  This bill will require the DOJ to produce a list  
          of a significant class of stolen goods, based on the DOJ's  
          "Crime in California" report, which must be updated annually. 


          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Elissa Silva / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301  FN:  
          0002219











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