SACRAMENTO – At a press conference Tuesday, Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) announced the introduction of Assembly Bill 1326.
The bill will address the increasing recurrence of theft on our local businesses by changing the threshold for a felony from $950 for the value of the individual occurrences of crime; to the aggregate amount of the crime value, in a 1-year period, totaling $950 dollars. If passed by the Legislature, AB 1326 shall only become affective when submitted to and approved by the voters at a statewide election.
The bill is sponsored by the California Grocers Association, California Police Chiefs Association, and Crime Victims United California, and bill supporters: California Retailers Association, Amador County Sheriff Martin Ryan, and Amador County District Attorney Todd Riebe,
“Our local businesses are hurting,” said Assemblymember Jim Cooper. “Organized crime rings are targeting our retailers and it’s decimating their bottom-line, directly impacting consumers and the safety of the public.”
In 2014, theft‐related crimes involving property valued less than $950 were reduced to misdemeanors including shoplifting, commercial burglary, and check fraud. Since then, Californians have been directly impacted by a substantial increase in theft incidents committed by repeat offenders and organized crime rings.
“Since 2014, criminals have become emboldened to shoplift higher amounts of goods at higher rates,” said Ron Fong, California Grocers Association President and CEO. Adding that shoplifters and organized crime rings commit multiple thefts, day-after-day, but below the $950 threshold. “This is bad for grocers who suffer high losses, bad for employees who are put in harm’s way, and bad for shoppers who ultimately pay the consequences at the register,” Fong added.
“Statewide data collected from police departments throughout California has shown an alarming increase in property crime when compared to the rest of the country,” states Ventura Police Chief Ken Corney, President of CPCA. “These numbers are more than statistics; they represent victims and an economic loss to our businesses and state. This legislation will help crack down on the repeat offenders and hold them accountable.”
“The real victims of organized serial theft are not necessarily retail stores, but the families struggling to make ends meet, while repeat offenders take advantage of a loophole in state law,” said Harriet Salarno, Crime Victims United California Co-Founder.
“When we make policy at the ballot box, we’re often left with unintended consequences,” said Todd Riebe, Amador County District Attorney. “Thanks to Assemblyman Cooper’s leadership, this bill will provide some meaningful penalties for those who engage in organized retail theft,” Riebe added.
AB 1326 is co-sponsored by the California Grocers Association, California Police Chiefs Association and Crime Victims United California. The bill will be heard by the Assembly in the coming months.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 459.5 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
459.5.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 459, shoplifting is defined as entering a commercial establishment with intent to commit larceny while that establishment is open during regular business hours, where the value of the property that is taken or intended to be taken does not exceed nine hundred fifty dollars ($950). Any other entry into a commercial establishment with intent to commit larceny is burglary. Shoplifting shall be punished as a misdemeanor, except that a person with one or more prior convictions for an offense specified in clause (iv) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 667 or for an offense requiring registration pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 290 290, or a person convicted of multiple shoplifting offenses within a 12–month period where the value of the property in the aggregate that is taken or intended to be taken for those offenses exceeds nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), may be punished pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
SEC. 2.
Section 473 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
473.
(a) Forgery is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
SEC. 3.
Section 476a of the Penal Code is amended to read:
476a.
(a) Any person who, for himself or herself, as the agent or representative of another, or as an officer of a corporation, willfully, with intent to defraud, makes or draws or utters or delivers a check, draft, or order upon a bank or depositary, a person, a firm, or a corporation, for the payment of money, knowing at the time of that making, drawing, uttering, or delivering that the maker or drawer or the corporation has not sufficient funds in, or credit with the bank or depositary, person, firm, or corporation, for the payment of that check, draft, or order and all other checks, drafts, or orders upon funds then outstanding, in full upon its presentation, although no express representation is made with reference thereto, is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
SEC. 4.
Section 490.2 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
490.2.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 487 or any other provision of law defining grand theft, obtaining any property by theft where the value of the money, labor, real or personal property taken does not exceed nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) shall be considered petty theft and shall be punished as a misdemeanor, except that such the person may instead be punished pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 if that person has one or more prior convictions for an offense specified in clause (iv) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 667 or for an offense requiring registration pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 290. 290, or if the value of the money, labor, real or personal property taken in the aggregate for multiple thefts under this subdivision committed within a 12-month period exceeds nine hundred fifty dollars ($950).
SEC. 5.
Section 496 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
496.
(a) (1) Every person who buys or receives any property that has been stolen or that has been obtained in any manner constituting theft or extortion, knowing the property to be so stolen or obtained, or who conceals, sells, withholds, or aids in concealing, selling, or withholding any property from the owner, knowing the property to be so stolen or obtained, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170. However, if the value of the property does not exceed nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), the offense shall be a misdemeanor, punishable only by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, if such the person has no prior convictions for an offense specified in clause (iv) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 667 or for an offense requiring registration pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 290. However, if the value of the property in the aggregate for multiple offenses under this subdivision committed within a 12-month period exceeds nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), the person may be punished pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
A
Every
SEC. 6.
Sections 1 to 5, inclusive, of this act amend the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, Proposition 47, an initiative statute, and shall become effective only when submitted to and approved by the voters at a statewide election. The Secretary of State shall submit Sections 1 to 5, inclusive, of this act for approval by the voters at a statewide election in accordance with Section 9040 of the Elections Code.