Bill Text: GA SB53 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Public Utilities/Transportation; inspection by law enforcement officers; provisions; special officers investigating certain thefts of public utilities
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 4-2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-11 - Senate Recommitted [SB53 Detail]
Download: Georgia-2009-SB53-Comm_Sub.html
09 LC
36 1316S
The
Senate Public Safety Committee offered the following substitute to SB
53:
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Titles 10, 16, and 40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to commerce and trade, crimes and offenses, and motor vehicles and traffic,
respectively, so as to provide for comprehensive regulation of theft of
regulated metal property; to provide for the offense of advertising for the
purchase of regulated metal property in a manner which violates any provisions
of Article 14 of Chapter 1 of Title 10; to provide for criminal penalties; to
provide for the publication of second or subsequent convictions and procedure
therefor; to provide for forfeiture of certain property and procedure therefor;
to provide for the suspension of the drivers' licenses of persons convicted for
certain offenses related to the theft of regulated metal property; to provide
for restoration of the drivers' licenses under certain conditions; to provide
for related matters; to provide for an effective date and applicability; to
repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Title
10 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to commerce and trade, is
amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"10-1-356.1.
(a)
It shall be unlawful for any person to advertise, whether in a periodical, by
television, by radio, or by any other public medium or by any private means,
including letters, circulars, handbills, and oral statements, that such person
will purchase or will arrange for or cause to be purchased any regulated metal
property in a manner which violates any provision of this article.
(b)
Any person who violates subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a
felony and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine of not more than
$5,000.00 or by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years, or
both."
SECTION
2.
Said
title is further amended by revising Code Section 10-1-357, relating to
penalties for violations of the article, by adding a new a new subsection to
read as follows:
"(c)(1)
The clerk of the court in which a person is convicted a second or subsequent
time of any violation of this Code section within five years, as measured from
the dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained or pleas of
nolo contendere were accepted to the date of the current arrest for which a
conviction is obtained or a plea of nolo contendere is accepted, shall cause to
be published a notice of conviction for each such person convicted. Such
notices of conviction shall be published in the manner of legal notices in the
legal organ of the county in which such person resides or, in the case of
nonresidents, in the legal organ of the county in which the person was
convicted. Such notice of conviction shall be one column wide by two inches
long; shall contain the photograph taken by the arresting law enforcement agency
at the time of arrest, the name and address of the convicted person, the date,
time, and place of arrest, and the disposition of the case; and shall be
published once in the legal organ of the appropriate county in the second week
following such conviction or as soon thereafter as publication may be
made.
(2)
The convicted person for which a notice of conviction is published pursuant to
this subsection shall be assessed $25.00 for the cost of publication of such
notice and such assessment shall be imposed at the time of conviction in
addition to any other fine imposed pursuant to this Code section.
(3)
The clerk of the court, the publisher of any legal organ which publishes a
notice of conviction, and any other person involved in the publication of an
erroneous notice of conviction shall be immune from civil or criminal liability
for such erroneous publication, provided such publication was made in good
faith."
SECTION
3.
Said
title is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"10-1-357.1.
(a)
As used in this Code section, the term 'crime' means:
(1)
Theft by taking in violation of Code Section 16-8-2, theft by conversion in
violation of Code Section 16-8-4, or theft by receiving stolen property in
violation of Code Section 16-8-7 if the subject of the theft was regulated metal
property;
(2)
Criminal damage to property in the first degree in violation of paragraph (2) of
subsection (a) of Code Section 16-7-22; or
(3)
A criminal violation of this article.
(b)
All motor vehicles, tools, and weapons which are used or intended for use in any
manner in the commission of or to facilitate the commission of a crime are
subject to forfeiture under this Code section, but:
(1)
No motor vehicle used by any person as a common carrier in the transaction of
business as a common carrier shall be subject to forfeiture under this Code
section unless it appears that the owner or other person in charge of the motor
vehicle is a consenting party or privy to the commission of a
crime;
(2)
No motor vehicle shall be subject to forfeiture under this Code section by
reason of any act or omission established by the owner thereof to have been
committed or omitted without his or her knowledge or consent, and any co-owner
of a motor vehicle without knowledge of or consent to the act or omission shall
be protected to the extent of the interest of such co-owner; and
(3)
A forfeiture of a motor vehicle encumbered by a bona fide security interest
shall be subject to the interest of the secured party if he or she neither had
knowledge of nor consented to the act or omission.
(c)
Property subject to forfeiture under this Code section may be seized by any law
enforcement officer of this state or any political subdivision thereof who has
the power to make arrests upon process issued by any court having jurisdiction
over the property. Seizure without process or warrant may be made
if:
(1)
The seizure is incident to an arrest or a search under a search
warrant;
(2)
The property subject to seizure has been the subject of a prior judgment in
favor of this state in a criminal injunction or forfeiture proceeding based upon
this Code section; or
(3)
If probable cause exists that the vehicle, tool, or weapon is subject to
seizure.
(d)
Property taken or detained under this Code section shall not be subject to
replevin but shall be deemed to be in the custody of the superior court of the
county wherein the seizure was made or in the custody of the superior court of
the county where it can be proven that the crime was committed, subject only to
the orders and decrees of the court having jurisdiction over the forfeiture
proceedings. When property is seized under this Code section, law enforcement
officers seizing such property shall:
(1)
Place the property under seal;
(2)
Remove the property to a place designated by the judge of the superior court
having jurisdiction over the forfeiture as set out in this subsection;
or
(3)
Deliver such property to the sheriff or police chief of the county in which the
seizure occurred, and the sheriff or police chief shall take custody of the
property and remove it to an appropriate location for disposition in accordance
with law.
(e)
When property is seized under this Code section, the sheriff or law enforcement
officer seizing the same shall report the seizure, within 20 days thereof, to
the district attorney of the judicial circuit having jurisdiction in the county
where the seizure was made. Within 60 days from the date he or she receives
notice of the seizure, the district attorney of the judicial circuit shall cause
to be filed in the superior court of the county in which the property was seized
or detained an in rem complaint for forfeiture of such property as provided for
in this Code section. The proceedings shall be brought in the name of the state
by the district attorney of the circuit in which the property was seized, and
the complaint shall be verified by a duly authorized agent of this state in a
manner required by the law of this state. The complaint shall describe the
property; state its location; state its present custodian; state the name of the
owner, if known to the duly authorized agent of this state; allege the essential
elements of the violation upon which the forfeiture is based; and conclude with
a prayer of due process to enforce the forfeiture. Upon the filing of such a
complaint, the court shall promptly cause process to issue to the present
custodian in possession of the property described in the complaint, commanding
him or her to seize the property described in the complaint and to hold that
property for further order of the court. A copy of the complaint shall be
served upon the owner or lessee, if known, and upon any person having a duly
recorded security interest in or lien upon that property. If the owner or
lessee is unknown, resides outside this state, departs this state, cannot after
due diligence be found within this state, or conceals himself or herself so as
to avoid service, notice of the proceedings shall be published once a week for
two weeks in the newspaper in which the sheriff's advertisements are published.
Such publication shall be deemed notice to any and all persons having an
interest in or right affected by such proceeding and from any sale of the
property resulting therefrom but shall not constitute notice to any person
having a duly recorded security interest in or lien upon such property and
required to be served under this Code section unless that person is unknown,
resides outside this state, departs this state, cannot after due diligence be
found within this state, or conceals himself or herself to avoid service. An
owner of or interest holder in the property may file an answer asserting a claim
against the property in the action in rem. Any such answer shall be filed
within 30 days after the service of the summons and complaint. Where service is
made by publication and personal service has not been made, an owner or interest
holder shall file an answer within 30 days of the date of final publication. An
answer shall be verified by the owner or interest holder under penalty of
perjury. In addition to complying with the general rules applicable to an
answer in civil actions, the answer shall set forth:
(1)
The caption of the proceedings as set forth in the complaint and the name of the
claimant;
(2)
The address at which the claimant will accept mail;
(3)
The nature and extent of the claimant's interest in the property;
(4)
The date, identity of transferor, and circumstances of the claimant's
acquisition of the interest in the property;
(5)
The specific provision of this Code section relied on in asserting that the
property is not subject to forfeiture;
(6)
All essential facts supporting each assertion; and
(7)
The precise relief sought.
If
at the expiration of the period set forth in this subsection no answer has been
filed, the court shall order the disposition of the seized property as provided
for in this Code section. If an answer is filed, a hearing shall be held within
60 days after service of the complaint unless continued for good cause and shall
be held by the court without a jury. If the court determines that a claimant
defending the complaint knew or by the exercise of ordinary care should have
known that the property was to be used for an unlawful purpose subjecting it to
forfeiture under this Code section, the court shall order the disposition of the
seized property as provided in this Code section and that claimant shall have no
claim upon the property or proceeds from the sale thereof.
(f)(1)
When property is forfeited under this Code section, the judge of the superior
court of the county where the seizure was made or of the county in which it can
be proven that the crime was committed may dispose of the property by issuing an
order to:
(A)
Retain it for official use by any agency of this state or any political
subdivision thereof;
(B)
Sell that which is not required to be destroyed by law and which is not harmful
to the public. The proceeds shall be used for payment of all proper expenses of
the proceedings for forfeiture and sale, including but not limited to the
expenses of seizure, maintenance of custody, advertising, and court costs;
or
(C)
Require the sheriff or police chief of the county in which the seizure occurred
to take custody of the property and remove it for disposition in accordance with
law.
(2)(A)
Money, currency, or proceeds which are realized from the sale or disposition of
forfeited property shall after satisfaction of the interest of secured parties
and after payment of all costs vest in the local political subdivision whose law
enforcement officers seized it. If the property was seized by a municipal law
enforcement agency, then the money, currency, or proceeds realized from the sale
or disposition of the property shall vest in that municipality. If the property
was seized by a county law enforcement agency, then the money, currency, or
proceeds realized from the sale or disposition of the property shall vest in
that county. If the property was seized by joint action of a county law
enforcement agency and a municipal law enforcement agency, then the money,
currency, or proceeds realized from the sale or disposition of the property
shall vest in that county and that municipality and shall be divided equally
between the county and municipality. If the property was seized by a state law
enforcement agency, then the money, currency, or proceeds realized from the sale
or disposition of the property shall vest in the county where the condemnation
proceedings are filed. Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (1) of this subsection for payment of all costs, the local government
in which the money, currency, or proceeds realized from the forfeited property
vests shall expend or use such funds or proceeds received for any official law
enforcement purpose except for the payment of salaries or rewards to law
enforcement personnel, at the discretion of the chief officer of the local law
enforcement agency, or to fund victim-witness assistance programs. Such property
shall not be used to supplant any other local, state, or federal funds
appropriated for staff or operations.
(B)
Any local law enforcement agency receiving property under this subsection shall
submit an annual report to the local governing authority. The report shall be
submitted with the agency's budget request and shall itemize the property
received during the fiscal year and the utilization made
thereof."
SECTION
4.
Title
16 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to crimes and offenses,
is amended by revising paragraph (9) of subsection (a) of Code Section 16-8-12,
relating to penalties for violation of Code Sections 16-8-2 through 16-8-9, as
follows:
"(9)
Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) of this subsection, if the
property of the theft was
ferrous
metals or regulated metal property, as
such terms
are
term
is defined in Code Section 10-1-350, and
the aggregate amount of such property, in its original and undamaged condition,
exceeds $500.00, by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years,
a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both."
SECTION
5.
Siad
title is further amended by revising Code Section 16-8-12, relating to penalties
for violation of Code Sections 16-8-2 through 16-8-9, by adding a new subsection
to read as follows:
"(d)(1)
If the property of the theft was regulated metal property, as such term is
defined in Code Section 10-1-350, the clerk of the court in which a person is
convicted a second or subsequent time within five years, as measured from the
dates of previous arrests for which convictions were obtained or pleas of nolo
contendere were accepted to the date of the current arrest for which a
conviction is obtained or a plea of nolo contendere is accepted, shall cause to
be published a notice of conviction for each such person convicted. Such
notices of conviction shall be published in the manner of legal notices in the
legal organ of the county in which such person resides or, in the case of
nonresidents, in the legal organ of the county in which the person was
convicted. Such notice of conviction shall be one column wide by two inches
long; shall contain the photograph taken by the arresting law enforcement agency
at the time of arrest, the name and address of the convicted person, the date,
time, and place of arrest, and the disposition of the case; and shall be
published once in the legal organ of the appropriate county in the second week
following such conviction or as soon thereafter as publication may be
made.
(2)
The convicted person for which a notice of conviction is published pursuant to
this subsection shall be assessed $25.00 for the cost of publication of such
notice and such assessment shall be imposed at the time of conviction in
addition to any other fine imposed pursuant to this Code section.
(3)
The clerk of the court, the publisher of any legal organ which publishes a
notice of conviction, and any other person involved in the publication of an
erroneous notice of conviction shall be immune from civil or criminal liability
for such erroneous publication, provided such publication was made in good
faith."
SECTION
6.
Title
40 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to motor vehicles and
traffic, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as
follows:
"40-5-57.3.
(a)
The driver's license of any person convicted for a second or subsequent offense
of:
(1)
Theft by taking in violation of Code Section 16-8-2, theft by conversion in
violation of Code Section 16-8-4, or theft by receiving stolen property in
violation of Code Section 16-8-7 if the subject of the theft was regulated metal
property, as such term is defined in Code Section 10-1-350;
(2)
Criminal damage to property in the first degree in violation of paragraph (2) of
subsection (a) of Code Section 16-7-22; or
(3)
A criminal violation of Article 14 of Chapter 1 of Title 10
shall
be suspended as provided in this Code section. The person shall submit the
driver's license to the court upon conviction and the court shall forward the
driver's license to the department.
(b)(1)
A first suspension of a driver's license under this Code section shall be for a
period of six months.
(2)
A second or subsequent suspension of a driver's license under this Code section
shall be for a period of one year.
(c)
After the suspension period and when the person pays a restoration fee of
$200.00 or, when processed by mail, $210.00, the suspension shall terminate and
the department shall return the person's driver's license to such
person."
SECTION
7.
This
Act shall become effective on January 1, 2010, and shall apply to all offenses
committed on or after such date.
SECTION
8.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.