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Alanis’ cargo theft bill signed by Governor Newsom
Alanis and Newsom
State Senator Juan Alanis (right), R-Modesto, was present Friday at a San Jose Home Depot store to watch Gov. Gavin Newsom sign his AB 1972 into law. - photo by Contributed to the Courier

Assemblyman Juan Alanis’ bill to provide additional resources and equipment to jurisdictions identified with high levels of cargo theft, through the California Organized Retail Crime Task Force, was signed into law by Governor Newsom on Friday. The bill went into immediate effect upon the governor’s signature.

“I’m proud of the work my team and I have done to build consensus around a solution to an issue that has continued to decimate our communities,» said Assemblymember Alanis. “As part of the larger bipartisan legislative retail theft package, AB 1972 moves the needle toward protecting our businesses and the critical shipping routes they depend on.”

Existing law authorizes the Governor to appoint and commission individuals designated by a railroad company to serve as police officers. Existing law, until January 1, 2026, requires the Department of the California Highway Patrol to coordinate with the Department of Justice to convene a regional property crimes task force to identify geographic areas experiencing increased levels of property crimes and assist local law enforcement with resources, such as personnel and equipment.

This bill would require the task force to assist railroad police and would specify cargo theft as a property crime for consideration by the regional property crimes task force.

AB 1972 was signed alongside other retail theft package bills, including:

• AB 1779 (Irwin): Provides the authority to charge organized retail theft and other related incidents in one county superior court, even if some of the offenses occurred in multiple county jurisdictions. 

• AB 1802 (Jones-Sawyer): Removes the sunset on the crime of organized retail theft and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) property crimes task force, making these tools permanently available to law enforcement and prosecutors.

• AB 2943 (Zbur): Creates a new felony charge for thieves who steal more than $950 worth of property with the intent to “sell, exchange, or return the merchandise for value.” The value of the stolen items can also be totaled together if the person committed thefts within two years, or acted with someone else who also had the intent to sell. 

• AB 3209 (Berman): Authorizes a court to impose a Retail Crime Restraining Order upon conviction, or following two or more citations, for a theft offense, vandalism within the store, or battery on an employee within the store.

• SB 905 (Wiener): Makes forcibly entering a vehicle, as defined, with the intent to commit a theft or a felony therein a crime punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year or imprisonment in a jail for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years.

• SB 982 (Wahab): Cements the work done on organized crime by making the law on organized retail theft permanent.

• SB 1144 (Skinner): Disrupts the sale of stolen goods on online marketplaces by requiring that third-party sellers be certified, and bans sellers suspected of criminal activity from operating through online marketplace platforms.

• SB 1242 (Min): Requires courts to impose higher penalties on criminals who create fires in order to engage in retail theft. The higher penalties do not impact Proposition 47.

• SB 1416 (Newman): Increases penalties on professional organized retail theft in particularly significant large-scale resale schemes.