Metal theft bill that would save cities millions of dollars faces next hurdle

By Arthur Goncalves, 2025 Ronald O. Loveridge Summer Fellow

The Senate Appropriations Committee is poised to take up a Cal Cities-sponsored bill that would help protect cities from metal theft and improve the reliability of public infrastructure after summer recess ends. If signed into law, AB 476 (González) would provide cities and taxpayers relief from repairing frequently damaged infrastructure.

Metal theft is a widespread and expensive issue that impacts every city, interrupting critical infrastructure such as bridges, streetlights, fire hydrants, and sewer lines. The city of Los Angeles’s iconic Sixth Street Bridge fell victim to vandals who stripped seven miles of copper for an estimated value of $11,000 — which is costing $2.5 million to repair.

“Copper prices are near historic highs and copper theft is rampant across California, causing devastating financial [and] public safety impacts,” said Asm. Mark González, the bill’s author, during a Senate Public Safety hearing.

How it works

AB 476 would support cities’ enforcement practices to deter metal theft and hold people accountable for the harm they cause to public safety and infrastructure.

Specifically, it would reduce metal theft through new reporting and licensing requirements for scrap metal sellers. To complete a transaction, junk dealers and recyclers would need to make a written statement that includes the time and amount paid for each sale, with the name of the employee handling the transaction. The statement would include the legal name, date of birth, and place of residence of the seller.

The bill would also increase fines for offenses related to the possession or purchase of secondhand and used machinery and all ferrous scrap metals and alloys previously owned by a public utility provider. Additionally, the bill establishes a new severe classification of offenses for repeat and organized metal theft of public infrastructure.

What’s next?

AB 476 is a candidate for the suspense file in Senate Appropriations, a controversial process that allows lawmakers to weigh the fiscal cost of bills before sending them to the floor for a full vote. Should the bill make it out in late August, legislators will have until Sept. 12 to get the bill to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.