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SB1512 - 572R - S Ver
Senate Engrossed
vulnerable adults;
theft; definitions
State of Arizona
Senate
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
SENATE BILL 1512
AN
ACT
amending section 13-1802, arizona
revised statutes; relating to theft.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 13-1802, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
13-1802.
Theft; classification; definitions
A. A person commits theft if, without lawful
authority, the person knowingly:
1. Controls property of another with the intent to deprive
the other person of such property; or
2. Converts for an unauthorized term or use services
or property of another entrusted to the defendant or placed in the defendant's
possession for a limited, authorized term or use; or
3. Obtains services or property of another by means
of any material misrepresentation with intent to deprive the other person of
such property or services; or
4. Comes into control of lost, mislaid or
misdelivered property of another under circumstances providing means of inquiry
as to the true owner and appropriates such property to the person's own or
another's use without reasonable efforts to notify the true owner; or
5. Controls property of another knowing or having
reason to know that the property was stolen; or
6. Obtains services known to the defendant to be
available only for compensation without paying or an agreement to pay the
compensation or diverts another's services to the person's own or another's
benefit without authority to do so; or
7. Controls the ferrous metal or nonferrous metal of
another with the intent to deprive the other person of the metal; or
8. Controls the ferrous metal or nonferrous metal of
another knowing or having reason to know that the metal was stolen; or
9. Purchases within the scope of the ordinary course
of business the ferrous metal or nonferrous metal of another person knowing
that the metal was stolen.
B. A person commits theft if, without lawful
authority, the person knowingly takes control, title, use or management of a
vulnerable adult's property while acting in a position of trust and confidence
and with the intent to deprive the vulnerable adult of the
property. Proof that a person took control, title, use or management
of a vulnerable adult's property without adequate consideration to the
vulnerable adult may give rise to an inference that the person intended to
deprive the vulnerable adult of the property.
C. It is an affirmative defense to any prosecution
under subsection B of this section that either:
1. The property was given as a gift consistent with
a pattern of gift giving to the person that existed before the adult became
vulnerable.
2. The property was given as a gift consistent with
a pattern of gift giving to a class of individuals that existed before the
adult became vulnerable.
3. The superior court approved the transaction
before the transaction occurred.
D. The inferences set forth in section 13-2305
apply to any prosecution under subsection A, paragraph 5 of this section.
E. At the conclusion of any grand jury proceeding,
hearing or trial, the court shall preserve any trade secret that is admitted in
evidence or any portion of a transcript that contains information relating to
the trade secret pursuant to section 44-405.
F. Subsection B of this section does not apply to an
agent who is acting within the scope of the agent's duties as or on behalf of a
health care institution that is licensed pursuant to title 36, chapter 4 and
that provides services to the vulnerable adult.
G. Theft of property or services with a value of
twenty-five thousand dollars
$25,000
or
more is a class 2 felony. Theft of property or services with a value
of
four thousand dollars
$4,000
or
more but less than
twenty-five thousand dollars
$25,000
is a class 3 felony. Theft of property or
services with a value of
three thousand dollars
$3,000
or more but less than
four thousand
dollars
$4,000
is a class 4 felony, except that
theft of any vehicle engine or transmission is a class 4 felony regardless of
value.� Theft of property or services with a value of
two
thousand dollars
$2,000
or more but less than
three thousand dollars
$3,000
is a class 5
felony.� Theft of property or services with a value of
one
thousand dollars
$1,000
or more but less than
two thousand dollars
$2,000
is a class 6
felony.� Theft of any property or services valued at less than
one
thousand dollars
$1,000
is a class 1 misdemeanor,
unless the property is taken from the person of another, is a firearm or is an
animal taken for the purpose of animal fighting in violation of section 13-2910.01,
in which case the theft is a class 6 felony.
H. A person who is convicted of a violation of
subsection A, paragraph 1 or 3 of this section that involved property with a
value of
one hundred thousand dollars
$100,000
or more is not eligible for suspension of sentence, probation, pardon or
release from confinement on any basis except pursuant to section 31-233,
subsection A or B until the sentence imposed by the court has been served, the
person is eligible for release pursuant to section 41-1604.07 or the
sentence is commuted.
I. For the purposes of this section, the value of
ferrous metal or nonferrous metal includes the amount of any damage to the
property of another caused as a result of the theft of the metal.
J. In an action for theft of ferrous metal or
nonferrous metal:
1. Unless satisfactorily explained or acquired in
the ordinary course of business by an automotive recycler that is licensed
pursuant to title 28, chapter 10 or by a scrap metal dealer as defined in
section 44-1641, proof of possession of scrap metal that was recently
stolen may give rise to an inference that the person in possession of the scrap
metal was aware of the risk that it had been stolen or in some way participated
in its theft.
2. Unless satisfactorily explained or sold in the
ordinary course of business by an automotive recycler that is licensed pursuant
to title 28, chapter 10 or by a scrap metal dealer as defined in section 44-1641,
proof of the sale of stolen scrap metal at a price substantially below its fair
market value may give rise to an inference that the person selling the scrap
metal was aware of the risk that it had been stolen.
K. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Adequate consideration" means the
property was given to the person as payment for bona fide goods or services
provided by the person and the payment was at a rate that was customary for
similar goods or services in the community that the vulnerable adult resided in
at the time of the transaction.
2. "Ferrous metal" has the same meaning
prescribed in section 44-1641.
3. "Pattern of gift giving" means two or
more gifts that are the same or similar in type and monetary value.
4. "Position of trust and confidence"
has the same meaning prescribed in section 46-456
means a person who is any of the following:
(
a
) A person
who has assumed a duty to provide care to a vulnerable adult.
(
b
) A joint
tenant or a tenant in common with a vulnerable adult.
(
c
) A person
who is in a fiduciary relationship with a vulnerable adult, including a de
facto guardian or de facto conservator.
(
d
) A person
who is in a confidential relationship with a vulnerable adult. The issue of
whether a confidential relationship exists is an issue of fact to be decided by
the court based on the totality of the circumstances.
(
e
) A
beneficiary of a vulnerable adult in a governing instrument.
(
f
) A person
who has formed a relationship of trust or reliance with a vulnerable adult
where the vulnerable adult is likely to rely on that person to act in good
faith for the vulnerable adult's interest
.
5. "Property" includes all forms of real
property and personal property.
6. "Vulnerable adult"
has
the same meaning prescribed in section 46-451
means
an individual who is eighteen years of age or older and who is unable to
protect himself from abuse, neglect or exploitation by others because of a
physical or mental impairment. Vulnerable adult includes:
(
a
) An
incapacitated person as defined in section 14-5101.
(
b
) A person
who is sixty-five years of age or older and who meets one or more of the
following criteria:
(
i
) Has
experienced the death of a spouse, domestic partner or primary caregiver within
the preceding twelve months.
(
ii
) Has a
medically documented impairment of sight or hearing that significantly limits
the person's ability to receive or interpret information accurately.
(
iii
) Is
diagnosed with a chronic illness or condition that materially affects
cognition, stamina or decision-making capacity, including metabolic disorders,
neurodegenerative diseases, malnutrition or sleep deprivation.
(
iv
) Is
dependent, in whole or in part, on another person for financial management,
transportation, caregiving, access to medications or housing where the
dependency creates a substantial risk of undue influence or coercion.
(
v
) Exhibits
signs of social, emotional or psychological isolation that materially impair
the person's ability to recognize, resist or report financial exploitation
.
END_STATUTE