California Penal Code

Title 13, Chapter 5, Section 490.7.

   (a) The Legislature finds that free newspapers provide a key
source of information to the public, in many cases providing an
important alternative to the news and ideas expressed in other local
media sources. The Legislature further finds that the unauthorized
taking of multiple copies of free newspapers, whether done to sell
them to recycling centers, to injure a business competitor, to
deprive others of the opportunity to read them, or for any other
reason, injures the rights of readers, writers, publishers, and
advertisers, and impoverishes the marketplace of ideas in California.

   (b) No person shall take more than twenty-five (25) copies of the
current issue of a free or complimentary newspaper if done with the
intent to do one or more of the following:
   (1) Recycle the newspapers for cash or other payment.
   (2) Sell or barter the newspaper.
   (3) Deprive others of the opportunity to read or enjoy the
newspaper.
   (4) Harm a business competitor.
   (c) This section does not apply to the owner or operator of the
newsrack in which the copies are placed, the owner or operator of the
property on which the newsrack is placed, the publisher, the
printer, the distributor, the deliverer of the newspaper, or to any
advertiser in that issue, or to any other person who has the express
permission to do so from any of these entities.
   (d) Any newspaper publisher may provide express permission to take
more than twenty-five (25) copies of the current issue of a free or
complimentary newspaper by indicating on the newsrack or in the
newspaper itself, that people may take a greater number of copies if
they wish.
   (e) A first violation of subdivision (b) shall be an infraction
punishable by a fine not exceeding two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
A second or subsequent violation shall be punishable as an infraction
or a misdemeanor. A misdemeanor conviction under this section is
punishable by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500),
imprisonment of up to 10 days in a county jail, or by both that fine
and imprisonment. The court may order community service in lieu of
the punishment otherwise provided for an infraction or misdemeanor in
the amount of 20 hours for an infraction, and 40 hours for a
misdemeanor. A misdemeanor conviction under this section shall not
constitute a conviction for petty theft.
   (f) This section shall not be construed to repeal, modify, or
weaken any existing legal prohibitions against the taking of private
property.
   (g) For purposes of this section, an issue is current if no more
than half of the period of time until the distribution of the next
issue has passed.