ORS 98.520: Notice of crime of unauthorized appropriation of shopping carts; recovery of abandoned shopping carts.

(1) A local government in an ordinance, charter provision, resolution or other regulation enacted or adopted in accordance with ORS 98.515 shall provide that a person that supplies shopping carts for public use at the person’s business shall: (a) Post signs in sufficient number to give notice to members of the public entering onto or leaving the business premises that unauthorized appropriation of a shopping cart is a crime under ORS 164.015 and to provide a toll-free telephone number that members of the public may use to report abandoned shopping carts. (b) Identify the person’s business on each shopping cart and post a sign on the shopping cart that: (A) Notifies any member of the public using the shopping cart that unauthorized appropriation of a shopping cart is a crime under ORS 164.015; and (B) Provides a toll-free telephone number for use in reporting an abandoned shopping cart. (c) Establish, maintain and make available to the public, at the person’s own expense, a toll-free telephone line for the purpose of reporting abandoned shopping carts. The person shall forward each report the person receives concerning an abandoned shopping cart to the owner of the shopping cart and to the appropriate local government within one business day after the person receives the report. The person may forward the report to the local government by means of electronic mail or in any other manner provided for in a local government regulation. (d) Retrieve or contract for the retrieval of abandoned shopping carts. (2) An ordinance, charter provision, resolution or other regulation enacted or adopted in accordance with ORS 98.515 shall provide that a person may agree with other persons to share and to pay expenses related to the toll-free telephone line described in subsection (1)(c) of this section. The agreement shall provide that any person designated to operate the toll-free telephone line and receive reports concerning abandoned shopping carts must forward the reports in accordance with subsection (1)(c) of this section. (3) An ordinance, charter provision, resolution or other regulation enacted or adopted in accordance with ORS 98.515 shall provide that a person shall retrieve a shopping cart that the person owns within 72 hours after receiving notification that the shopping cart has been abandoned. (4) An ordinance, charter provision, resolution or other regulation enacted or adopted in accordance with ORS 98.515 shall provide that: (a) A local government that identifies, salvages or reclaims an abandoned shopping cart shall use the toll-free telephone line described in subsection (1)(c) of this section to report the existence and location of an abandoned shopping cart to the owner of the shopping cart, if the owner is identifiable; (b) A local government may take custody of an abandoned shopping cart and impose a fine of $50 on the owner of the shopping cart if the owner does not retrieve the shopping cart within 72 hours after the local government makes a report under paragraph (a) of this subsection or after the owner receives a report under subsection (1)(c) of this section; (c) A local government may release a shopping cart held in the local government’s custody to the owner upon payment of the fine; and (d) A local government may take title to a shopping cart in the local government’s custody and dispose of the shopping cart as the local government deems appropriate, if the owner does not claim the shopping cart within 30 days. (5) For purposes of this section, “local government” means a city, county, special district or other public commission, authority or entity organized under state statute or city or county charter. [Formerly 199.891]