Crimes: burglary tools.

In Assembly Member Lackey’s plan, California would broaden the burglary-tools framework to cover modern devices such as key programming devices, key duplicating devices, and signal extenders when possessed with the intent to break or enter a building, vehicle, or other enumerated places, or when such devices are made or altered to facilitate burglary. The change expands the list of instruments treated as burglary tools and keeps the underlying offense a misdemeanor. It applies to the same core elements of the crime—possession with intent to burglarize and making or altering instruments for burglary—while clarifying that the defined structures in existing law continue to define what counts as a building for purposes of the offense.

The bill adds formal definitions for the three new device categories. A “key programming device” or “key duplicating device” is defined as any device capable of accessing a vehicle’s onboard computer to add or delete keys or to remotely start the vehicle, and it includes devices that capture a key code or signal to enable remote access. A “signal extender” is defined as a device that extends the signal range of a keyless-entry fob to send a coded signal to a vehicle’s receiver to lock or unlock, start the engine, or perform other remote commands tied to the vehicle’s onboard computer. In addition to the new definitions, the offense continues to cover possession of these instruments with the intent to feloniously break or enter and the making, altering, or repairing of such instruments with knowledge of their intended use for burglary. The measure notes that legitimate uses by locksmiths, fleet managers, or security professionals may intersect with enforcement, but the essential element remains the user’s intent.

From a fiscal and policy perspective, the measure’smatic analysis notes potential local-cost considerations associated with expanding the crime’s scope, while the enacted text asserts that no reimbursement is required for local agencies. The offense would remain a misdemeanor, with no new penalties specified beyond the existing framework for such offenses. The broader scope could affect enforcement and charging decisions, as the added device categories may intersect with legitimate professional activity. The bill’s context sits within the existing burglary-tools framework, expanding the catalog of devices considered tools of burglary while preserving the central elements of intent and method of use. The measure progressed through the 2025 session and reached enrollment in September 2025.