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Published Monday, February 06, 2012 in Local

Proposed legislation aimed toward curbing metal thefts

By Sarah Fay Campbell

The Newnan Times-Herald

Legislation moving through the Georgia Senate designed to curb metal thefts will add extensive regulations and requirements to the "secondary metals recycling industry."

The regulations in the current form of the bill will likely be effective at reducing theft, but they may also prove onerous for Georgians who are trying to sell legitimately-obtained scrap metal -- because no one could be paid for their scrap metal until two weeks after the sale.

Possibly the biggest change, however, is giving local governments the ability to pass their own regulations.

Because the state law would no longer say it "supersedes and preempts all rules, regulations, codes... adopted by any county, municipality... or other local government."

Instead, SB 321 states that, although metals theft is a matter of state-wide concern, "local regulation may nonetheless be appropriate in order to enhance further the ability of law enforcement personnel to perform their duties." Therefore, "this article shall be supplementary to local regulation and shall not supersede or preempt" local rules.

Senate Bill 321 was discussed Friday by the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee. Some changes will be made before the bill is brought back to the committee for consideration. Details on possible changes could not be obtained.

SB 321 is sponsored by Sens. Renee Unterman, R-Buford; Josh McKoon, R-Columbus; Jesse Stone, R-Waynesboro; and Ronald Ramsey, D-Decatur.

In its current form, SB 321 would, for the first time, hold those who buy scrap metal responsible if the material is stolen and they don't follow all the procedures laid out in the law.

The bill states "any person who buys or sells regulated metal property in violation of any provision of this article shall be liable to any person who was the victim of a crime involving such regulated metal property for the full value of the regulated metal property and any repairs and related expense necessitated by the crime, plus court costs and reasonable attorney's fees."

Current state laws aimed at stopping metal theft only apply to copper, aluminum, and catalytic converters. SB 321 would expand regulations to also cover ferrous and nonferrous metals. The only type of commonly recycled metal that the rules wouldn't apply to is beverage containers, such as aluminum cans.

Under current state law, metal recyclers must get a photo ID from anyone selling copper, aluminum, or catalytic converters, as well as take down the tag number and description of the seller's vehicle, and describe the metal being sold. The sellers must sign a statement declaring that they are the rightful owners of the metals or are entitled to sell them.

SB 321 adds the requirements for a fingerprint of the seller, and a photograph of the metal "which shows the regulated metal property in a clear, undistorted manner."

And, all of that information would be submitted to the sheriff of each county and entered into a statewide database. The database information would be available to law enforcement all over the state.

Currently, anyone selling copper, aluminum, or catalytic converters can be paid by check when they submit the metals, or by cash 24 hours later.

SB 321 would prohibit cash payments. Instead, checks would be mailed to the address on the photo ID submitted -- and only after 14 days have passed since the sale.

Currently, metal recyclers can only purchase metals between the hours of 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. SB 321 would restrict them to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

All "secondary metal recyclers" would be required to get a permit from the sheriff. A permit would also be required for anyone who sells metal more than three times a month, from the sheriff of the county where the seller lives, or in the county where metals are sold, if the seller is not a Georgia resident. Permit information is also entered into the database.

The sheriffs are permitted to charge a "reasonable" permit fee for "establishing and maintaining" the database.

There are also changes to the regulations on selling junk cars for scrap.

Currently, if the person selling the vehicle doesn't have a title, the seller can sign an affidavit of ownership as long as the vehicle is worth no more than $850 and is at least 12 model years old.

Under SB 321, a vehicle must be at least 20 model years old and worth no more than $500 to be sold for scrap without a title.

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