Act No. 675
Public Acts of 2006
Approved by the Governor
January 8, 2007
Filed with the Secretary of State
January 10, 2007
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 30, 2007
STATE OF MICHIGAN
93RD LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 2006
Introduced by Rep. Waters
ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 6599
AN ACT to amend 1917 PA 350, entitled "An act to regulate and license second hand dealers and junk dealers; and to prescribe penalties for the violation of the provisions of this act," by amending sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8 (MCL445.401, 445.402, 445.403, 445.404, 445.405, and 445.408), sections 1 and 3 as amended by 2006 PA 294; and to repeal acts and parts of acts.
The People of the State of Michigan enact:
Sec. 1. (1) A person, corporation, copartnership, or firm shall not carry on the business of dealer in second hand goods or junk dealer in any of the counties, cities, or villages of this state without having first obtained, from the mayor of the city or the chief executive officer of the county or village where the business is to be carried on, a license under this act authorizing that person, corporation, copartnership, or firm to carry on that business.
(2) This subsection does not require an internet drop-off store complying with subsection (3), or a person engaged in the sale, purchase, consignment, or trade of personal property or other valuable thing for himself or herself, to obtain a license under this act.
(3) An internet drop-off store in compliance with the following conditions is exempt from licensure as a second hand dealer or junk dealer under this act:
(a) Has a fixed place of business within this state except that he or she exclusively transacts all purchases or sales by means of the internet and the purchases and sales are not physically transacted on the premises of that fixed place of business.
(b) Has the personal property or other valuable thing available on a website for viewing by photograph, if available, by the general public at no charge, which website shall be searchable by zip code or state, or both. The website viewing shall include, as applicable, serial number, make, model, and other unique identifying marks, numbers, names, or letters appearing on the personal property or other valuable thing.
(c) Maintains records of the sale, purchase, consignment, or trade of the personal property or other valuable thing for at least 2 years, which records shall contain a description, including a photograph, if available, and, if applicable, serial number, make, model, and other unique identifying marks, numbers, names, or letters appearing on the personal property or other valuable thing.
(d) Provide the local law enforcement agency with any name under which it conducts business on the website and access to the business premises at any time during normal business hours for purposes of inspection.
(e) Within 24 hours after a request from a local law enforcement agency, provide an electronic copy of the seller's or consignor's name, address, telephone number, driver license number and issuing state, the buyer's name and address if applicable, and a description of the personal property or other valuable thing as described in subdivision (c). The provision of information shall be in a format acceptable to the local law enforcement agency but shall at least be in a legible format and in the English language.
(f) Provide that payment for the personal property or other valuable thing is executed by means of check or other electronic payment system, so long as the payment is not made in cash. No payment shall be provided to the seller until the item is sold.
(g) Immediately remove the personal property or other valuable thing from the website if the local law enforcement agency determines that the personal property or other valuable thing is stolen.
Sec. 2. (1) The mayor of a city or chief executive officer of a county or village may grant to any person, corporation, copartnership, or firm, a license authorizing that person, corporation, copartnership, or firm to carry on the business of a second hand dealer or junk dealer subject to the provisions of this act.
(2) The license shall designate the particular place where that person, corporation, copartnership, or firm shall carry on that business. The business shall be conducted only in the place designated in the license.
(3) A license shall not be issued to any person, firm, or corporation desiring to conduct a junk business in any residential community where 65% or more of the property owners within a radius of 1 city block of the contemplated junk business petition the issuing officer not to do so.
(4) The license shall be for the period of 1 year from date of issuance unless sooner revoked for cause and is not transferable. The legislative body of any city, or the trustees and chief executive officer of any county or village, shall establish the fee for the processing and issuance of the license in accordance with its charter or local ordinance, based upon the cost of issuance and administration of that license.
(5) The city, village, or county may inspect the premises of a licensed second hand or junk dealer during normal business hours.
Sec. 3. As used in this act:
(a) "Automotive recycler" means a person who engages in business primarily for the purpose of selling retail salvage vehicle parts and secondarily for the purpose of selling retail salvage motor vehicles or manufacturing or selling a product of gradable scrap metal or a person employed as a salvage vehicle agent as that term is defined in section 56c of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.56c.
(b) "Industrial scrap" means materials that are a direct product or by-product of any form of manufacturing, shaping, or cutting process from a person, company, corporation, copartnership, or firm whose principal business is the manufacturing, shaping, or cutting of materials at a fixed place of business.
(c) "Internet drop-off store" means a person, corporation, or firm that contracts with other persons, corporations, or firms to offer its personal property or other valuable thing for sale, purchase, consignment, or trade through means of an internet website and meets the conditions described in section 1(3).
(d) "Local law enforcement agency" means the police agency of the city, village, or township, or if none, the county sheriff of the county in which the internet drop-off store conducts business.
(e) "Scrap processor" means a person, utilizing machinery and equipment and operating from a fixed location, whose principal business is the processing and manufacturing of iron, steel, nonferrous metals, paper, plastic, or glass, into prepared grades of products suitable for consumption by recycling mills, foundries, and other scrap processors.
(f) "Second hand dealer" or "junk dealer" means any person, corporation, or member or members of a copartnership or firm whose principal business is that of purchasing, selling, exchanging, storing, or receiving second hand articles of any kind, scrap metals, cast iron, old iron, old steel, tool steel, aluminum, copper, brass, lead pipe or tools, or lighting and plumbing fixtures. Second hand dealer or junk dealer does not include a scrap processor, an automotive recycler, or a junkyard that deals principally in industrial scrap and is licensed by a city, village, or county.
Sec. 4. (1) A second hand dealer or junk dealer shall post in a conspicuous place in or upon its place of business a sign having its name and occupation.
(2) A second hand or junk dealer shall keep a separate book or other record open to inspection by a member of a local law enforcement agency, in which shall be written or entered in the English language at the time of the purchase or exchange of any article a description of the article, the name, description, fingerprint, operator's or chauffeur's license or state identification number, registration plate number, and address of the person from whom the article was purchased and received, and the day and hour when the purchase or exchange was made as well as the location from which the item was obtained, if applicable. Each entry shall be numbered consecutively.
Sec. 5. (1) The articles purchased or exchanged shall be retained by the purchaser for at least 15 days before disposing of them, in an accessible place in the building where the articles are purchased and received. A tag shall be attached to the articles in some visible and convenient place, with the number written thereupon, to correspond with the entry number in the book or other record.
(2) The purchaser shall prepare and deliver on Monday of each week to the chief of police or chief law enforcement officer of the local unit of government in which such business is carried on, before 12 o'clock noon, a legible and correct copy written in the English language from the book or other record, containing a description of each article purchased or received during the preceding week, the hour and day when the purchase was made, and the description of the person from whom it was purchased. The statement shall be verified by the person subscribing his or her name thereto.
(3) This section does not apply to old rags, waste paper, and household goods except radios, televisions, record players, and electrical appliances and does not require the purchaser to retain articles purchased from individuals, firms, or corporations having a fixed place of business after those articles shall have been reported.
Sec. 8. (1) Except as otherwise provided for in this section, a person who violates this act is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be imprisoned for not more than 6 months and shall be fined not less than $500.00 or more than $1,000.00.
(2) A second hand or junk dealer who buys or sells scrap metal, knowing that it is stolen, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 3 years or a fine of not more than $2,000.00, or both.
(3) A second hand or junk dealer who buys or sells stolen scrap metal that he or she has reason to believe was unlawfully removed from a utility pole, telecommunication company property, government property, or utility property or jobsite is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than $10,000.00, or both.
(4) The license of a person, corporation, copartnership, or firm that is found guilty of violating any of the provisions of this act shall be considered to be revoked upon entry of a conviction and such person, corporation, copartnership, or firm shall not be permitted to carry on the business of being a second hand or junk dealer within this state for a period of 1 year after that conviction.
(5) The remedies under this act are independent and cumulative. The use of 1 remedy by a person does not bar the use of other lawful remedies by that person or the use of a lawful remedy by another person.
Enacting section 1. 1945 PA 231, MCL 445.471 to 445.476, is repealed.
Clerk of the House of Representatives
Secretary of the Senate
Approved
Governor