HOUSE BILL No. 4594

 

April 18, 2013, Introduced by Reps. Tlaib, Roberts, Darany, Hovey-Wright, Haugh, Brown, Cochran, Kivela, Santana, Muxlow, Knezek, Banks, Dillon, Talabi, Stallworth, Hobbs, Kosowski, Townsend, Zemke, Stanley, Geiss, LaVoy, Durhal, Kandrevas, Zorn, Outman, Faris, Greimel and Oakes and referred to the Committee on Regulatory Reform.

 

     A bill to amend 2008 PA 429, entitled

 

"Nonferrous metal regulatory act,"

 

by amending the title and sections 1, 3, and 5 (MCL 445.421,

 

445.423, and 445.425).

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

TITLE

 

     An act to regulate the purchase and sale of certain nonferrous

 

metals; to provide for disclosures by certain persons regarding

 

certain transactions; to require the creation of records for

 

certain purposes and for the use of certain databases by certain

 

persons; scrap metal and other items that contain ferrous or

 

nonferrous metal to scrap metal dealers; to require sellers to

 

provide and scrap metal dealers to obtain certain information at

 

the time of a purchase transaction; to require that scrap metal


 

dealers implement and maintain records of their purchase

 

transactions and to make those records available for law

 

enforcement purposes; and to provide for penalties and remedies.

 

     Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the

 

"nonferrous "scrap metal regulatory act".

 

     Sec. 3. As used in this act:

 

     (a) "Dealer" means any person that is not a first purchaser

 

who purchases nonferrous metals from any seller. Dealer includes,

 

but is not limited to, a person, whether or not licensed under

 

state law or local ordinance, that operates a business as a scrap

 

metal recycler, scrap processor, secondhand and junk dealer, or

 

other person who purchases any amount of nonferrous metal on a

 

regular, sporadic, or 1-time basis. Dealer does not include an

 

automotive recycler regulated by and complying with section 217 of

 

the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.217; section 18 of

 

the motor vehicle service and repair act, 1974 PA 300, MCL

 

257.1318; or section 2 of 1986 PA 119, MCL 257.1352, when engaging

 

in activities that meet the definition of automotive recycler as

 

defined in section 2a of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300,

 

MCL 257.2a.

 

     (b) "Documentation" means a signed statement that indicates

 

where the person obtained the article, that the person is

 

authorized to sell the article, or other evidence that reasonably

 

demonstrates ownership of the article and the source of the

 

article.

 

     (a) (c) "Ferrous metal" means a metal that contains

 

significant quantities of iron or steel.


 

     (b) (d) "First purchaser" means the first buyer of a

 

manufactured product containing item that contains ferrous or

 

nonferrous metal in a retail or business-to-business transaction.

 

Persons purchasing nonferrous metal A person that purchases scrap

 

metal, or other personal property described in section 10, in

 

violation of this act, or an automotive recyclers, pawnshops,

 

recycler, pawnshop, scrap metal recyclers, and recycler, or scrap

 

processors are processor is not considered a first

 

purchasers.purchaser.

 

     (c) "Governmental unit" means a subdivision, agency,

 

department, county, parish, municipality, or other unit of the

 

government of the United States, this state, another state, or a

 

foreign country.

 

     (d) (e) "Industrial or commercial account customer" means any

 

person, operating a person that operates from a fixed location ,

 

that and is a seller of ferrous or nonferrous scrap metal to a

 

scrap metal recycler pursuant to dealer under a written agreement.

 

     (e) (f) "Nonferrous metal" means a metal that does not contain

 

significant quantities of ferrous metal but contains copper, brass,

 

platinum-based metals, aluminum, bronze, lead, zinc, nickel, or

 

alloys of those metals.

 

     (f) (g) "Person" means an individual, partnership,

 

corporation, limited liability company, joint venture, trust,

 

association, or other legal entity.

 

     (g) (h) "Public fixtures fixture" means articles containing

 

nonferrous metal that are used or located in areas open to the

 

public and include, but are not limited to, utility access covers;


 

street light and fixtures; road and bridge guard rails; highway or

 

street signs; water meter covers; traffic directional and control

 

signs; traffic light signals; telecommunications cable; utility-

 

related articles; and historical markers.an item that contains

 

ferrous or nonferrous metal and is owned or under the exclusive

 

control of a governmental unit. The term includes, but is not

 

limited to, a street light pole or fixture, road or bridge

 

guardrail, traffic sign, traffic light signal, or historical

 

marker.

 

     (h) "Purchase transaction" means a purchase of scrap metal by

 

a scrap metal dealer. The term does not include any of the

 

following:

 

     (i) The purchase of 1 or more used or secondhand, distressed,

 

or salvage vehicles or vehicle parts by a used or secondhand

 

vehicle dealer or used or secondhand vehicle parts dealer that is

 

licensed as a dealer under section 248 of the Michigan vehicle

 

code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.248, and is acting within the scope of

 

that dealer's license.

 

     (ii) The purchase of 1 or more used or secondhand, distressed,

 

or salvage vehicles, vehicle parts, or vehicle scrap by a vehicle

 

scrap metal processor, vehicle salvage pool operator, or foreign

 

salvage vehicle dealer that is licensed as a dealer under section

 

248 of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.248, and is

 

acting within the scope of that dealer's license.

 

     (iii) The purchase of 1 or more used or secondhand, distressed,

 

or salvage vehicles, vehicle parts, or vehicle scrap by an

 

automotive recycler that is licensed as a dealer under section 248


 

of the Michigan vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.248, if the

 

transaction is authorized under section 217c of the Michigan

 

vehicle code, 1949 PA 300, MCL 257.217c; section 18 of the motor

 

vehicle service and repair act, 1974 PA 300, MCL 257.1318; or

 

section 2 of 1986 PA 119, MCL 257.1352.

 

     (iv) The purchase of scrap metal by a mill, foundry, die

 

caster, or other manufacturing facility that purchases scrap metal

 

for its own use in the production of metal articles or materials

 

and does not in the ordinary course of its business purchase scrap

 

metal for resale.

 

     (i) "Record" means a paper, electronic, or other generally

 

accepted method of storing information in a retrievable form.

 

     (j) "Scale operator" means the employee of a scrap metal

 

dealer who operates or attends a scale that is used to weigh the

 

scrap metal in a purchase transaction.

 

     (k) "Scrap metal" means ferrous or nonferrous metal, or items

 

that contain ferrous or nonferrous metal, that are sold or offered

 

for sale for the value of the ferrous or nonferrous metal they

 

contain rather than their original intended use; ferrous or

 

nonferrous metal removed from or obtained by cutting, demolishing,

 

or disassembling a building, structure, or manufactured item; or

 

other metal that cannot be used for its original intended purpose

 

but can be processed for reuse in a mill, foundry, die caster, or

 

other manufacturing facility.

 

     (l) "Scrap metal dealer" means a person that buys or sells

 

scrap metal and is not a first purchaser. The term includes, but is

 

not limited to, a person, whether or not licensed under state law


 

or local ordinance, that operates a business as a scrap metal

 

recycler, scrap processor, secondhand and junk dealer, or other

 

person that purchases any amount of scrap metal on a regular,

 

sporadic, or 1-time basis. The term does not include a governmental

 

unit that buys or sells scrap metal.

 

     (m) (j) "Scrap metal recycler" means a person that purchases

 

ferrous or nonferrous metal that is intended for recycling or

 

reuse, whether regarded as a scrap processor, core buyer, or other

 

similar business operation.

 

     (n) (k) "Scrap processor" means that term as defined in

 

section 3 of 1917 PA 350, MCL 445.403.

 

     (o) (l) "Seller" means any individual or a person that either

 

regularly, sporadically, or on a 1-time basis receives

 

consideration from any other person from the purchase by a scrap

 

metal dealer of nonferrous scrap metal offered by that seller.

 

     Sec. 5. (1) A dealer shall do all All of the following apply

 

to a scrap metal dealer:

 

     (a) Produce and maintain records as required under section

 

7(2).

 

     (b) Participate in a database meeting the requirements of

 

section 11.

 

     (c) Tag and hold any nonferrous metal as provided for in

 

section 9.

 

     (d) Pay a seller by a method capable of being traced from the

 

dealer to the seller. Payment by cash or currency of more than

 

$50.00, barter, or trade is not considered a payment that complies

 

with the requirement of this subdivision. Payment of cash in any


 

amount in a transaction involving predominantly copper articles is

 

considered a violation of this subdivision.

 

     (e) In the case of a transaction involving nonferrous metal,

 

verify that the seller is at least 16 years of age.

 

     (a) Unless subdivision (b) applies, and except as provided in

 

subdivision (c), a scrap metal dealer shall only pay a seller with

 

1 of the following in a purchase transaction:

 

     (i) A check or money order. A scrap metal dealer shall make and

 

retain a photograph or digital or electronic image of the delivery

 

of the check or money order to the seller or individual acting on

 

behalf of the seller in the purchase transaction.

 

     (ii) An electronic payment card or encrypted receipt that may

 

only be converted to cash in an automated teller machine that is

 

located on the seller's premises; is used for the sole purpose of

 

dispensing cash in connection with purchase transactions; and

 

provides a digital or electronic image of the dispensing of the

 

cash to the seller.

 

     (b) Except as provided in subdivision (c), in a purchase

 

transaction of any of the following items, a scrap metal dealer

 

shall not pay the seller until 3 business days after the date of

 

the transaction, and shall only pay the seller after that period by

 

making a direct deposit or electronic transfer to the seller's

 

account at a financial institution or mailing a check or money

 

order, payable to the seller, to a street address provided to the

 

dealer by the seller and not to a post office box:

 

     (i) Catalytic converters, unless the seller is an automotive

 

recycler as defined in section 2a of the Michigan vehicle code,


 

1949 PA 300, MCL 257.2a.

 

     (ii) Air conditioners, air conditioner evaporator coils or

 

condensers, or parts of air conditioner evaporator coils and

 

condensers.

 

     (iii) Copper wire, including copper wire that is burned in whole

 

or in part to remove the insulation.

 

     (c) In a purchase transaction with an industrial or business

 

customer, a scrap metal dealer may pay that customer in any manner

 

described in subdivision (a) or (b).

 

     (d) Unless the transaction is with an industrial or commercial

 

customer, a scrap metal dealer shall not accept barter or a trade

 

or exchange of scrap metal or other personal property.

 

     (e) A scrap metal dealer in a purchase transaction shall

 

examine the identification presented under subsection (2)(a) by the

 

seller or individual acting on behalf of the seller, and if the

 

identification presented displays the date of birth of the

 

individual, confirm that the individual is at least 16 years old

 

based on that date of birth.

 

     (f) A scrap metal dealer shall not purchase scrap metal that

 

is not delivered in or on a vehicle licensed and titled for use on

 

public highways.

 

     (g) A scrap metal dealer shall ensure that it trains each

 

scale operator, purchaser, and supervisor employed by the dealer

 

concerning the legal requirements of this act and the

 

responsibilities of the scrap metal dealer under this act.

 

     (2) A seller shall do all of the following:In a purchase

 

transaction, all of the following apply to a seller, if the seller


 

is an individual, or to an individual acting as an agent or

 

representative of a seller:

 

     (a) Present to the dealer an He or she must present his or her

 

operator's or chauffeur's license, military identification card,

 

Michigan identification card, passport, or other government-issued

 

identification containing a his or her photograph to the scrap

 

metal dealer and allow the scrap metal dealer to make a photocopy

 

or electronic copy of the identification.

 

     (b) Allow He or she must allow the scrap metal dealer to make

 

a take his or her thumbprint, to be used only for identification

 

purposes by the scrap metal dealer and for investigation purposes

 

by a law enforcement agency.

 

     (c) Execute He or she must provide the scrap metal dealer with

 

a signed statement indicating that the seller certifies that he or

 

she is the owner of, or is otherwise authorized to sell, the

 

nonferrous scrap metal offered for purchase to the scrap metal

 

dealer.

 

     (d) Attest to the lack of any criminal convictions An

 

individual who has been convicted of a crime involving the theft,

 

conversion, or sale of nonferrous metals.scrap metal may not enter

 

into a purchase transaction. As part of a purchase transaction, the

 

individual shall certify that he or she has not been convicted of a

 

crime described in this subdivision.

 

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect

 

unless both of the following bills of the 97th Legislature are

 

enacted into law:

 

     (a) Senate Bill No. ____ or House Bill No. 4593(request no.


 

00660'13).

 

     (b) Senate Bill No. ____ or House Bill No. 4595(request no.

 

00752'13).