COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2748
(By Delegates DeLong, Webster, Craig, Amores and Mahan)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
(February 19, 2007)
A BILL to amend and reenact §61-3-49 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; relating to the receipt and transfer of
scrap metal; imposing of additional reporting and record
retention requirements for certain purchasers of nonferrous
metal or steel railroad track and track material; clarifying
procedure by which law enforcement officers authority may take
custody of items made of such metals upon reasonable belief
that a crime had been committed; providing for the inspection
of records and materials by investigators employed by public
utilities and railroads; providing for the return of such
metals under certain conditions; and increasing criminal
penalties for violations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That § 61-3-49 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY
§61-3-49. Purchase of nonferrous metals or steel railroad track
and track materials by scrap metal purchasing
businesses, salvage yards, or recycling facilities;
certificates, records and reports of such purchases;
criminal penalties.
(a) Any person in the business of purchasing scrap metal, any
salvage yard owner or operator, or any public or commercial
recycling facility owner or operator, or any agent or employee
thereof, who purchases any form of copper, aluminum, brass, lead or
other nonferrous metal of any kind, or steel railroad track and
track material, shall
make a record of such purchase comply with
the provisions of this section.
Such record shall accurately list
the name, permanent and business addresses and telephone number of
the seller, the motor vehicle license number of any vehicle used to
transport the nonferrous metal or steel to the place of purchase,
the time and date of the transaction and a complete description of
the kind and character of the nonferrous metal or steel railroad
track and track material purchased. The person purchasing the
nonferrous metal or steel railroad track and track material shall
also require from the seller, and retain in the record, a signed
certificate of ownership of the nonferrous metal or steel railroad
track and track material being sold or authorization from the owner
to sell.
(b) The purchaser of such metals shall make and maintain a
record of each transaction and such record shall contain the following information:
(1) Full name, permanent and business addresses, and
telephone number, if available, of the seller;
(2) A description and the motor vehicle license number of any
vehicle used to transport the nonferrous metal or steel to the
place of purchase;
(3) The time and date of the transaction;
(4) A complete description of the kind, character and weight
of the nonferrous metal or steel railroad track and track material
purchased; and
(5) A statement whether the nonferrous metal or steel
railroad track and track material was purchased, taken as
collateral for a loan, or taken on consignment.
(c) The person purchasing the nonferrous metal or steel
railroad track and track material shall also require and retain
from the seller the following information:
(1) A signed certificate of ownership of the nonferrous metal
or steel railroad track and track material being sold or signed
authorization from the owner to sell; and
(2) A photocopy of a valid driver's license or identification
card issued by the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles of the
person delivering the nonferrous metal or steel railroad track and
track material, or in lieu thereof, any other identification card
containing a photograph of the seller as issued by any state or
federal agency of the United States. However, if the buyer has a
copy of the seller's photo identification on file, the buyer may reference the identification that is on file, without making a
separate photocopy for each transaction.
(d) A law enforcement officer may at any time during an
investigation require the purchaser of nonferrous metal or steel
railroad track and track material to present such items for
inspection, upon demand. If the law enforcement officer has a
reasonable belief that said items had been misappropriated, stolen,
or taken under false pretenses, the officer may take into custody
a representative sample of the items, as deemed appropriate, after
securing a proper warrant. Upon the entry of a final determination
and order by a court of competent jurisdiction, any items found to
have been misappropriated, stolen or taken under false pretenses
may be returned to the proper owner of such nonferrous metal or
steel railroad track and track material.
(e) On request, any person employed by a public utility or
railroad to investigate the theft of utility or railroad property
shall be permitted to inspect the purchased nonferrous metal or
steel railroad track and track material that is in the possession
of the buyer, for the purpose of detecting and identifying stolen
utility or railroad property.
(f) It shall be unlawful for any of the aforementioned
persons to purchase any nonferrous metal or steel railroad track
and track material without obtaining the
certificate of ownership,
or authorization from the owner to sell, on the part of the seller
information set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of this section.
Such
record and certificate information shall be available for inspection by any law-enforcement officer
or any investigator
employed by a public utility or railroad to investigate the theft
of public utility or railroad property, and must be maintained by
the purchaser for not less than one year after the date of the
purchase.
(b) Should the transaction involve one hundred or more pounds
of copper, steel railroad track, track material or aluminum in any
form, the purchaser of the copper, steel railroad track, track
material or aluminum, or his or her agent, shall report in writing
to the chief of police of the municipality or the sheriff of the
county wherein he or she is transacting business and to the local
detachment of the Division of Public Safety all the information
obtained. The report must be filed within seventy-two hours after
the transaction. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to
purchases made at wholesale under contract or as a result of a
bidding process.
(c) (g) Nothing in this section applies to scrap purchases by
manufacturing facilities that melt, or otherwise alter the form of
scrap metal and transform it into a new product or to the purchase
or transportation of food and beverage containers or other
nonindustrial materials having a marginal value per individual
unit.
(d)(h) Any person who knowingly or with fraudulent intent
violates any provision of this section, including the knowing
failure to make a report or the knowing falsification of any
required information, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
of a first offense thereof, shall be fined not less than
five hundred one thousand dollars nor more than
two three thousand
dollars;
upon conviction of a second offense thereof, shall be
fined not less than two thousand dollars and not more than four
thousand dollars, and any business license held by that person
shall be suspended for six months; and upon conviction of a third
or subsequent offense thereof, shall be fined not less than three
thousand dollars and not more than five thousand dollars, any
business licenses held by that person shall be revoked, and both
they and any member of their immediate family shall be prohibited
from applying for, holding or obtaining any business license which
would permit them to own, conduct or operate any business which
would involve the purchase of scrap metal or the operation of any
salvage yard or recycling facility for a period of two years.
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