SHB 2858 -
By Committee on Judiciary
ADOPTED AS AMENDED 03/04/2008
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"Sec. 1 RCW 19.290.010 and 2007 c 377 s 1 are each amended to
read as follows:
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter
unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Commercial account" means a relationship between a scrap metal
business and a commercial enterprise that is ongoing and properly
documented under RCW 19.290.030.
(2) "Commercial enterprise" means a corporation, partnership,
limited liability company, association, state agency, political
subdivision of the state, public corporation, or any other legal or
commercial entity.
(3) "Commercial metal property" means: Utility access covers;
street light poles and fixtures; road and bridge guardrails; highway or
street signs; water meter covers; traffic directional and control
signs; traffic light signals; any metal property marked with the name
of a commercial enterprise, including but not limited to a telephone,
commercial mobile radio services, cable, electric, water, natural gas,
or other utility, or railroad; unused or undamaged building
construction materials consisting of copper pipe, tubing, or wiring, or
aluminum wire, siding, downspouts, or gutters; aluminum or stainless
steel fence panels made from one inch tubing, forty-two inches high
with four-inch gaps; aluminum decking, bleachers, or risers; historical
markers; statue plaques; grave markers and funeral vases; or
agricultural irrigation wheels, sprinkler heads, and pipes.
(4) "Nonferrous metal property" means metal property for which the
value of the metal property is derived from the property's content of
copper, brass, aluminum, bronze, lead, zinc, nickel, and their alloys.
"Nonferrous metal property" does not include precious metals.
(5) "Precious metals" means gold, silver, and platinum.
(6) "Private metal property" means catalytic converters, either
singly or in bundles, bales, or bulk, that have been removed from
vehicles for sale as a specific commodity.
(7) "Record" means a paper, electronic, or other method of storing
information.
(((7))) (8) "Scrap metal business" means a scrap metal supplier,
scrap metal recycling center, and scrap metal processor.
(((8))) (9) "Scrap metal processor" means a person with a current
business license that conducts business from a permanent location, that
is engaged in the business of purchasing or receiving private metal
property, nonferrous metal property, and commercial metal property for
the purpose of altering the metal in preparation for its use as
feedstock in the manufacture of new products, and that maintains a
hydraulic bailer, shearing device, or shredding device for recycling.
(((9))) (10) "Scrap metal recycling center" means a person with a
current business license that is engaged in the business of purchasing
or receiving private metal property, nonferrous metal property, and
commercial metal property for the purpose of aggregation and sale to
another scrap metal business and that maintains a fixed place of
business within the state.
(((10))) (11) "Scrap metal supplier" means a person with a current
business license that is engaged in the business of purchasing or
receiving private metal property or nonferrous metal property for the
purpose of aggregation and sale to a scrap metal recycling center or
scrap metal processor and that does not maintain a fixed business
location in the state.
(((11))) (12) "Transaction" means a pledge, or the purchase of, or
the trade of any item of private metal property or nonferrous metal
property by a scrap metal business from a member of the general public.
"Transaction" does not include donations or the purchase or receipt of
private metal property or nonferrous metal property by a scrap metal
business from a commercial enterprise, from another scrap metal
business, or from a duly authorized employee or agent of the commercial
enterprise or scrap metal business.
Sec. 2 RCW 19.290.020 and 2007 c 377 s 2 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) At the time of a transaction, every scrap metal business doing
business in this state shall produce wherever that business is
conducted an accurate and legible record of each transaction involving
private metal property or nonferrous metal property. This record must
be written in the English language, documented on a standardized form
or in electronic form, and contain the following information:
(a) The signature of the person with whom the transaction is made;
(b) The time, date, location, and value of the transaction;
(c) The name of the employee representing the scrap metal business
in the transaction;
(d) The name, street address, and telephone number of the person
with whom the transaction is made;
(e) The license plate number and state of issuance of the license
plate on the motor vehicle used to deliver the private metal property
or nonferrous metal property subject to the transaction;
(f) A description of the motor vehicle used to deliver the private
metal property or nonferrous metal property subject to the transaction;
(g) The current driver's license number or other government-issued
picture identification card number of the seller or a copy of the
seller's government-issued picture identification card; and
(h) A description of the predominant types of private metal
property or nonferrous metal property subject to the transaction,
including the property's classification code as provided in the
institute of scrap recycling industries scrap specifications circular,
2006, and weight, quantity, or volume.
(2) For every transaction that involves private metal property or
nonferrous metal property, every scrap metal business doing business in
the state shall require the person with whom a transaction is being
made to sign a declaration. The declaration may be included as part of
the transactional record required under subsection (1) of this section,
or on a receipt for the transaction. The declaration must state
substantially the following:
"I, the undersigned, affirm under penalty of law that the property
that is subject to this transaction is not to the best of my knowledge
stolen property."
The declaration must be signed and dated by the person with whom
the transaction is being made. An employee of the scrap metal business
must witness the signing and dating of the declaration and sign the
declaration accordingly before any transaction may be consummated.
(3) The record and declaration required under this section must be
open to the inspection of any commissioned law enforcement officer of
the state or any of its political subdivisions at all times during the
ordinary hours of business, or at reasonable times if ordinary hours of
business are not kept, and must be maintained wherever that business is
conducted for one year following the date of the transaction.
Sec. 3 RCW 19.290.030 and 2007 c 377 s 3 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) No scrap metal business may enter into a transaction to
purchase or receive private metal property or nonferrous metal property
from any person who cannot produce at least one piece of current
government-issued picture identification, including a valid driver's
license or identification card issued by any state.
(2) No scrap metal business may purchase or receive private metal
property or commercial metal property unless the seller: (a) Has a
commercial account with the scrap metal business; (b) can prove
ownership of the property by producing written documentation that the
seller is the owner of the property; or (c) can produce written
documentation that the seller is an employee or agent authorized to
sell the property on behalf of a commercial enterprise.
(3) No scrap metal business may enter into a transaction to
purchase or receive metallic wire that was burned in whole or in part
to remove insulation unless the seller can produce written proof to the
scrap metal business that the wire was lawfully burned.
(4) No transaction involving private metal property or nonferrous
metal property valued at greater than thirty dollars may be made in
cash or with any person who does not provide a street address under the
requirements of RCW 19.290.020. For transactions valued at greater
than thirty dollars, the person with whom the transaction is being made
may only be paid by a nontransferable check, mailed by the scrap metal
business to a street address provided under RCW 19.290.020, no earlier
than ten days after the transaction was made. A transaction occurs on
the date provided in the record required under RCW 19.290.020.
(5) No scrap metal business may purchase or receive beer kegs from
anyone except a manufacturer of beer kegs or licensed brewery.
Sec. 4 RCW 19.290.040 and 2007 c 377 s 4 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) Every scrap metal business must create and maintain a permanent
record with a commercial enterprise, including another scrap metal
business, in order to establish a commercial account. That record, at
a minimum, must include the following information:
(a) The full name of the commercial enterprise or commercial
account;
(b) The business address and telephone number of the commercial
enterprise or commercial account; and
(c) The full name of the person employed by the commercial
enterprise who is authorized to deliver private metal property,
nonferrous metal property, and commercial metal property to the scrap
metal business.
(2) The record maintained by a scrap metal business for a
commercial account must document every purchase or receipt of private
metal property, nonferrous metal property, and commercial metal
property from the commercial enterprise. The documentation must
include, at a minimum, the following information:
(a) The time, date, and value of the property being purchased or
received;
(b) A description of the predominant types of property being
purchased or received; and
(c) The signature of the person delivering the property to the
scrap metal business.
Sec. 5 RCW 19.290.050 and 2007 c 377 s 5 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) Upon request by any commissioned law enforcement officer of the
state or any of its political subdivisions, every scrap metal business
shall furnish a full, true, and correct transcript of the records from
the purchase or receipt of private metal property, nonferrous metal
property, and commercial metal property involving a specific
individual, vehicle, or item of private metal property, nonferrous
metal property, or commercial metal property. This information may be
transmitted within a specified time of not less than two business days
to the applicable law enforcement agency electronically, by facsimile
transmission, or by modem or similar device, or by delivery of computer
disk subject to the requirements of, and approval by, the chief of
police or the county's chief law enforcement officer.
(2) If the scrap metal business has good cause to believe that any
private metal property, nonferrous metal property, or commercial metal
property in his or her possession has been previously lost or stolen,
the scrap metal business shall promptly report that fact to the
applicable commissioned law enforcement officer of the state, the chief
of police, or the county's chief law enforcement officer, together with
the name of the owner, if known, and the date when and the name of the
person from whom it was received.
Sec. 6 RCW 19.290.060 and 2007 c 377 s 6 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) Following notification, either verbally or in writing, from a
commissioned law enforcement officer of the state or any of its
political subdivisions that an item of private metal property,
nonferrous metal property, or commercial metal property has been
reported as stolen, a scrap metal business shall hold that property
intact and safe from alteration, damage, or commingling, and shall
place an identifying tag or other suitable identification upon the
property. The scrap metal business shall hold the property for a
period of time as directed by the applicable law enforcement agency up
to a maximum of ten business days.
(2) A commissioned law enforcement officer of the state or any of
its political subdivisions shall not place on hold any item of private
metal property, nonferrous metal property, or commercial metal property
unless that law enforcement agency reasonably suspects that the
property is a lost or stolen item. Any hold that is placed on the
property must be removed within ten business days after the property on
hold is determined not to be stolen or lost and the property must be
returned to the owner or released.
Sec. 7 RCW 19.290.070 and 2007 c 377 s 7 are each amended to read
as follows:
It is a gross misdemeanor under chapter 9A.20 RCW for:
(1) Any person to deliberately remove, alter, or obliterate any
manufacturer's make, model, or serial number, personal identification
number, or identifying marks engraved or etched upon an item of private
metal property, nonferrous metal property, or commercial metal property
in order to deceive a scrap metal business;
(2) Any scrap metal business to enter into a transaction to
purchase or receive any private metal property, nonferrous metal
property, or commercial metal property where the manufacturer's make,
model, or serial number, personal identification number, or identifying
marks engraved or etched upon the property have been deliberately and
conspicuously removed, altered, or obliterated;
(3) Any person to knowingly make, cause, or allow to be made any
false entry or misstatement of any material matter in any book, record,
or writing required to be kept under this chapter;
(4) Any scrap metal business to enter into a transaction to
purchase or receive private metal property, nonferrous metal property,
or commercial metal property from any person under the age of eighteen
years or any person who is discernibly under the influence of
intoxicating liquor or drugs;
(5) Any scrap metal business to enter into a transaction to
purchase or receive private metal property, nonferrous metal property,
or commercial metal property with anyone whom the scrap metal business
has been informed by a law enforcement agency to have been convicted of
a crime involving drugs, burglary, robbery, theft, or possession of or
receiving stolen property, manufacturing, delivering, or possessing
with intent to deliver methamphetamine, or possession of ephedrine or
any of its salts or isomers or salts of isomers, pseudoephedrine or any
of its salts or isomers or salts of isomers, or anhydrous ammonia with
intent to manufacture methamphetamine within the past ten years whether
the person is acting in his or her own behalf or as the agent of
another;
(6) Any person to sign the declaration required under RCW
19.290.020 knowing that the private metal property or nonferrous metal
property subject to the transaction is stolen. The signature of a
person on the declaration required under RCW 19.290.020 constitutes
evidence of intent to defraud a scrap metal business if that person is
found to have known that the private metal property or nonferrous metal
property subject to the transaction was stolen;
(7) Any scrap metal business to possess private metal property or
commercial metal property that was not lawfully purchased or received
under the requirements of this chapter; or
(8) Any scrap metal business to engage in a series of transactions
valued at less than thirty dollars with the same seller for the
purposes of avoiding the requirements of RCW 19.290.030(4).
Sec. 8 RCW 19.290.090 and 2007 c 377 s 9 are each amended to read
as follows:
The provisions of this chapter do not apply to transactions
conducted by the following:
(1) Motor vehicle dealers licensed under chapter 46.70 RCW;
(2) Metal and other materials from vehicles acquired by vehicle
wreckers or hulk haulers licensed under chapter 46.79 or 46.80 RCW, and
acquired in accordance with those laws;
(3) Persons in the business of operating an automotive repair
facility as defined under RCW 46.71.011; and
(4) Persons in the business of buying or selling empty food and
beverage containers, including metal food and beverage containers.
Sec. 9 RCW 9.94A.535 and 2007 c 377 s 10 are each amended to read
as follows:
The court may impose a sentence outside the standard sentence range
for an offense if it finds, considering the purpose of this chapter,
that there are substantial and compelling reasons justifying an
exceptional sentence. Facts supporting aggravated sentences, other
than the fact of a prior conviction, shall be determined pursuant to
the provisions of RCW 9.94A.537.
Whenever a sentence outside the standard sentence range is imposed,
the court shall set forth the reasons for its decision in written
findings of fact and conclusions of law. A sentence outside the
standard sentence range shall be a determinate sentence.
If the sentencing court finds that an exceptional sentence outside
the standard sentence range should be imposed, the sentence is subject
to review only as provided for in RCW 9.94A.585(4).
A departure from the standards in RCW 9.94A.589 (1) and (2)
governing whether sentences are to be served consecutively or
concurrently is an exceptional sentence subject to the limitations in
this section, and may be appealed by the offender or the state as set
forth in RCW 9.94A.585 (2) through (6).
(1) Mitigating Circumstances - Court to Consider
The court may impose an exceptional sentence below the standard
range if it finds that mitigating circumstances are established by a
preponderance of the evidence. The following are illustrative only and
are not intended to be exclusive reasons for exceptional sentences.
(a) To a significant degree, the victim was an initiator, willing
participant, aggressor, or provoker of the incident.
(b) Before detection, the defendant compensated, or made a good
faith effort to compensate, the victim of the criminal conduct for any
damage or injury sustained.
(c) The defendant committed the crime under duress, coercion,
threat, or compulsion insufficient to constitute a complete defense but
which significantly affected his or her conduct.
(d) The defendant, with no apparent predisposition to do so, was
induced by others to participate in the crime.
(e) The defendant's capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his
or her conduct, or to conform his or her conduct to the requirements of
the law, was significantly impaired. Voluntary use of drugs or alcohol
is excluded.
(f) The offense was principally accomplished by another person and
the defendant manifested extreme caution or sincere concern for the
safety or well-being of the victim.
(g) The operation of the multiple offense policy of RCW 9.94A.589
results in a presumptive sentence that is clearly excessive in light of
the purpose of this chapter, as expressed in RCW 9.94A.010.
(h) The defendant or the defendant's children suffered a continuing
pattern of physical or sexual abuse by the victim of the offense and
the offense is a response to that abuse.
(2) Aggravating Circumstances - Considered and Imposed by the Court
The trial court may impose an aggravated exceptional sentence
without a finding of fact by a jury under the following circumstances:
(a) The defendant and the state both stipulate that justice is best
served by the imposition of an exceptional sentence outside the
standard range, and the court finds the exceptional sentence to be
consistent with and in furtherance of the interests of justice and the
purposes of the sentencing reform act.
(b) The defendant's prior unscored misdemeanor or prior unscored
foreign criminal history results in a presumptive sentence that is
clearly too lenient in light of the purpose of this chapter, as
expressed in RCW 9.94A.010.
(c) The defendant has committed multiple current offenses and the
defendant's high offender score results in some of the current offenses
going unpunished.
(d) The failure to consider the defendant's prior criminal history
which was omitted from the offender score calculation pursuant to RCW
9.94A.525 results in a presumptive sentence that is clearly too
lenient.
(3) Aggravating Circumstances - Considered by a Jury -Imposed by
the Court
Except for circumstances listed in subsection (2) of this section,
the following circumstances are an exclusive list of factors that can
support a sentence above the standard range. Such facts should be
determined by procedures specified in RCW 9.94A.537.
(a) The defendant's conduct during the commission of the current
offense manifested deliberate cruelty to the victim.
(b) The defendant knew or should have known that the victim of the
current offense was particularly vulnerable or incapable of resistance.
(c) The current offense was a violent offense, and the defendant
knew that the victim of the current offense was pregnant.
(d) The current offense was a major economic offense or series of
offenses, so identified by a consideration of any of the following
factors:
(i) The current offense involved multiple victims or multiple
incidents per victim;
(ii) The current offense involved attempted or actual monetary loss
substantially greater than typical for the offense;
(iii) The current offense involved a high degree of sophistication
or planning or occurred over a lengthy period of time; or
(iv) The defendant used his or her position of trust, confidence,
or fiduciary responsibility to facilitate the commission of the current
offense.
(e) The current offense was a major violation of the Uniform
Controlled Substances Act, chapter 69.50 RCW (VUCSA), related to
trafficking in controlled substances, which was more onerous than the
typical offense of its statutory definition: The presence of ANY of
the following may identify a current offense as a major VUCSA:
(i) The current offense involved at least three separate
transactions in which controlled substances were sold, transferred, or
possessed with intent to do so;
(ii) The current offense involved an attempted or actual sale or
transfer of controlled substances in quantities substantially larger
than for personal use;
(iii) The current offense involved the manufacture of controlled
substances for use by other parties;
(iv) The circumstances of the current offense reveal the offender
to have occupied a high position in the drug distribution hierarchy;
(v) The current offense involved a high degree of sophistication or
planning, occurred over a lengthy period of time, or involved a broad
geographic area of disbursement; or
(vi) The offender used his or her position or status to facilitate
the commission of the current offense, including positions of trust,
confidence or fiduciary responsibility (e.g., pharmacist, physician, or
other medical professional).
(f) The current offense included a finding of sexual motivation
pursuant to RCW 9.94A.835.
(g) The offense was part of an ongoing pattern of sexual abuse of
the same victim under the age of eighteen years manifested by multiple
incidents over a prolonged period of time.
(h) The current offense involved domestic violence, as defined in
RCW 10.99.020, and one or more of the following was present:
(i) The offense was part of an ongoing pattern of psychological,
physical, or sexual abuse of the victim manifested by multiple
incidents over a prolonged period of time;
(ii) The offense occurred within sight or sound of the victim's or
the offender's minor children under the age of eighteen years; or
(iii) The offender's conduct during the commission of the current
offense manifested deliberate cruelty or intimidation of the victim.
(i) The offense resulted in the pregnancy of a child victim of
rape.
(j) The defendant knew that the victim of the current offense was
a youth who was not residing with a legal custodian and the defendant
established or promoted the relationship for the primary purpose of
victimization.
(k) The offense was committed with the intent to obstruct or impair
human or animal health care or agricultural or forestry research or
commercial production.
(l) The current offense is trafficking in the first degree or
trafficking in the second degree and any victim was a minor at the time
of the offense.
(m) The offense involved a high degree of sophistication or
planning.
(n) The defendant used his or her position of trust, confidence, or
fiduciary responsibility to facilitate the commission of the current
offense.
(o) The defendant committed a current sex offense, has a history of
sex offenses, and is not amenable to treatment.
(p) The offense involved an invasion of the victim's privacy.
(q) The defendant demonstrated or displayed an egregious lack of
remorse.
(r) The offense involved a destructive and foreseeable impact on
persons other than the victim.
(s) The defendant committed the offense to obtain or maintain his
or her membership or to advance his or her position in the hierarchy of
an organization, association, or identifiable group.
(t) The defendant committed the current offense shortly after being
released from incarceration.
(u) The current offense is a burglary and the victim of the
burglary was present in the building or residence when the crime was
committed.
(v) The offense was committed against a law enforcement officer who
was performing his or her official duties at the time of the offense,
the offender knew that the victim was a law enforcement officer, and
the victim's status as a law enforcement officer is not an element of
the offense.
(w) The defendant committed the offense against a victim who was
acting as a good samaritan.
(x) The defendant committed the offense against a public official
or officer of the court in retaliation of the public official's
performance of his or her duty to the criminal justice system.
(y) The victim's injuries substantially exceed the level of bodily
harm necessary to satisfy the elements of the offense. This aggravator
is not an exception to RCW 9.94A.530(2).
(z)(i)(A) The current offense is theft in the first degree, theft
in the second degree, possession of stolen property in the first
degree, or possession of stolen property in the second degree; (B) the
stolen property involved is metal property; and (C) the property damage
to the victim caused in the course of the theft of metal property is
more than three times the value of the stolen metal property, or the
theft of the metal property creates a public hazard.
(ii) For purposes of this subsection, "metal property" means
commercial metal property, private metal property, or nonferrous metal
property, as defined in RCW 19.290.010."
SHB 2858 -
By Committee on Judiciary
ADOPTED AS AMENDED 03/04/2008
On page 1, line 1 of the title, after "provisions;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 19.290.010, 19.290.020, 19.290.030, 19.290.040, 19.290.050, 19.290.060, 19.290.070, 19.290.090, and 9.94A.535; and prescribing penalties."