BILL REQ. #:  S-1951.1 

Read first time 02/21/2007.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to protecting and recovering property owned by utilities, telecommunications companies, railroads, state agencies, political subdivisions of the state, construction firms, and other parties; adding a new section to chapter 80.28 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 19 RCW; creating a new section; repealing RCW 9.91.110; and prescribing penalties.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Commercial account" means a relationship between a recycler or scrap metal processor and a commercial enterprise that is ongoing and properly documented under section 3 of this act.
     (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 that has a current business license.
     (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, cable, electric, water, natural gas, or other utility, or railroad; unused or undamaged building construction materials consisting of copper pipe, tubing, or insulated or noninsulated wiring, or aluminum wire, siding, downspouts, gutters, or fence materials; aluminum decking; aluminum bleachers; historical markers; statue plaques; grave markers and funeral vases; agricultural implements, including irrigation wheels, sprinkler heads and pipes; or electrical conductors.
     (4) "Metal property" means any item that contains metal for which the value of the metal content of the item exceeds the commercial value of the item itself, or which has reached the end of its useful life but still has residual value due to its metal content. "Metal property" does not include precious metals.
     (5) "Nonferrous metal property" is metal property for which the value of the metal property is derived from the property's content of copper, brass, aluminum, bronze, lead, zinc, or nickel, and their alloys, and includes electronic scrap.
     (6) "Precious metals" means gold, silver, and platinum.
     (7) "Record" means a paper, electronic, or other method of storing information.
     (8) "Recycler" means a person with a current business license engaged in the business of purchasing or receiving metal property for the purpose of aggregation and sale to a scrap metal processor or another recycler, and maintains a fixed place of business within the state.
     (9) "Scrap metal processor" means a person with a current business license that conducts business from a permanent location and that is engaged in the business of purchasing or receiving metal property for the purpose of sorting or upgrading the metal in preparation for its use as feedstock in the manufacture of new products.      
     (10) "Transaction" means the purchase of any item of metal property by a recycler or scrap metal processor from a member of the general public. "Transaction" does not include the purchase or receipt of metal property by a recycler or scrap metal processor from a commercial enterprise, from another recycler or scrap metal processor, or from a duly authorized employee or agent of the commercial enterprise, recycler, or scrap metal processor.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   RECORDS REQUIRED FOR PURCHASING METAL PROPERTY FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC. At the time of a transaction involving nonferrous metal property, every recycler and scrap metal processor doing business in this state shall produce wherever that business is conducted an accurate and legible record of each transaction involving metal property. This record must be written in the English language and contain the following information:
     (1) The signature of the person with whom the transaction is made;
     (2) The time, date, location, and value of the transaction;
     (3) The name of the employee representing the recycler or scrap metal processor in the transaction;
     (4) The name, street address, and telephone number of the person with whom the transaction is made;
     (5) The current driver's license number or other government-issued picture identification card number of the seller;
     (6) A copy of the seller's government-issued picture identification card;
     (7) A description of the motor vehicle used to deliver the metal property subject to the transaction; and
     (8) A description of the predominant types of metal property subject to the transaction, including the property's weight, quantity, or volume.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   REQUIREMENTS FOR PURCHASING OR RECEIVING METAL PROPERTY FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC. (1) No recycler or scrap metal processor may enter into a transaction to purchase or receive 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 recycler may purchase or receive commercial metal property. A scrap metal processor may purchase or receive commercial metal property if the seller: (a) Has a commercial account with the scrap metal processor; (b) can prove ownership of the property by producing written documentation that the seller is the owner of the property; (c) signs a receipt provided by the scrap metal processor stating that they have the legal right to sell the metal property; or (d) 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 recycler or scrap metal processor may offer cash payment in exchange for metal property.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   RECORD FOR COMMERCIAL ACCOUNTS. (1) Every recycler and scrap metal processor must create and maintain a permanent record with a commercial enterprise, including another recycler or scrap metal processor, 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 metal property and commercial metal property to the recycler or scrap metal processor.
     (2) The record maintained by a recycler and scrap metal processor for a commercial account must document every purchase or receipt of 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 metal property being purchased or received; and
     (c) The signature of the person delivering the metal property to the recycler or scrap metal processor.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   REPORTING TO LAW ENFORCEMENT. (1) If in the course of an investigation of metal theft by state or local law enforcement, a recycler or scrap metal processor is requested by a commissioned law enforcement officer to provide information relating to an investigation of metal theft, the recycler or scrap metal processor shall provide any pertinent records relating to the investigation subject. Failure to produce the requested information in a reasonable time as determined by the requesting law enforcement agency, but not less than two business days from receipt of a written request, shall subject the recycler or scrap metal processor to a fine of up to one hundred dollars per day.
     (2) If the records produced by the recycler or scrap metal processor are incomplete, illegible, or otherwise in violation of the requirements in section 2 of this act, a commissioned law enforcement officer may demand the disclosure of all records for the preceding ninety days. A fine of one hundred dollars per transaction shall apply to all transactions for which the records required under section 2 of this act are materially missing, incomplete, or illegible.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   PRESERVING EVIDENCE OF METAL THEFT. (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 metal property or commercial metal property has been reported as stolen, a recycler and scrap metal processor 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 recycler and scrap metal processor 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 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.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   UNLAWFUL VIOLATIONS. It is a gross misdemeanor under chapter 9A.20 RCW for:
     (1) Any person to 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 nonferrous metal property or commercial metal property;
     (2) Any recycler or scrap metal processor to purchase or receive any 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 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; or
     (4) Any recycler or scrap metal processor to possess commercial metal property that was not lawfully purchased or received under the requirements of this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   EXEMPTIONS. 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) Vehicle wreckers or hulk haulers licensed under chapter 46.79 or 46.80 RCW;
     (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, or nonmetal junk.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   A new section is added to chapter 80.28 RCW to read as follows:
     ELECTRICAL UTILITIES. The commission shall require an electrical company regulated under this chapter to mark critical infrastructure with identifying markings that are not obvious to inspection by the human eye without magnification or other assistance and to take adequate measures to secure sensitive components of the company's generating and transmission facilities. If marked equipment is stolen, the electrical company shall report the theft to the appropriate law enforcement authority along with information necessary to identify the markings required under this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   Sections 1 through 8 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 19 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 11   RCW 9.91.110 (Metal buyers -- Records of purchases -- Penalty) and 1971 ex.s. c 302 s 18 are each repealed.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 12   Captions used in this act are not any part of the law.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 13   If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.