Update: Kansas legislators pass bill to reduce scrap metal theft

Senate Bill 219 would shift the responsibility for the state’s scrap metal database to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.


The Kansas Senate approved Senate Bill 219 to compel scrap yard dealers to submit information to a Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) database about people selling steel, copper, aluminum and other metals. The bill passed 35-4 on March 27.

According to a news release from the Leavenworth Times newspaper, Sen. Caryn Tyson (R-Parker) objected to the bill that mandates scrap dealers to identify individuals selling them precious metals. Tyson said the proposal requiring information to be submitted to a KBI database is an “unfair burden on small businesses.” 

Lawmakers in Kansas introduced the bill in late February with the goal of reducing scrap-metal theft in the state. Senate Bill 219 would shift the responsibility for the state’s scrap metal database from the office of the state’s attorney general to the KBI and reduce the registration fee for scrap metal dealers in the state to no more than $750 annually from the existing range of $500 to $1,500. Also, the bill would add an excise tax on scrap metal sales. 

According to a report from The Topeka Capital-Journal newspaper, Topeka, Kansas, the bill would assess a 50-cent tax on purchases between 100 pounds and 2,000 pounds. The tax would be $1 for purchases in excess of one ton. The registration fees and excise tax would be implemented to fund the database. 

However, some scrap metal businesses in the state reported to The Topeka Capital-Journal that they don’t agree with the proposed legislation. Ray’s Metal Depot, La Harpe, Kansas, told the publication that he’s worried SB 219 could put his company out of business. He said his business has not experienced scrap metal theft, adding that he thinks the financial burden of paying for the database shouldn’t fall to the dealers not involved in the problem.

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