The Ohio State Senate has passed a new regulation that is seeking to make it more difficult for thieves to sell scrap metal that has been illegally obtained.
Senate Bill 171 was passed by the Ohio Senate by a vote of 24-8. The vote took place on March 12. It now goes to the Ohio House of Representatives where it will be debated.
Several key points of the bill include the following:
Establishes record-keeping requirements for scrap metal dealers separate from the record-keeping requirements for dealers in other types of secondhand goods.
- Establishes additional requirements scrap metal dealers must satisfy when purchasing or receiving special purchase articles as defined in the bill.
- Prohibits a scrap metal dealer from purchasing or receiving any articles from a person who refuses to show the dealer the person's personal identification card.
- Requires the law enforcement agency that serves the jurisdiction in which a scrap metal dealer is located to provide a list, as that agency determines appropriate, of the names and descriptions of persons known to be or who are suspected to be thieves or receivers of stolen property.
- Prohibits a scrap metal dealer from purchasing or receiving articles from any person included in the list provided by a law enforcement agency as described in the dot point immediately above.
- Prohibits any scrap metal dealer from purchasing or receiving any special purchase articles from any person who is under 18 years of age.
- Specifies that whoever violates certain prohibitions concerning purchasing or receiving scrap metal or special purchase articles is guilty of a first degree misdemeanor.
- Exempts certain government and business entities from the bill's requirements concerning the purchase or receipt of scrap metal and special purchase items.
- Requires a scrap metal dealer to post a notice in a conspicuous place on the dealer's premises notifying persons who may wish to transact business with the dealer of the penalties applicable to any person who commits specified offenses.
- Requires a scrap metal dealer to provide a copy of the dealer's records to any law enforcement agency that requests the records or to the Director of Public Safety or Director's representative, upon request.
- Allows a person who claims to own a stolen article included in the records a scrap metal dealer submits to a law enforcement agency who has proof of filing a stolen property report with the appropriate law enforcement agency, to request those records.
- Requires a law enforcement agency to provide those records upon request, but requires the agency to redact information that reveals the name of the seller of any article and the price the dealer paid for any article the dealer purchased or the estimated value of any article the dealer received.
·- States that the requirements and prohibitions regarding scrap metal and special purchase items specified in the bill are intended as a comprehensive legislative enactment operating uniformly throughout Ohio, setting forth regulations concerning the purchase and sale of scrap metal, and prescribing a rule of conduct upon citizens generally.
·- States that to assure uniform statewide scrap metal purchasing practices, a municipal corporation or other political subdivision is prohibited from enacting or enforcing any regulation or ordinance regulating the purchase or sale of scrap metal by a scrap metal dealer or that is in conflict with or in derogation of the provisions of the bill regulating secondhand and scrap metal dealers.
·- Requires a dealer in specified secondhand goods to obtain a copy of a person's personal identification card when the dealer purchases or receives the goods.
·- Makes the identification information requirements that a licensed pawnbroker must obtain under the Pawnbroker Law uniform and requires a licensed pawnbroker to obtain a copy of a person's personal identification card when applicable.
The proposal was sponsored by Sen. Steve Stivers (R-Columbus). It was first introduced into the Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee last May.