HOUSE BILL 497
48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2008
INTRODUCED BY
Jim R. Trujillo
AN ACT
RELATING TO THE SALE OF RECYCLED METALS; ENACTING THE SALE OF RECYCLED METALS ACT; REGULATING THE SALE OF CERTAIN RECYCLED METALS; PROVIDING FOR PENALTIES; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Sale of Recycled Metals Act".
Section 2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Sale of Recycled Metals Act:
A. "aluminum material" means a product made from aluminum, an aluminum alloy or an aluminum byproduct. "Aluminum material" includes an aluminum beer keg but does not include other types of aluminum cans used to contain a food or beverage;
B. "bronze material" means:
(1) a cemetery vase, receptacle or memorial made from bronze;
(2) bronze statuary; and
(3) material readily identifiable as bronze;
C. "business day" means any calendar day except Sunday or the following business holidays: New Year's day, Washington's birthday, Memorial day, Independence day, Labor day, Columbus day, Veterans' day, Thanksgiving day, Christmas day, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday and any other legal public holiday of the state of New Mexico or the United States; D. "copper or brass material" means:
(1) insulated or noninsulated copper wire or cable of the type used by a public utility or common carrier that consists of at least fifty percent copper; and
(2) a copper or brass item of a type commonly used in construction or by a public utility or common carrier;
E. "department" means the department of public safety;
F. "peace officer" means any full-time salaried and commissioned or certified law enforcement officer of a police or sheriff's department that is part of or administered by the state or any political subdivision of the state;
G. "personal identification document" means:
(1) a driver's license;
(2) a military identification card;
(3) a passport issued by the United States or by another country and recognized by the United States; and
(4) a personal identification certificate issued by the department, or a corresponding card or certificate issued by another state;
H. "regulated material" means:
(1) aluminum material;
(2) bronze material;
(3) copper or brass material; and
(4) steel material;
I. "secondhand metal dealer" means:
(1) an auto wrecker, a scrap metal processor or other person that purchases, collects or solicits regulated material; and
(2) a person who operates or maintains a scrap metal yard or other place in which scrap metal or cast-off regulated material is collected or kept for shipment, sale or transfer; and
J. "steel material" means a product made from an alloy of iron, chromium, nickel or manganese.
Section 3. NOTICE TO SELLERS.--
A. A secondhand metal dealer shall at all times maintain in a prominent place in the dealer's place of business, in open view to a seller of regulated material, a notice in two-inch lettering that:
(1) includes the following language:
"A PERSON ATTEMPTING TO SELL REGULATED MATERIAL MUST
PRESENT SUFFICIENT IDENTIFICATION AS REQUIRED BY STATE LAW.
WARNING: STATE LAW PROVIDES A CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR A PERSON WHO INTENTIONALLY PROVIDES A FALSE DOCUMENT OF IDENTIFICATION OR OTHER FALSE INFORMATION TO A SECONDHAND METAL DEALER WHILE ATTEMPTING TO SELL REGULATED MATERIAL."; and
(2) states the secondhand metal dealer's usual business hours.
B. The notice required by this section may be contained on a sign that contains another notice if the secondhand metal dealer is required to display another notice pursuant to applicable law.
Section 4. INFORMATION PROVIDED BY SELLER.--
A. A person attempting to sell regulated material to a secondhand metal dealer shall:
(1) display to the secondhand metal dealer the person's personal identification document;
(2) sign a written statement provided by the secondhand metal dealer that the person is the legal owner of or is lawfully entitled to sell the regulated material offered for sale; and
(3) provide to the secondhand metal dealer the make, model and license plate number of the motor vehicle used to transport the regulated material.
B. The secondhand metal dealer or the dealer's agent shall visually verify the accuracy of the personal identification document and vehicle identification presented by the seller at the time of the dealer's purchase of regulated material.
Section 5. RECORD OF PURCHASE.--
A. A secondhand metal dealer in this state shall keep an accurate and legible written record of each purchase made in the course of the dealer's business from a person of:
(1) copper or brass material;
(2) bronze material;
(3) aluminum material in excess of ten pounds; or
(4) steel material in excess of ten pounds.
B. The record shall be in English and shall include:
(1) the place and date of the purchase;
(2) the name and address of each person from whom the regulated material is purchased or obtained;
(3) the identifying number of the personal identification document of each person from whom the regulated material is purchased or obtained;
(4) the make, model and license plate number of the motor vehicle used to transport the regulated material;
(5) a description made in accordance with the custom of the trade of the type and quantity of regulated material purchased; and
(6) the statement required by Paragraph (2) of Subsection A of Section 4 of the Sale of Recycled Metals Act.
Section 6. PRESERVATION OF RECORDS.--A secondhand metal dealer shall preserve each record required by Section 5 of the Sale of Recycled Metals Act until the third anniversary of the date the record was made.
Section 7. INSPECTION OF RECORDS BY PEACE OFFICERS.--
A. Upon request, a secondhand metal dealer shall permit a peace officer of this state to inspect during the dealer's usual business hours:
(1) records required by Section 5 of the Sale of Recycled Metals Act; and
(2) regulated material in the dealer's possession.
B. The inspecting peace officer shall inform the dealer of the officer's status as a peace officer.
Section 8. FURNISHING OF REPORT TO DEPARTMENT.--Not later than the second business day after the date of the purchase or other acquisition of regulated material for which a record is required pursuant to Section 5 of the Sale of Recycled Metals Act, a secondhand metal dealer shall mail to or file with the department a report containing the information required to be recorded pursuant to that section.
Section 9. PUBLIC DATABASE.--The department shall establish and maintain an electronic database containing the records required to be preserved pursuant to Section 6 of the Sale of Recycled Metals Act, which database shall be accessible to the public. Records received by the department pursuant to Section 8 of the Sale of Recycled Metals Act shall be available in the database by the end of the second business day following receipt by the department.
Section 10. POWERS AND DUTIES OF SECRETARY.--The secretary of public safety has authority to promulgate reasonable regulations for the administration and enforcement of the Sale of Recycled Metals Act and is expressly authorized to make regulations regarding records of purchase of regulated material and the public database required pursuant to that act.
Section 11. WAITING PERIOD FOR DISPOSAL OF REGULATED MATERIAL.--A secondhand metal dealer shall not process or permit to be removed from the dealer's premises regulated material until the fifth business day after the date on which the dealer acquired the regulated material.
Section 12. PROHIBITED ACTS.--A person shall not, with the intent to deceive:
A. display to a secondhand metal dealer a false or invalid personal identification document in connection with the person's attempted sale of regulated material; or
B. make a false material statement or representation to a secondhand metal dealer in connection with:
(1) that person's execution of a written statement required by Subsection A of Section 4 of the Sale of Recycled Metals Act; or
(2) the dealer's efforts to obtain the information required pursuant to Subsection B of Section 5 of the Sale of Recycled Metals Act.
Section 13. PENALTIES.--
A. A person who knowingly violates the provisions of the Sale of Recycled Metals Act is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978.
B. A person who knowingly violates the provisions of the Sale of Recycled Metals Act a second or subsequent time within a thirty-six-month period following a prior violation of that act is guilty of a fourth degree felony and shall be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978.
C. On the conviction of a secondhand metal dealer for an offense punishable pursuant to Subsection B of this section, a court, in addition to imposing any other applicable penalty, may order that the dealer cease doing business as a secondhand metal dealer for a period not to exceed thirty days from the date of the order for each violation that forms the basis of the conviction.
Section 14. APPROPRIATION.--One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the department of public safety for expenditure in fiscal year 2009 to carry out the provisions of the Sale of Recycled Metals Act. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2009 shall revert to the general fund.
Section 15. SEVERABILITY.--If any part or application of the Sale of Recycled Metals Act is held invalid, the remainder or its application to other situations or persons shall not be affected.
Section 16. APPLICABILITY.--The provisions of the Sale of Recycled Metals Act shall not apply to a purchase of regulated material from a manufacturing, industrial or other commercial vendor that sells regulated material in the ordinary course of the vendor's business.
Section 17. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2008.
- 9 -