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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T
SPONSOR Trujillo
ORIGINAL DATE
LAST UPDATED
1/28/08
HB 497
SHORT TITLE
Sale Of Recycled Metals Act
SB
ANALYST Wilson
APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)
Appropriation
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
FY08
FY09
$100.0
Recurring
General Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)
FY08
FY09
FY10 3 Year
Total Cost
Recurring
or Non-Rec
Fund
Affected
Total
$0.1
$0.1
Recurring General
Fund
(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Duplicates SB 281
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
LFC Files
Responses Received From
Department of Public Safety (DPS)
Environment Department (ED)
SUMMARY
Synopsis of Bill
House Bill 497 appropriates $ 100,000 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.
This bill creates the Sale of Recycled Metals Act which enacts the following:
•
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 warning against
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House Bill 497 – Page
2
providing false documentation. The notice must also provide the secondhand metal
dealer's usual business hours.
•
A person attempting to sell regulated material to a secondhand metal dealer shall display
to the secondhand metal dealer the person's personal identification document, 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 provide
to the secondhand metal dealer the make, model and license plate number of the motor
vehicle used to transport the regulated material.
•
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.
•
The secondhand metal dealer shall keep an accurate and legible written record of each
purchase made in the course of the dealer's business. The requirements for this record are
enumerated.
•
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, a secondhand metal dealer shall mail
to or file with DPS a report containing the information required to be recorded.
•
DPS shall establish and maintain an electronic database containing the records required to
be preserved pursuant to this bill. The database shall be accessible to the public. The
records shall be available in the database by the end of the second business day following
receipt by DPS.
•
The secretary of DPS 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 in this act.
•
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.
•
The bill sets out prohibited acts and penalties.
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.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS
The appropriation of $100,000 contained in this bill is a recurring expense to the general fund.
Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2009 shall revert
to the general fund.
The appropriation in this legislation will go to DPS to maintain a data base. DPS states creating
a data base specifically for this act will most likely expend all of those funds. Depending on the
number of sellers submitting reports, especially one for every transaction, this could be a big
impact on DPS. If all funds go for a data base, there will be none left for FTE or other
administrative costs.
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House Bill 497 – Page
3
SIGNIFICANT ISSUES
ED notes that this bill is in response to recent sales of stolen metals in New Mexico to auto
wreckers and scrap metal processors. The value of scrap metal has recently skyrocketed. This
bill addresses numerous incidents of stolen scrap metal that has been sold to scrap dealers and
automotive wreckers
The Department of Public Safety (DPS) will oversee the requirements of the bill. The legislation
requires individuals that sell scrap metal to verify their identification. Those people will be
required to sign a written statement that they own the scrap and provide the make, model and
license plate of the vehicle used to transport the scrap they are selling. The buyer must keep
records of all transactions and forward that information to DPS. Sellers that violate the
provisions are guilty of a misdemeanor and a second offense is a fourth degree felony.
DPS provided the following:
Tracking recycled metals is not the biggest priority of a law enforcement agency. DPS
will welcome the chance to investigation on a case by case basis the theft of such metals,
but the regulation of might be better suited to another agency.
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS
DPS believes they might need one FTE on a recurring basis.
DUPLICATION
HB 497 duplicates SB 281.
DW/mt