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2014 SESSION

14103141D
SENATE BILL NO. 339
Offered January 8, 2014
Prefiled January 7, 2014
A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 59.1-120, 59.1-125, 59.1-126, and 59.1-136.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to purchases of secondhand building fixtures, scrap, and other metal articles.
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Patron-- Lucas
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Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 59.1-120, 59.1-125, 59.1-126, and 59.1-136.3 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 59.1-120. Recordkeeping and payment requirements.

A. At the time of purchasing, collecting, receiving, or acquiring a secondhand building fixture, the dealer shall be required to provide:

1. The date and time of the secondhand building fixture's acquisition; and

2. The address from which the property was acquired and, if available, a driver's license or other form of government identification to include the name and date of birth of the person from whom the material was collected.

B. Every dealer shall keep at his place of business a permanently bound book or ledger in which shall be legibly written with ink in English at the time of each transaction in the course of the dealer's transaction involving a secondhand building fixture that is collected, received, acquired, or purchased by the dealer. Such account shall set forth:

1. A complete and accurate description of the secondhand building fixture that is the subject of the transaction;

2. All information prescribed in subsection A regarding location and, if available, the name and date of birth of the person with whom the dealer conducts the transaction;

3. The license number of the automobile or other vehicle in which the secondhand building fixture was delivered or received; and

4. The number of the permit issued pursuant to § 59.1-118 by the chief of police of the city or town, or the sheriff of the county, in which the transaction involving a secondhand building fixture occurred.

C. Records required by subsection B shall be maintained by the dealer at its normal place of business or at another readily accessible and secure location for a period of 24 months.

D. A dealer, authorized scrap metal purchaser, or junk dealer shall make any payment for its purchases of secondhand building fixtures in the form of a check.

§ 59.1-125. When unlawful to buy.

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to barter, purchase, exchange, or buy from any person whomsoever, except plumbers, the owner of buildings from which the material is taken, railroad, coal mining, industrial, manufacturing and public utility companies, or the authorized agents of such companies, lawful owners and junk dealers, licensed in this Commonwealth, any secondhand steel, copper, copper wire, aluminum, aluminum wire, brass, brass bearings or fittings, electric light or gas fixtures, locks or other builders hardware, plumbing fixtures, bell or bell fixtures, lead or brass water pipes or any part of such fixtures or pipes, or any wire, cable, lead, solder, copper, iron or brass used by or belonging to a railroad, telephone, telegraph, coal mining, industrial, manufacturing or public utility company; provided that this section shall not apply to any person, firm or corporation which shall barter, purchase, exchange, buy or accept any secondhand grooved or figure-eight copper trolley wire, bare or insulated heavy stranded copper or aluminum feeder wire, high voltage copper or aluminum transmission wire, or bare or insulated mining machine copper cables, but §§ 59.1-126 and 59.1-128 shall be applicable thereto.

§ 59.1-126. Receipt or bill of sale to be taken by buyer; sales procedures.

Any person buying, at public or private sale, any such secondhand articles as are mentioned in § 59.1-125, except those excepted in said section, shall:

1. Take from the seller a properly dated written receipt or bill of sale signed by such seller which shall therein state specifically the seller's address, business, social security number, vehicle license number, and place of residence. If a seller of such articles be not personally known to the buyer or if the seller be unable to write his name, such seller shall produce an adult witness personally known to the buyer to identify the seller and also to sign such receipt or bill of sale as witness, the latter also stating therein his full name, occupation and place of residence. Such receipt or bill of sale shall specifically set forth, by accurate description giving the character, kind, quality, weight, length or size, and other detailed description sufficient to accurately identify the same, each of such articles so purchased and shall be retained by the buyer at his place of business for a period of six months after such purchase; and

2. Make any payment for such articles purchased of $1,000 or more in the form of a check.

§ 59.1-136.3. Purchases of nonferrous scrap, metal articles, and proprietary articles.

A. Except as provided in § 59.1-136.4, scrap metal purchasers may purchase nonferrous scrap, metal articles, and proprietary articles from any person who is not an authorized scrap seller or the authorized agent and employee of an authorized scrap seller only in accordance with the following requirements and procedures:

1. At the time of sale, the seller of any nonferrous scrap, metal article, or proprietary article shall provide a driver's license or other government-issued current photographic identification including the seller's full name, current address, date of birth, and social security or other recognized identification number; and

2. The scrap metal purchaser shall record the seller's identification information, as well as the time and date of the transaction, the license number of the seller's vehicle, and a description of the items received from the seller, in a permanent ledger maintained at the scrap metal purchaser's place of business. The ledger shall be made available upon request to any law-enforcement official, conservator of the peace, or special conservator of the peace appointed pursuant to § 19.2-13, in the performance of his duties who presents his credentials at the scrap metal purchaser's normal business location during regular business hours. Records required by this subdivision shall be maintained by the scrap metal dealer at its normal place of business or at another readily accessible and secure location for at least five years; and

3. The scrap metal processor shall make any payment for its purchases of nonferrous scrap, metal articles, and proprietary articles in the form of a check.

B. Upon compliance with the other requirements of this section and § 59.1-136.4, a scrap metal purchaser may purchase proprietary articles from a person who is not an authorized scrap seller or the authorized agent and employee of an authorized scrap seller if the scrap metal purchaser complies with one of the following:

1. The scrap metal purchaser receives from the person seeking to sell the proprietary articles documentation, such as a bill of sale, receipt, letter of authorization, or similar evidence, establishing that the person lawfully possesses the proprietary articles to be sold; or

2. The scrap metal purchaser shall document a diligent inquiry into whether the person selling or delivering the same has a legal right to do so, and, after purchasing a proprietary article from a person without obtaining the documentation described in subdivision 1, shall submit a report to the local sheriff's department or the chief of police of the locality, by the close of the following business day, describing the proprietary article and including a copy of the seller's identifying information, and hold the proprietary article for not less than 15 days following purchase.

C. The scrap metal purchaser shall take a photographic or video image of all proprietary articles purchased from anyone other than an authorized scrap seller. Such image shall be of sufficient quality so as to reasonably identify the subject of the image and shall be maintained by the scrap metal purchaser no less than 30 days from the date the image is taken. Any image taken and maintained in accordance with this subdivision shall be made available upon the request of any law-enforcement officer conducting official law-enforcement business.

D. The scrap metal purchaser may purchase nonferrous scrap, metal articles, and proprietary articles directly from an authorized scrap seller and from the authorized agent or employee of an authorized scrap seller.