BILL ANALYSIS
AB 844
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 24, 2007
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Mike Eng, Chair
AB 844 (Berryhill) - As Amended: April 9, 2007
SUBJECT : Junk dealers and recyclers: scrap metals and alloys.
SUMMARY : Requires junk dealers and recyclers to pay sellers of
scrap metals and alloys with a check and to deliver payment to
the seller 10 days from the date of sale; requires junk dealers
and recyclers to hold scrap metals and alloys for 15 days in the
condition in which they were obtained, unless the junk dealer or
recycler has a photograph or video of the seller; and, makes
other revisions to provisions of law governing junk dealers.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a junk dealer to record a physical description,
unless a photograph or video is available, of any seller of
junk and to record the vehicle identification number of the
seller's vehicle.
2)Requires a junk dealer to record the material, weight, and
size of any junk he or she purchases or sells.
3)Requires junk dealers or recyclers to pay sellers of scrap
metals and alloys with a check and to provide that payment to
the seller 10 days after the date of sale.
4)Requires junk dealers or recyclers to hold all scrap metals
and alloys in the same condition in which they were acquired
for a period of 15 days before releasing or disposing of them.
5)Provides that junk dealers or recyclers need not comply with
the 15-day holding period described in 4), above, if they keep
a photograph or video of the scrap metals or alloys acquired
and a photograph or video of the seller. A junk dealer or
recycler must preserve these photographs or videos for two
years and note the time and date of the sale.
6)Requires junk dealers and recyclers to maintain a written
record of purchases of scrap metal from another junk dealer
who already has a written record of a previous sale of the
scrap metal, and of purchases of scrap metal where the payment
is made by check to the company that owns the scrap metal
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being purchased. (Note: These two types of purchases are
currently exempted from the requirement to maintain a written
record under existing law.)
7)Clarifies that the employees or agents of a person engaged in
the business of buying, selling, and dealing in junk, any
person purchasing, gathering, collecting, or soliciting junk,
or any person operating a junk yard, are also considered a
"junk dealer" by law.
8)Clarifies that a "recycler" is any processor, recycling
center, or non-certified recycler who buys or sells scrap
metals and alloys that constitute junk.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines "junk" as any and all secondhand and used machinery
and all ferrous and nonferrous scrap metals and alloys,
including any and all secondhand and used furniture, pallets,
or other personal property, excluding livestock.
2)Defines "junk dealer" as any person engaged in the business of
buying, selling and dealing in junk; any person purchasing,
gathering, collecting, soliciting, or procuring junk; or, any
person operating, carrying on, conducting, or maintaining a
junk yard.
3)Requires every junk dealer or recycler to maintain a written
record of each sale or purchase made in the course of his or
her business. The record shall include the place and date of
the sale; the name, driver's license number and state of
issue, and the vehicle license plate number and state of issue
of any individual transporting junk to the junk dealer's or
recycler's place of business; the name and address of each
person to whom junk is sold and the motor vehicle license
number of that person; a description of the junk purchased or
sold; and, a statement indicating that the seller of junk owns
it or is authorized to sell it.
4)Exempts purchases of scrap metal from another junk dealer who
already has a written record of a previous sale of the scrap
metal, and purchases of scrap metal where the payment is made
by check to the company that owns the scrap metal being
purchased from the requirement that a junk dealer or recycler
maintain a written record of all sales and purchases.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this bill . According to the author, given that the
Agricultural Crime Technology and Operations Network Project
reports that there was a 100% increase in metal theft incidents
in 2005 and a 400% increase in such thefts in 2006, current law
clearly is not sufficient to curb metal theft. The author
indicates that there is a close link between metal theft and
drug abuse and argues that, by requiring junk dealers and
recyclers to pay sellers of scrap metal and alloys with a check
and delay that payment for 10 days, metal theft will become
"less appealing to those looking to obtain quick cash to
purchase drugs." In addition, the author maintains that
requiring junk dealers and recyclers to keep a visual recording
of sellers or hold scrap metals obtained for 15 days will
provide an additional deterrent to thieves looking to make a
quick profit.
Support . The California Farm Bureau (CFB) notes that over $6
million worth of metal was reported stolen in the eight Central
Valley counties in 2006. Irrigation pumps are commonly targeted
by thieves for their copper wire and because of copper's high
value. CFB claims that some farmers have had the same
irrigation pumps targeted repeatedly and that the cost of
repairing an irrigation pump ranges from $1,000 to $3,000, not
accounting for any additional damage caused when the thief
removes copper wire from the irrigation pump or the harm to
crops that go without water. CFB maintains that metal theft is
not just a rural problem; an article in the Los Angeles Times,
"Building Sites Leave Copper Thieves Well-Connected," dated
March 14, 2007, discusses how thieves' appetite for
methamphetamines has fueled the growing problem of copper, and
other metals, being stolen from telephone and power lines,
construction sites, power generators, air conditioning units on
top of schools, and irrigation pipes, among other sources. CFB
asserts that this problem is a statewide problem and needs a
statewide fix and that this bill will "achieve a long lasting
solution to the problem by making it more difficult for
criminals to sell stolen metal."
Opposition . D & T Recycling opposes this bill, stating that
while they understand the problem and the author's intent, this
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bill will place undue burdens on scrap dealers and those who
sell scrap metal to them. D & T Recycling asserts that this
bill's requirements to withhold payment for 10 days and to pay
by check will negatively impact honest individuals and increase
the amount of material going into landfills.
Related legislation . AB 2289 (Ruskin), Chapter 461, Statutes of
2006, required businesses that recycle, shred, or destroy
plastic bulk merchandise containers, prior to purchasing five or
more containers, to obtain proof of ownership from the seller
and verify his or her identity.
Proposed amendment . As currently written, this bill appears to
require that payment for scrap metal and alloys can be provided
only on the tenth day from the date of sale. In order to allow
junk dealers and recyclers some flexibility in delivering
payment, the committee may wish to consider clarifying that
payment must be delayed for at least 10 days. The following
amendment will accomplish this:
Amendment 1
On page 4, line 16, after "provided" insert: at least
In addition, the author has expressed that it is not his intent
to include auto dismantlers under the provisions of this bill
and has committed to taking the following amendment to clarify
this:
Amendment 2
On page 2, line 10, after "SEC. 2" insert:
21603. This article shall not apply to any of the following:
(a) Secondhand furniture merchants.
(b) Pawnbrokers.
(c) Secondhand car dealers or merchants in connection with
automobile and motor vehicle sales agencies but not carried on
and conducted in conjunction with a junk yard.
(d) Persons engaged in the business of selling new automobile
tires or batteries or other equipment taking in part payment
used articles of the same kind and thereafter selling or
disposing of the same.
(e) Secondhand oil well supply and equipment dealers not
conducting or carrying on their business in connection with a
junk yard.
(f) Secondhand clothing merchants and ragpickers.
(g) Auto dismantlers as defined in Section 220 of the Vehicle
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Code.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Farm Bureau
California Rural Crime Prevention Task Force
California State Sheriffs' Association
County of Tulare, District Attorney's Office
Fresno County Farm Bureau
Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Southern California Edison
2 individuals
Opposition
Bellflower Recycling Center, Inc.
Ben's Recycling and Scrap Metal
D & T Recycling, Inc.
Standard Insdustries
Unicorn Metals Recycling Company, Inc.
Analysis Prepared by : Pablo Garza / B. & P. / (916) 319-3301