March 20, 2012, Introduced by Reps. Muxlow, Tlaib, Smiley, Olson, Liss, Kandrevas, Bauer and Brown and referred to the Committee on Regulatory Reform.
A bill to amend 2008 PA 429, entitled
"Nonferrous metal regulatory act,"
by amending sections 11, 13, and 17 (MCL 445.431, 445.433, and
445.437) and by adding section 10; and to repeal acts and parts of
acts.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 10. A person shall not knowingly sell or attempt to sell
to a scrap metal dealer, and a scrap metal dealer shall not
knowingly purchase or attempt to purchase, any of the following
types of personal property:
(a) Public fixtures.
(b) New metal articles or materials, such as those used in a
manufacturing process or construction.
(c) Equipment or tools used by contractors.
(d) Metal articles or materials that are clearly marked as
property belonging to a business or a person other than the seller.
(e) Catalytic converters, unless the seller is an automotive
recycler as defined in section 2a of the Michigan vehicle code,
1949 PA 300, MCL 257.2a.
(f) Air conditioner evaporator coils or condensers or parts of
air conditioner evaporator coils or condensers.
(g) Copper wire that was burned in whole or in part to remove
the insulation, unless the seller is an industrial or business
customer.
(h) A commemorative, decorative, or other cemetery-related or
apparently ceremonial article.
Sec. 11. (1) A scrap metal dealer shall register with or
subscribe
to, and maintain that registration or subscription with,
and use in the conduct of its business, an internet-based database
available to scrap metal dealers, law enforcement agencies, and the
general public that lists and tracks, at a minimum, thefts of
nonferrous
metal articles and other
scrap metal. and
articles
containing
nonferrous metals. The database may
be reasonably
limited in terms of time and geographical area.
(2) The existing database established by the institute of
scrap recycling industries, inc., referred to as the ISRI theft
alert system, is considered an appropriate internet-based database.
A scrap metal dealer may register with or subscribe to any other
database
that provides substantially the same services as the a
database described in subsection (1).
(3) A scrap metal dealer shall ensure that it makes available
to each of its employees engaged in purchasing or weighing scrap
metal sold or offered for sale to the scrap metal dealer each theft
alert, or similar notice that a scrap metal theft has occurred,
that the scrap metal dealer receives from the database service
described in this section, and that those employees review the
alerts or similar notices on a daily basis.
Sec.
13. (1) A person who violates section 7(1) or section 9
knowing
or having reason to know that he or she is violating those
sections
If a person violates section
7, and knows or has reason to
know that section 7 was violated, the person is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00 or
imprisonment for not more than 93 days, or both.
(2)
A person who buys or sells nonferrous metal articles
knowing
or having reason to know that they are stolen Each of the
following is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not
more than 5 years or a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both,
for a first offense and is guilty of a felony punishable by
imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than
$10,000.00,
or both, for a second or subsequent offense:.
(a) A scrap metal dealer that purchases metal articles, and
knows or has reason to know that they were stolen.
(b) A person that sells metal articles to a scrap metal
dealer, and knows or has reason to know that they were stolen.
Sec. 17. (1) A person may bring a private cause of action
against a seller or a scrap metal dealer, in a court of competent
jurisdiction, for monetary damages suffered from violation of this
act. by
a seller or a dealer, or both.
(2)
The If the court in an
action described in subsection (1)
finds that the violation included the purchase or sale of stolen
metal articles, the court shall award treble damages for the value
of
the nonferrous metal article property
stolen. The court may
award
costs regarding any aspect of an action brought under
subsection
(1). As used in this subsection,
"value of the
nonferrous
metal article property stolen" means the greatest of the
following:
(a)
The replacement cost of the stolen article.metal articles.
(b) The cost of repairing the damage caused by the larceny of
that
article.the metal articles.
(c) The total of subdivisions (a) and (b).
(3) The court may award costs and reasonable attorney fees in
an action brought under subsection (1).
Enacting section 1. Section 9 of the nonferrous metal
regulatory act, 2008 PA 429, MCL 445.429, is repealed.
Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take effect
unless all of the following bills of the 96th Legislature are
enacted into law:
(a) Senate Bill No. ____ or House Bill No. 5490(request no.
03482'11 *).
(b) Senate Bill No. ____ or House Bill No. 5492(request no.
03566'11 *).