SF 1255

as introduced - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 03/12/2013 08:53am

A bill for an act
relating to public safety; modifying reporting requirements for scrap metal
dealers; requiring electronic submission of information; authorizing rulemaking;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 325E.21.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 325E.21, is amended to read:

325E.21 DEALERS IN SCRAP METAL; RECORDS, REPORTS, AND
REGISTRATION.

Subdivision 1.

Definitions.

(a) For purposes of this section, the terms defined in
this subdivision have the meanings given.

new text begin (b) "Bureau" means the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal
Apprehension Division.
new text end

new text begin (c) "Interchange file specification format" means the most current version of the
Minneapolis automated property system interchange file specification format.
new text end

deleted text begin (b) deleted text end new text begin (d) new text end "Law enforcement agency" or "agency" means a duly authorized municipal,
county, state, or federal law enforcement agency.

deleted text begin (c) deleted text end new text begin (e) new text end "Person" means an individual, partnership, limited partnership, limited
liability company, corporation, or other entity.

deleted text begin (d) deleted text end new text begin (f) new text end "Scrap metal" means:

(1) wire and cable commonly and customarily used by communication and electric
utilities; and

(2) copper, aluminum, or any other metal purchased primarily for its reuse or
recycling value as raw metal, including metal that is combined with other materials
at the time of purchase.

deleted text begin (e) deleted text end new text begin (g) new text end "Scrap metal dealer" or "dealer" means a person engaged in the business of
buying or selling scrap metal, or both, but does not include a person engaged exclusively
in the business of buying or selling new or used motor vehicles or motor vehicle parts,
paper or wood products, rags or furniture, or secondhand machinery.

Subd. 1a.

Purchase or acquisition record required.

(a) Every scrap metal dealer,
including an agent, employee, or representative of the dealer, shall deleted text begin keep a written record
deleted text end new text begin submit an electronic record as described in subdivision 4 new text end at the time of each purchase or
acquisition of scrap metal. new text begin The electronic record shall be transmitted to the bureau's secure
Web site database within 24 hours of receipt of the scrap metal, except when the scrap
metal was purchased from an industrial account or a registered scrap metal dealer. new text end The
new text begin electronic new text end record must include:

(1) an accurate account or description, including the weight if customarily purchased
by weight, new text begin and a digital photograph new text end of the scrap metal purchased or acquired;

(2) the date, time, and place of the receipt of the scrap metal purchased or acquired;

(3) the name and address of the person selling or delivering the scrap metal;

(4) the number of the check or electronic transfer used to purchase the scrap metal;

(5) the number of the seller's or deliverer's driver's license, Minnesota identification
card number, or other identification document number of an identification document
issued for identification purposes by any state, federal, or foreign government if the
document includes the person's photograph, full name, birth date, and signature; and

(6) the license plate number and description of the vehicle used by the person when
delivering the scrap metal, and any identifying marks on the vehicle, such as a business
name, decals, or markings, if applicable.

(b) The record, as well as the scrap metal purchased or received, shall at all
reasonable times be open to the inspection of any law enforcement agency.

(c) No record is required for property purchased from merchants, manufacturers or
wholesale dealers, having an established place of business, or of any goods purchased
at open sale from any bankrupt stock, but a bill of sale or other evidence of open or
legitimate purchase of the property shall be obtained and kept by the person, which must
be shown upon demand to any law enforcement agency.

(d) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a scrap metal dealer or the dealer's
agent, employee, or representative may not disclose personal information concerning a
customer without the customer's consent unless the disclosure is made in response to a
request from a law enforcement agency new text begin or transmitted to the bureau's Web site under
subdivision 4 new text end . A scrap metal dealer must implement reasonable safeguards to protect the
security of the personal information and prevent unauthorized access to or disclosure of
the information. For purposes of this paragraph, "personal information" is any individually
identifiable information gathered in connection with a record under paragraph (a).

Subd. 2.

Retention required.

Records required to be maintained by subdivision 1a
shall be retained by the scrap metal dealer for a period of three years.

Subd. 2a.

Purchase or receipt of beer kegs.

A scrap metal dealer, or the dealer's
agent, employer, or representative, shall not purchase or receive a refillable metal beer keg
from anyone except the manufacturer of the beer keg, the brewer of the beer that was sold
or provided in the keg, or an authorized representative of the manufacturer or brewer.

Subd. 3.

Payment by check or electronic transfer required.

A scrap metal dealer
or the dealer's agent, employee, or representative shall pay for all scrap metal purchases
only by check or electronic transfer.

Subd. 4.

Registration required new text begin ; bureau Web site created new text end .

(a) Every scrap metal
dealer shall register with deleted text begin and deleted text end new text begin the bureau. The bureau shall use a scrap metal module of the
interchange file specification format to establish a secure, centralized Web site database for
collection of the records required under subdivision 1a. The bureau shall establish rules
and standards for electronic submission and dissemination of the information required
under subdivision 1a, which shall be adopted under chapter 14 after consultation with
members of the industry and law enforcement. The bureau's standards shall incorporate
security measures as well as standards for record retention. The scrap metal module of
the interchange file specification format shall make the information submitted to the
scrap metal module Web site database available to law enforcement and shall provide for
training on procedures for law enforcement on how to access the information. The scrap
metal dealer shall post in a conspicuous place the notice requirement of the electronic
submission of the information required in subdivision 1a. The scrap metal dealer shall
new text end participate in the criminal alert network described in section 299A.61. The dealer shall
ensure that the dealer's system for receiving incoming notices from the network is in
proper working order and ready to receive incoming notices. The dealer shall check the
system for incoming notices twice each day the business is open, once upon opening
and then again before closing. The dealer shall inform all employees involved in the
purchasing or receiving of scrap metal of alerts received relating to scrap metal of the type
that might be conceivably sold to the dealer. In addition, the dealer shall post copies of the
alerts in a conspicuous location.

(b) new text begin The cost for the electronic submission to the scrap metal module of the
interchange file specification format shall be borne by the person delivering the scrap metal
to the scrap metal dealer. The interchange file specification format shall establish the cost
by rule adopted under chapter 14, and the scrap metal customer shall pay the actual cost for
the electronic transmission to the interchange file specification format Web site. new text end The scrap
metal dealer shall pay to the commissioner of public safety a $50 annual fee to participate in
the criminal alert network and for the educational materials described in section 299C.25.

(c) The commissioner shall notify the scrap metal dealer if a message sent to the
dealer is returned as undeliverable or is otherwise not accepted for delivery by the dealer's
system. The dealer shall take action necessary to ensure that future messages are received.

Subd. 5.

Training.

Each scrap metal dealer shall review the educational materials
provided by the superintendent of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension under section
299C.25 and ensure that all employees do so as well.

Subd. 6.

Criminal penalty.

A scrap metal dealer, or the agent, employee, or
representative of the dealer, who intentionally violates a provision of this section, is guilty
of a misdemeanor.

Subd. 7.

Exemption.

A scrap metal dealer may purchase aluminum cans without
complying with this section.

Subd. 8.

Property held by law enforcement.

(a) Whenever a law enforcement
official from any agency has probable cause to believe that property in the possession of
a scrap metal dealer is stolen or is evidence of a crime and notifies the dealer not to sell
the item, the item may not be sold or removed from the premises. This investigative hold
remains in effect for 90 days from the date of initial notification, or until it is canceled or a
seizure order is issued, whichever comes first.

(b) If an item is identified as stolen or evidence in a criminal case, the law
enforcement official may:

(1) physically seize and remove it from the dealer, pursuant to a written order from
the law enforcement official; or

(2) place the item on hold or extend the hold as provided in this section and leave
it in the shop.

(c) When an item is seized, the person doing so shall provide identification upon
request of the dealer, and shall provide the dealer the name and telephone number of the
seizing agency and investigator, and the case number related to the seizure.

(d) A dealer may request seized property be returned in accordance with section
626.04.

(e) When an order to hold or seize is no longer necessary, the law enforcement
official shall so notify the dealer.

new text begin (f) Scrap metal dealers shall hold the metal in the same size, shape, and condition
in which it was received on its business premises for 72 hours after filing its electronic
submission.
new text end

new text begin (g) If a scrap metal dealer is required to hold the metal at the direction of
law enforcement for purposes of investigation or prosecution or it is seized by law
enforcement, the scrap metal dealer shall be entitled to seek restitution against the person
who delivered the metal to the scrap metal dealer in any criminal case that may arise from
the investigation, including any out-of-pocket expenses for storage and lost profit.
new text end

Subd. 9.

Video security cameras required.

(a) Each scrap metal dealer shall install
and maintain at each location video surveillance cameras, still digital cameras, or similar
devices positioned to record or photograph a frontal view showing the face of each seller
or prospective seller of scrap metal who enters the location. The scrap metal dealer shall
also photograph the seller's or prospective seller's vehicle, including license plate, either
by video camera or still digital camera, so that an accurate and complete description of
it may be obtained from the recordings made by the cameras. The video camera or still
digital camera must be kept in operating condition. The camera must record and display
the accurate date and time. The video camera must be turned on at all times when the
location is open for business and at any other time when scrap metal is purchased.

(b) If the scrap metal dealer does not purchase some or any scrap metal at a specific
business location, the dealer need not comply with deleted text begin this subdivision deleted text end new text begin paragraph (a) new text end with
respect to those purchases new text begin , but must comply with subdivision 1a for those purchases new text end .

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective January 1, 2014.
new text end