2007 Minnesota Statutes

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.
    (b) "Law enforcement agency" or "agency" means a duly authorized municipal, county, state,
or federal law enforcement agency.
    (c) "Person" means an individual, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company,
corporation, or other entity.
    (d) "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.
    (e) "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 keep a written record at the time of each
purchase or acquisition of scrap metal. The record must include:
    (1) an accurate account or description, including the weight if customarily purchased by
weight, 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. 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. 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. (a) Every scrap metal dealer shall register with and
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) 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.
    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 this subdivision with respect to those purchases.
History: (10225) 1907 c 228 s 1; 1957 c 960 s 1; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1986 c 444; 2005 c
10 art 2 s 4; 2007 c 54 art 7 s 21