Senate Bill No. 638
(By Senators Love and Kessler)
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[Introduced February 11, 2008; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §61-3-59, relating to
the receipt and transfer of catalytic converters; imposing
reporting and record retention requirements for certain
purchasers of catalytic converters; setting forth procedure by
which law-enforcement officers may take custody of catalytic
converters; providing for the inspection of records and
materials by investigators employed by law enforcement;
providing the return of catalytic converters under certain
conditions; and setting forth criminal penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §61-3-59, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 3. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY.
§61-3-59. Purchase of catalytic converters; certificates, records
and reports of purchases; criminal penalties.
(a) Any person in the business of purchasing scrap metal, any
salvage yard owner or operator, or any agent or employee thereof,
who purchases catalytic converters or any materials derived from
catalytic converters, shall comply with the provisions of this
section.
(b) The purchaser of catalytic converters or any materials
derived from catalytic converters shall make and maintain a record
of each transaction which shall contain the following information:
(1) Full name, permanent home and business addresses, and
telephone number, if available, of the seller;
(2) A description and the motor vehicle license number of any
vehicle used to transport catalytic converters or any materials
derived from catalytic converters to the place of purchase;
(3) The time and date of the transaction;
(4) A complete description of the catalytic converter or any
materials derived from catalytic converters purchased; and
(5) A statement whether the catalytic converter or any
material derived from a catalytic converter was purchased, taken as
collateral for a loan, or taken on consignment.
(c) The person purchasing the catalytic converter or any
materials derived from a catalytic converter shall also require and
retain from the seller the following information:
(1) A signed certificate of ownership of the catalytic
converter or any materials derived from a catalytic converter being
sold or signed authorization from the owner to sell; and
(2) A photocopy of a valid driver's license or identification
card issued by the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles of the
person delivering catalytic converter or any materials derived from
a catalytic converter, or in lieu thereof, any other identification
card containing a photograph of the seller as issued by any state
or federal agency of the United States:
Provided, That, if the
buyer has a copy of the seller's photo identification on file, the
buyer may reference the identification that is on file, without
making a separate photocopy for each transaction.
(d) A law-enforcement officer may at any time during an
investigation require the purchaser of any copper, aluminum, brass,
lead or other nonferrous metal or steel railroad track and track
material to present such items for inspection, upon demand. A
law-enforcement officer may obtain a warrant to take into custody
a representative sample of any copper, aluminum, brass, lead or
other nonferrous metal or steel railroad track or track material
which he or she has probable cause to believe may have been
misappropriated, stolen, or taken under false pretenses. Upon the
entry of a final determination and order by a court of competent
jurisdiction, catalytic converter or any materials derived from a
catalytic converter, found to have been misappropriated, stolen or
taken under false pretenses may be returned to the proper owner of
such material.
(e) Any law-enforcement officer to investigate the theft of
catalytic converter or any materials derived from a catalytic
converter shall be permitted to inspect the purchased catalytic converter or any materials derived from a catalytic converter that
is in the possession of the buyer, for the purpose of detecting and
identifying stolen property.
(f) It is unlawful for any of the aforementioned persons to
purchase any catalytic converter or any materials derived from a
catalytic converter without obtaining the information set forth in
subsections (b) and (c) of this section. Such information shall be
available for inspection by any law-enforcement officer to
investigate the theft of any catalytic converter or any materials
derived from a catalytic converter, and must be maintained by the
purchaser for not less than one year after the date of the
purchase.
(g) Nothing in this section applies to scrap purchases by
manufacturing facilities that melt, or otherwise alter the form of
scrap metal and transform it into a new product or to the purchase
or transportation of food and beverage containers or other
nonindustrial materials having a marginal value per individual
unit.
(h) Any person who knowingly or with fraudulent intent
violates any provision of this section, including the knowing
failure to make a report or the knowing falsification of any
required information, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction of a first offense thereof, shall be fined not less than
one thousand dollars nor more than three thousand dollars; upon
conviction of a second offense thereof, shall be fined not less
than two thousand dollars and not more than four thousand dollars, and any business license held by that person shall be suspended for
six months; and upon conviction of a third or subsequent offense
thereof, shall be fined not less than three thousand dollars and
not more than five thousand dollars, any business licenses held by
that person shall be revoked. Any person convicted for a third or
subsequent offense under this section and any member of his or her
immediate family is prohibited from applying for, holding or
obtaining any business license which would permit them to own,
conduct or operate any business which would involve the purchase of
scrap metal or the operation of any salvage yard or recycling
facility for a period of two years.
For purposes of this section the term "immediate family" means
the spouse, child, step-child, parents, mother-in-law and
father-in-law of any person convicted pursuant to this section.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require purchasers of
catalytic converters or any material derived from catalytic
converter to require additional information from the sellers. The
bill sets penalties for knowing failures to collect and provide
information relating to the sale of catalytic converters or any
material derived from catalytic converters.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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