Senate committee passes bill targeting metal theft

Print
E-mail

By Janel Davis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Senate committee approved legislation Thursday that would make it harder to sell stolen metal.

Enlarge photo

Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, puts fiber optic cables on a table with other items that were stolen before she answered questions from the Senate Regulated Industries & Utilities Committee during a hearing on Senate Bill 321 at the Georgia State Capitol on Feb. 9, 2012 in Atlanta. Unterman brought these metal items as examples as what's regularly stolen to sell for cash.

Jason Getz, jgetz@ajc.com Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, puts fiber optic cables on a table with other items that were stolen before she answered questions from the Senate Regulated Industries & Utilities Committee during a hearing on Senate Bill 321 at the Georgia State Capitol on Feb. 9, 2012 in Atlanta. Unterman brought these metal items as examples as what's regularly stolen to sell for cash.

Election 2012: Across the nation

More Georgia politics stories »

Senate Bill 321, sponsored by Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, would establish stiffer requirements for metal recyclers and sellers. The bill would prohibit cash payments for metal purchases and require metal recyclers to collect a digital image of the metal items, plus a thumbprint and copy of a valid identification card from the seller. Metal recyclers would also be required to collect a thumbprint and a copy of a valid identification card from regulated sellers. The bill also would create a statewide database on buyers and sellers.

Unterman’s bill is one of several bills proposed by state lawmakers this session aimed at metal theft. Her bill this year is a stronger version than her bill three years ago that targeted copper theft that she said was significantly watered down during the legislative process.

“I feel much better,” Unterman said after the hearing. “I think the incidence of theft has affected so many Georgians that the representatives and the senators feel the same way I do.”