New restrictions would make it harder to sell stolen metal under a bill passed Wednesday in the Senate despite opposition from scrap metal recyclers.
Senate Bill 321 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, as well as a photograph and copy of a valid identification card from the seller. The bill also would create a statewide database on buyers and sellers.
Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, sponsored Senate Bill 321 and has long worked on the metal theft issue. She had to again Wednesday when senators -- including opponents -- proposed 14 amendments before a final vote.
Utility companies especially have reported an increase in copper thefts over the past year, with some companies now offering a $3,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction. The companies say the problem is a public safety issue, that the thefts hurt electric systems' reliability and could cause outages. They have also said damaged substations and power lines could pose a danger of electrocution to anyone nearby, including utility workers.
More than 50 businesses and associations lined up to support the bill, including Georgia's electric cooperatives, the state food industry and railroad associations. The Georgia Farm Bureau reported losses for metal theft for farmers was $1.5 million last year, not including repairs and lost productivity.
But the bill was opposed by the scrap recycling industry, which has encouraged greater enforcement of current law instead.
“We feel it’s too punitive, doesn’t target the criminal and puts an unnecessary business burden on the recyclers and the honest people that haul to the recyclers to get extra money to supplement their income,” said Chip Koplin, a lobbyist for Schnitzer Southeast LLC, one of the largest scrap metal recyclers in the country.
Sen. Bill Jackson, R-Appling, who operates a tile business, was a strong supporter of the bill, particularly a provision eliminating the cash payment for metals sellers. Several of the air-conditioning units at his properties were vandalized by metal thieves, and his 1963 2-ton pickup truck was also stolen.
"I think the burden lies on the thieves, and purchasers should have some guarantees on the items that they buy," Jackson said.
Metal theft is the target of several bills this year in the General Assembly. House Bill 872, sponsored by Rep. Jason Shaw, R-Lakeland, was scheduled for a House committee hearing Wednesday. Shaw’s bill, which has been viewed more favorably by metal recyclers, would not require a waiting period before metals sellers can be paid for their materials, and it eliminate a provision that would have required the check payments be mailed.
SB 321 is the first of any of the metal theft bills to pass either chamber. On a 44-5 vote, it will now go to the House for consideration.
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