A House committee on Monday decided to substitute its chamber’s version of metal theft legislation in place of a stricter Senate bill, setting up the need for a conference committee to hash out the details.
The metal recycling industry applauded the move to support House Bill 872, sponsored by Rep. Jason Shaw, R-Lakeland. Recyclers said Senate Bill 321, sponsored by Sen. Renee Unterman, is too punitive and would hurt the industry.
Both bills would provide stricter guidelines for metals recyclers and sellers, and both would do away with cash payments for metal purchases. The main difference between the two bills is a 14-day waiting period included in Unterman’s bill for payments to metal sellers.
“I think the intention [for the waiting period] is that by delaying payment, that that would help deter people from stealing,” said Chip Koplin, a lobbyist for Schnitzer Southeast LLC, one of the largest scrap metal recyclers in the country, “but a thief intent on stealing is going to steal regardless.”
A conference committee must be appointed and could meet on the issue by the end of the week.
“This is the same path we went down three years ago, and I think it’s up to the General Assembly, do they want to be back three years from now having to redo it again?” said Unterman, R-Buford. “We’ve asked the industry to police themselves, and it didn’t work out three years ago”
Shaw’s bill is set for a Senate committee hearing Tuesday.
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