Bill Text: IA HF2399 | 2011-2012 | 84th General Assembly | Enrolled

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to scrap metal transactions, prohibiting certain sales, and providing penalties. Effective 7-1-12.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Passed) 2012-04-19 - Signed by Governor. H.J. 861. [HF2399 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2011-HF2399-Enrolled.html

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House File 2399
AN ACT
RELATING TO SCRAP METAL TRANSACTIONS, PROHIBITING CERTAIN
SALES, AND PROVIDING PENALTIES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
Section 1. Section 714.27, Code Supplement 2011, is amended
by striking the section and inserting in lieu thereof the
following:
714.27 Scrap metal transactions and reporting —— penalties.
1. For purposes of this section, and unless the context
otherwise requires, the following definitions shall apply:
a. “Scrap metal” means any metal suitable for reprocessing.
“Scrap metal” does not include a motor vehicle, but does include
a catalytic converter detached from a motor vehicle.
b. “Scrap metal dealer” means any person operating a
business at a fixed or mobile location that is engaged in one
of the following activities:

House File 2399, p. 2
(1) Buying, selling, procuring, collecting, gathering,
soliciting, or dealing in scrap metal.
(2) Operating, managing, or maintaining a scrap metal yard.
c. “Scrap metal yard” means any yard, plot, space,
enclosure, building, mobile facility, or other place where
scrap metal is collected, gathered together, stored, or kept
for shipment, sale, or transfer.
2. a. A person shall not sell scrap metal to a scrap metal
dealer in this state unless the person provides to the scrap
metal dealer, at or before the time of sale, the person’s name,
address, and place of business, if any, and presents to the
scrap metal dealer a valid driver’s license or nonoperator’s
identification card, military identification card, passport, or
other government-issued photo identification.
b. A scrap metal dealer shall not make an initial purchase
of scrap metal from a person without demanding and receiving
the information required by this subsection. However, after an
initial transaction, a scrap metal dealer may only require the
person’s name and place of business for subsequent purchases,
provided the scrap metal dealer retains all information
received during the initial transaction.
3. A scrap metal dealer shall keep a confidential
register or log of each transaction, including a record
of the information required by subsection 2. All records
and information kept pursuant to this subsection shall be
retained for at least two years, and shall be provided to a
law enforcement agency or other officer or employee designated
by a county or city to enforce this section upon request
during normal business hours when the law enforcement agency
or designated officer or employee of a county or city has
reasonable grounds to request such information as part of
an investigation. A law enforcement agency or designated
officer or employee of a county or city shall preserve the
confidentiality of the information provided under this
subsection and shall not disclose it to a third party, except
as may be necessary in enforcement of this section or the
prosecution of a criminal violation.
4. All scrap metal transactions, other than those
transactions exempt pursuant to subsection 5, in which the
total sale price exceeds fifty dollars shall require payment by
check or electronic funds transfer.
5. The following scrap metal transactions are exempt from
the requirements of this section:

House File 2399, p. 3
a. Transactions in which the total sale price is fifty
dollars or less, except transactions for the sale of catalytic
converters.
b. Transactions for the sale of catalytic converters in
which the total sale price is seventy-five dollars or less.
c. Transactions in which a scrap metal dealer is selling
scrap metal.
d. Transactions in which the person selling the scrap
metal is known to the scrap metal dealer purchasing the scrap
metal to be the officer, employee, or agent of an established
commercial or industrial business, operating from a fixed
location, that may reasonably be expected to produce scrap
metal during the operation of the business.
6. a. The provisions of this section shall take precedence
over and supersede any local ordinance adopted by a political
subdivision that regulates scrap metal transactions.
b. Notwithstanding paragraph “a” of this subsection, a city
ordinance regarding scrap metal or other scrap material in
effect prior to January 1, 2012, in a city with a population
exceeding one hundred fifty thousand as shown by the 2010
federal decennial census may continue to be enforced by the
city which adopted it.
7. A person who violates subsection 2, paragraph “a” , or a
person who conducts a scrap metal transaction by or on behalf
of a scrap metal dealer who violates this section shall be
subject to a civil penalty as follows:
a. An initial violation shall subject the person to a civil
penalty in the amount of one hundred dollars.
b. A second violation within two years shall subject
the person to a civil penalty in the amount of five hundred
dollars.
c. A third or subsequent violation within two years shall
subject the person to a civil penalty in the amount of one
thousand dollars.
Sec. 2. Section 805.8C, Code 2011, is amended by adding the
following new subsection:
NEW SUBSECTION . 9. Scrap metal transaction violations. For
violations of section 714.27, the scheduled fine is one hundred
dollars for a first violation, five hundred dollars for a
second violation within two years, and one thousand dollars
for a third or subsequent violation within two years. The
scheduled fine under this subsection is a civil penalty which
shall be deposited into the general fund of the county or city

House File 2399, p. 4
if imposed by a designated officer or employee of a county or
city, or deposited in the general fund of the state if imposed
by a state agency, and the criminal penalty surcharge under
section 911.1 shall not be added to the penalty.
______________________________
KRAIG PAULSEN
Speaker of the House
______________________________
JOHN P. KIBBIE
President of the Senate
I hereby certify that this bill originated in the House and
is known as House File 2399, Eighty-fourth General Assembly.
______________________________
W. CHARLES SMITHSON
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved _______________, 2012
______________________________
TERRY E. BRANSTAD
Governor