Iowa Code § 714.27 — IA Code / Title XVI / Chapter 714 / Section 714.27
Scrap metal transactions and reporting penalties.
Status: in_force

(1) For purposes of this section, and unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) (a) “Scrap metal” means any metal suitable for reprocessing. “Scrap metal” does not include a motor vehicle or a catalytic converter detached from a motor vehicle.

(1) (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:

(1) (b) Buying, selling, procuring, collecting, gathering, soliciting, or dealing in scrap metal.

(1) (b) Operating, managing, or maintaining a scrap metal yard.

(1) (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.

(2) (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:

(5) (a) Transactions in which the total sale price is fifty dollars or less.

(5) (b) Transactions in which a scrap metal dealer is selling scrap metal.

(5) (c) 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.

(6) (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:

(7) (a) An initial violation shall subject the person to a civil penalty in the amount of one hundred dollars.

(7) (b) A second violation within two years shall subject the person to a civil penalty in the amount of five hundred dollars.

(7) (c) A third or subsequent violation within two years shall subject the person to a civil penalty in the amount of one thousand dollars.

2011 Acts, ch 51, §1; 2012 Acts, ch 1021, §112; 2012 Acts, ch 1099, §1; 2022 Acts, ch 1092, §2 – 4