II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3631 

To prohibit and deter the theft of metal, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 15, 2012 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To prohibit and deter the theft of metal, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Metal Theft Prevention 

5 Act of 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act— 

8 (1) the term ‘‘critical infrastructure’’ has the 

9 meaning given the term in section 1016(e) of the 

10 Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing 

11 Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and ObVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:49 Nov 15, 2012 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3631.IS S3631

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1 struct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 

2 2001 (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e)); 

3 (2) the term ‘‘specified metal’’ means metal 

4 that— 

5 (A)(i) is marked with the name, logo, or 

6 initials of a city, county, State, or Federal gov7 ernment entity, a railroad, an electric, gas, or 

8 water company, a telephone company, a cable 

9 company, a retail establishment, or a public 

10 utility; or 

11 (ii) has been altered in such a manner that 

12 a recycling agent would have a reasonable basis 

13 to believe that such alteration was made for the 

14 purpose of removing, concealing, or obliterating 

15 a name, logo, or initials described in clause (i) 

16 through burning or cutting of wire sheathing or 

17 other means; or 

18 (B) is part of— 

19 (i) a street light pole or fixture; 

20 (ii) a road or bridge guard rail; 

21 (iii) a highway or street sign; 

22 (iv) a water meter cover; 

23 (v) a storm water grate; 

24 (vi) unused or undamaged building 

25 construction or utility material; 


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1 (vii) a historical marker; 

2 (viii) a grave marker or cemetery urn; 

3 (ix) a utility access cover; or 

4 (x) a container used to transport or 

5 store beer with a capacity of 7.75 gallons 

6 or more; 

7 (C) is a wire or cable commonly used by 

8 communications and electrical utilities; or 

9 (D) is copper, aluminum, and other metal 

10 (including any metal combined with other mate11 rials) that is valuable for recycling or reuse as 

12 raw metal, except for aluminum cans; and 

13 (3) the term ‘‘recycling agent’’ means any per14 son engaged in the business of purchasing specified 

15 metal for reuse or recycling, without regard to 

16 whether that person is engaged in the business of re17 cycling or otherwise processing the purchased speci18 fied metal for reuse. 

19 SEC. 3. THEFT OF SPECIFIED METAL. 

20 (a) OFFENSE.—It shall be unlawful to steal specified 

21 metal— 

22 (1) being used in or affecting interstate or for23 eign commerce; and 

24 (2) the theft of which harms critical infrastruc25 ture, including metal used as part of an electrical 


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1 substation, power line, cellular tower, telephone land 

2 line, highway equipment and facilities, railroad 

3 equipment and facilities, water well, reservoir, or 

4 sewage line. 

5 (b) PENALTY.—Any person who commits an offense 

6 described in subsection (a) shall be fined under title 18, 

7 United States Code, imprisoned not more than 10 years, 

8 or both. 

9 SEC. 4. DOCUMENTATION OF OWNERSHIP OR AUTHORITY 

10 TO SELL. 

11 (a) OFFENSES.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para13 graph (2), it shall be unlawful for a recycling agent 

14 to purchase specified metal described in subpara15 graph (A) or (B) of section 2(2), unless— 

16 (A) the seller, at the time of the trans17 action, provides documentation of ownership of, 

18 or other proof of the authority of the seller to 

19 sell, the specified metal; and 

20 (B) there is a reasonable basis to believe 

21 that the documentation or other proof of au22 thority provided under subparagraph (A) is 

23 valid. 

24 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

25 apply to a recycling agent that is subject to a State 


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1 or local law that sets forth a requirement on recy2 cling agents to obtain documentation of ownership 

3 or proof of authority to sell specified metal before 

4 purchasing specified metal. 

5 (3) RESPONSIBILITY OF RECYCLING AGENT.—A 

6 recycling agent is not required to independently 

7 verify the validity of the documentation or other 

8 proof of authority described in paragraph (1). 

9 (4) PURCHASE OF STOLEN METAL.—It shall be 

10 unlawful for a recycling agent to purchase any speci11 fied metal that the recycling agent knows, or has a 

12 reasonable basis to believe, to be stolen. 

13 (b) CIVIL PENALTY.—A person who knowingly vio14 lates subsection (a) shall be subject to a civil penalty of 

15 not more than $10,000 for each violation. 

16 SEC. 5. TRANSACTION REQUIREMENTS. 

17 (a) RECORDING REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), a recycling agent shall maintain a written 

20 or electronic record of each purchase of specified 

21 metal. 

22 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

23 apply to a recycling agent that is subject to a State 

24 or local law that sets forth recording requirements 

25 that are substantially similar to the requirements deVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:49 Nov 15, 2012 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3631.IS S3631

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1 scribed in paragraph (3) for the purchase of speci2 fied metal. 

3 (3) CONTENTS.—A record under paragraph (1) 

4 shall include— 

5 (A) the name and address of the recycling 

6 agent; and 

7 (B) for each purchase of specified metal— 

8 (i) the date of the transaction; 

9 (ii) a description of the specified 

10 metal purchased using widely used and ac11 cepted industry terminology; 

12 (iii) the amount paid by the recycling 

13 agent; 

14 (iv) the name and address of the per15 son to which the payment was made; 

16 (v) the name of the person delivering 

17 the specified metal to the recycling agent, 

18 including a distinctive number from a Fed19 eral or State government-issued photo 

20 identification card and a description of the 

21 type of the identification; and 

22 (vi) the license plate number and 

23 State-of-issue, make, and model, if avail24 able, of the vehicle used to deliver the spec25 ified metal to the recycling agent. 


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1 (4) REPEAT SELLERS.—A recycling agent may 

2 comply with the requirements of this subsection with 

3 respect to a purchase of specified metal from a per4 son from which the recycling agent has previously 

5 purchased specified metal by— 

6 (A) reference to the existing record relat7 ing to the seller; and 

8 (B) recording any information for the 

9 transaction that is different from the record re10 lating to the previous purchase from that per11 son. 

12 (5) RECORD RETENTION PERIOD.—A recycling 

13 agent shall maintain any record required under this 

14 subsection for not less than 2 years after the date 

15 of the transaction to which the record relates. 

16 (6) CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

17 (A) RECYCLING AGENTS.—A recycling 

18 agent cannot be required to provide any infor19 mation collected or retained under this sub20 section to any person other than a law enforce21 ment agency with jurisdiction over the recycling 

22 agent, unless acting pursuant a court order. 

23 (B) OTHER PERSONS.—Any person other 

24 than a recycling agent who receives information 

25 collected or retained under this subsection from 


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1 a recycling agent may not provide such infor2 mation to any person other than a law enforce3 ment agency with jurisdiction over the recycling 

4 agent, unless acting pursuant a court order. 

5 (b) PURCHASES IN EXCESS OF $100.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), a recycling agent may not pay cash for 

8 a single purchase of specified metal of more than 

9 $100. For purposes of this paragraph, more than 1 

10 purchase in any 48-hour period from the same seller 

11 shall be considered to be a single purchase. 

12 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

13 apply to a recycling agent that is subject to a State 

14 or local law that sets forth a maximum amount for 

15 cash payments for the purchase of specified metal. 

16 (3) PAYMENT METHOD.— 

17 (A) OCCASIONAL SELLERS.—Except as 

18 provided in subparagraph (B), for any purchase 

19 of specified metal of more than $100 a recy20 cling agent shall make payment by check that— 

21 (i) is payable to the seller; and 

22 (ii) includes the name and address of 

23 the seller. 

24 (B) ESTABLISHED COMMERCIAL TRANS25 ACTIONS.—A recycling agent may make payVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:49 Nov 15, 2012 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3631.IS S3631

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1 ments for a purchase of specified metal of more 

2 than $100 from a governmental or commercial 

3 supplier of specified metal with which the recy4 cling agent has an established commercial rela5 tionship by electronic funds transfer or other 

6 established commercial transaction payment 

7 method through a commercial bank if the recy8 cling agent maintains a written record of the 

9 payment that identifies the seller, the amount 

10 paid, and the date of the purchase. 

11 (c) CIVIL PENALTY.—A person who knowingly vio12 lates subsection (a) or (b) shall be subject to a civil penalty 

13 of not more than $10,000 for each violation. 

14 SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL. 

15 The Attorney General may bring an enforcement ac16 tion in an appropriate United States district court against 

17 any person that engages in conduct that violates this Act. 

18 SEC. 7. ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—An attorney general or equivalent 

20 regulator of a State may bring a civil action in the name 

21 of the State, as parens patriae on behalf of natural per22 sons residing in the State, in any district court of the 

23 United States or other competent court having jurisdiction 

24 over the defendant, to secure monetary or equitable relief 

25 for a violation of this Act. 


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1 (b) NOTICE REQUIRED.—Not later than 30 days be2 fore the date on which an action under subsection (a) is 

3 filed, the attorney general or equivalent regulator of the 

4 State involved shall provide to the Attorney General— 

5 (1) written notice of the action; and 

6 (2) a copy of the complaint for the action. 

7 (c) ATTORNEY GENERAL ACTION.—Upon receiving 

8 notice under subsection (b), the Attorney General shall 

9 have the right— 

10 (1) to intervene in the action; 

11 (2) upon so intervening, to be heard on all mat12 ters arising therein; 

13 (3) to remove the action to an appropriate dis14 trict court of the United States; and 

15 (4) to file petitions for appeal. 

16 (d) PENDING FEDERAL PROCEEDINGS.—If a civil ac17 tion has been instituted by the Attorney General for a vio18 lation of this Act, no State may, during the pendency of 

19 the action instituted by the Attorney General, institute a 

20 civil action under this Act against any defendant named 

21 in the complaint in the civil action for any violation alleged 

22 in the complaint. 

23 (e) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bringing a civil 

24 action under subsection (a), nothing in this section regard25 ing notification shall be construed to prevent the attorney 


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1 general or equivalent regulator of the State from exer2 cising any powers conferred under the laws of that State 

3 to— 

4 (1) conduct investigations; 

5 (2) administer oaths or affirmations; or 

6 (3) compel the attendance of witnesses or the 

7 production of documentary and other evidence. 

8 SEC. 8. DIRECTIVE TO SENTENCING COMMISSION. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Pursuant to its authority under 

10 section 994 of title 28, United States Code, and in accord11 ance with this section, the United States Sentencing Com12 mission, shall review and, if appropriate, amend the Fed13 eral Sentencing Guidelines and policy statements applica14 ble to a person convicted of a criminal violation of section 

15 3 of this Act or any other Federal criminal law based on 

16 the theft of specified metal by such person. 

17 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out this section, 

18 the Sentencing Commission shall— 

19 (1) ensure that the sentencing guidelines and 

20 policy statements reflect the— 

21 (A) serious nature of the theft of specified 

22 metal; and 

23 (B) need for an effective deterrent and ap24 propriate punishment to prevent such theft; 


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1 (2) consider the extent to which the guidelines 

2 and policy statements appropriately account for— 

3 (A) the potential and actual harm to the 

4 public from the offense, including any damage 

5 to critical infrastructure; 

6 (B) the amount of loss, or the costs associ7 ated with replacement or repair, attributable to 

8 the offense; 

9 (C) the level of sophistication and planning 

10 involved in the offense; and 

11 (D) whether the offense was intended to or 

12 had the effect of creating a threat to public 

13 health or safety, injury to another person, or 

14 death; 

15 (3) account for any additional aggravating or 

16 mitigating circumstances that may justify exceptions 

17 to the generally applicable sentencing ranges; 

18 (4) assure reasonable consistency with other 

19 relevant directives and with other sentencing guide20 lines and policy statements; and 

21 (5) assure that the sentencing guidelines and 

22 policy statements adequately meet the purposes of 

23 sentencing as set forth in section 3553(a)(2) of title 

24 18, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 9. STATE AND LOCAL LAW NOT PREEMPTED. 

2 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to preempt any 

3 State or local law regulating the sale or purchase of speci4 fied metal. 

5 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

6 This Act shall take effect 180 days after the date of 

7 enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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