II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3666 

To require certain metal recyclers to keep records of their transactions in 

order to deter individuals and enterprises engaged in theft and interstate 

fencing of stolen copper, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 1 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 17), 2008 

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

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require certain metal recyclers to keep records of their 

transactions in order to deter individuals and enterprises 

engaged in theft and interstate fencing of stolen copper, 

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 ‘‘Copper Theft Preven5 tion Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) since 2006, metal theft, particularly the 

2 theft of copper, has been on the rise, largely due to 

3 a surge in the global demand for scrap metal; 

4 (2) the price of copper has risen from $2 per 

5 pound in mid-2006 to more than $4 per pound in 

6 early 2008; 

7 (3) theft of copper is jeopardizing the critical 

8 infrastructure of the United States through theft of 

9 the copper in transportation, electrical, and tele10 communications networks; 

11 (4) from January 2006 through March 2007, 

12 270 copper thefts from electric utilities in 42 States 

13 were reported; 

14 (5) many arrests of copper thieves show a grow15 ing connection between the thefts and illegal drug 

16 activity, particularly activity relating to meth17 amphetamine; 

18 (6) the 2008 Threat Assessment of the Na19 tional Drug Intelligence Center shows a growing 

20 threat of methamphetamine use; 

21 (7) law enforcement officials have testified that 

22 legislation will help combat methamphetamine prob23 lems, as metal theft has become a favored method 

24 of raising money to satisfy methamphetamine addic25 tion; 


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1 (8) copper thefts are increasing primarily be2 cause of the lack of pressure on the scrap and sal3 vage yards that pay for copper and other precious 

4 metal without asking questions about the source of 

5 the metal; and 

6 (9) combating the problem of copper theft will 

7 require improved communications between metal 

8 businesses and law enforcement agencies. 

9 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

10 (1) to protect consumers, businesses, critical in11 frastructure, and State and local governments in the 

12 United States from the problem of copper theft (in13 cluding any related adverse health and safety risks 

14 caused by copper theft); and 

15 (2) to permit legitimate transactions to con16 tinue to take place by establishing a system to docu17 ment metal transactions between sellers and buyers 

18 while addressing the growing problem of copper 

19 theft that facilitates illegal drug use and other 

20 crimes. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF SECONDARY COPPER RECYCLER. 

22 In this Act, the term ‘‘secondary copper recycler’’ 

23 means any person that is engaged, from a fixed location 

24 or otherwise, in the business of paying compensation for 

25 copper that has served its original economic purpose, reVerDate Aug 31 2005 19:13 Oct 04, 2008 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3666.IS S3666

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1 gardless of whether the person is engaged in the business 

2 of performing the manufacturing process by which copper 

3 is converted into raw material products consisting of pre4 pared grades and having an existing or potential economic 

5 value. 

6 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS ON COPPER RECYCLERS. 

7 (a) RECORDS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—A secondary copper recycler 

9 shall maintain a legible record of all copper property 

10 purchase transactions to which the secondary copper 

11 recycler is a party that includes, for each trans12 action— 

13 (A) the name and address of the secondary 

14 copper recycler; 

15 (B) the date of the transaction; 

16 (C) the weight, quantity, or volume of cop17 per property purchased, including— 

18 (i) the consideration paid by the sec19 ondary copper recycler; and 

20 (ii) a description of the type of copper 

21 property purchased in the purchase trans22 action, including a general physical de23 scription (such as by describing the copper 

24 property as wire, tubing, extrusions, or 

25 casting); 


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1 (D) the name and address of the person 

2 delivering the copper property to the secondary 

3 copper recycler; 

4 (E) the distinctive number from a Federal 

5 or State government-issued identification with a 

6 photograph of the person delivering the copper 

7 property to the secondary copper recycler, and 

8 the type of the identification; and 

9 (F) the license tag number, State of issue, 

10 make, and model, if available, of the vehicle 

11 used to deliver the copper property to the sec12 ondary copper recycler. 

13 (2) REPEAT SELLERS.—In the case of a person 

14 that sells copper property to the same secondary 

15 copper recycler more than once, the secondary cop16 per recycler may comply with this subsection by— 

17 (A) maintaining a record relating to the 

18 seller; and 

19 (B) including in the record for subsequent 

20 transactions only the information relating to a 

21 seller that has changed. 

22 (3) MINIMUM PERIOD.—A secondary copper re23 cycler shall maintain or cause to be maintained the 

24 records required by this subsection for not less than 


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1 1 year beginning on the date of the purchase trans2 action. 

3 (b) PROHIBITION AGAINST CERTAIN CASH TRANS4 ACTIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—A secondary copper recycler 

6 shall not enter into any cash transaction in excess 

7 of $250 in payment for the purchase of copper prop8 erty. 

9 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—For any purchase of cop10 per property in excess of $250— 

11 (A) a secondary copper recycler shall make 

12 payment by check issued to the seller of the 

13 copper property; and 

14 (B) the check shall be payable to the name 

15 and address of the seller or picked up in person 

16 by the seller. 

17 (c) PENALTY.— 

18 (1) CIVIL PENALTY.—A secondary copper recy19 cler who violates subsection (a) or (b) shall be liable 

20 to the United States for a civil penalty in an amount 

21 not to exceed $10,000. 

22 (2) NO CRIMINAL LIABILITY.—Subject to sec23 tion 5, a violation of subsection (a) or (b)— 

24 (A) shall not constitute a crime; and 


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1 (B) in the event of a judgment for the 

2 United States and imposition of a civil penalty 

3 pursuant to paragraph (1), shall not give rise to 

4 any disability or legal disadvantage based on 

5 conviction for a criminal offense. 

6 SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION REGARDING STATE AND 

7 LOCAL GOVERNMENT REQUIREMENTS. 

8 Nothing in this Act prohibits a State or local govern9 ment from adopting any requirement in addition to the 

10 requirements under this Act to govern the purchase of 

11 copper property by a secondary copper recycler. 

12 SEC. 6. PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—A secondary copper recycler or 

14 the agent, employee, or representative of a secondary cop15 per recycler shall not disclose personal information con16 cerning a customer obtained under this Act without the 

17 consent of the customer unless the disclosure is made in 

18 response to a request from a law enforcement agency. 

19 (b) SAFEGUARDS.—A secondary copper recycler shall 

20 implement reasonable safeguards— 

21 (1) to protect the security of the personal infor22 mation required under section 4(a)(1); and 

23 (2) to prevent unauthorized access to or disclo24 sure of that information. 

Æ 


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