SENATE BILL 141

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2024

INTRODUCED BY

George K. Mu oz

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO RECYCLED METALS; ADDING PALLADIUM, PLATINUM AND RHODIUM TO THE DEFINITION OF "REGULATED MATERIAL"; ADDING REQUIREMENTS TO PURCHASE OR OTHERWISE RECEIVE A CATALYTIC CONVERTER; REQUIRING A RECORD OF THE PURCHASE OF PALLADIUM, PLATINUM OR RHODIUM; REQUIRING THAT A SECONDHAND METAL DEALER REPORT TO THE APPLICABLE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY FOR PURCHASES OF OR WHEN A SELLER FAILS TO PROVIDE A PRIOR RECEIPT OR NOTARIZED DECLARATION FOR A CATALYTIC CONVERTER, PALLADIUM, PLATINUM OR RHODIUM; CREATING A DATABASE TO TRACK DATA; REQUIRING THAT A SECONDHAND METAL DEALER PAY BY CHECK FOR A CATALYTIC CONVERTER, PALLADIUM, PLATINUM OR RHODIUM; ALLOWING THE INSPECTION OF RECORDS OF TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING CATALYTIC CONVERTERS, PALLADIUM, PLATINUM OR RHODIUM; IMPOSING CRIMINAL PENALTIES.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. Section 57-30-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2008, Chapter 29, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:

     "57-30-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Sale of Recycled Metals Act:

          A. "aluminum material" means a product made from aluminum, an aluminum alloy or an aluminum byproduct. "Aluminum material" includes an aluminum beer keg but does not include other types of aluminum cans used to contain a food or beverage;

          B. "bronze material" means:

                (1) a cemetery vase, receptacle or memorial made from bronze;

                (2) bronze statuary; or

                (3) material readily identifiable as bronze;

          C. "business day" means any calendar day except Sunday and the following holidays: New Year's day; President's day; Memorial day; Independence day; Labor day; Indigenous Peoples' day; Armistice day and Veterans' day; Thanksgiving day; Christmas day; Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday; and any other legal public holiday of the state of New Mexico or the United States;

          D. "copper or brass material" means:

                (1) insulated or noninsulated copper wire, hardware or cable of the type used by a public utility, commercial mobile radio service carrier or common carrier that consists of at least twenty-five percent copper; or

                (2) a copper or brass item of a type commonly used in construction or by a public utility, commercial mobile radio service carrier or common carrier;

          E. "department" means the regulation and licensing department;

          F. "lead material" means:

                (1) a lead-acid battery; or

                (2) material readily identifiable as being made of or containing lead;

          G. "peace officer" means any full-time salaried and commissioned or certified law enforcement officer of a police or sheriff's department that is part of or administered by the state or a political subdivision of the state;

          H. "personal identification document" means:

                (1) a driver's license;

                (2) a military identification card; or

                (3) a passport issued by the United States or by another country and recognized by the United States;

          I. "regulated material" means:

                (1) aluminum material;

                (2) bronze material;

                (3) copper or brass material;

                (4) steel material;

                (5) lead material;

                (6) a utility access cover;

                (7) a water meter cover;

                (8) a road or bridge guard rail;

                (9) a highway or street sign;

                (10) a traffic directional or control sign or signal; [or]

                (11) a catalytic converter that is not part of an entire motor vehicle; or

                (12) palladium, platinum or rhodium;

          J. "secondhand metal dealer" means a scrap metal processor in the business of operating or maintaining a scrap metal yard in a physical location in which scrap metal or cast-off regulated material is purchased for shipment, sale or transfer;

          K. "steel material" means a product made from an alloy of iron, chromium, nickel or manganese, including stainless steel beer kegs; and

          L. "superintendent" means the superintendent of regulation and licensing."

     SECTION 2. Section 57-30-2.4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2012, Chapter 29, Section 16 and Laws 2012, Chapter 33, Section 16, as amended) is amended to read:

     "57-30-2.4. RESTRICTED TRANSACTIONS--ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED--REQUIRED RECORD AND PAYMENT FOR CATALYTIC CONVERTERS.--

          A. A secondhand metal dealer shall not knowingly purchase or otherwise receive any of the following without written documentation indicating that the seller or offeror is the rightful owner or has permission from the rightful owner and that the material was otherwise lawfully obtained:

                (1) infrastructure grade regulated material that has been burned to remove insulation, unless the seller can produce written proof that the regulated material was lawfully burned;

                (2) regulated material where the manufacturer's make, model, serial or personal identification number or other identifying marks engraved or etched upon the material have been conspicuously removed or altered;

                (3) regulated material marked with the name, initials or otherwise identified as the property of an electrical company, a telephone company, a cable company, a water company or other utility company, a railroad or a governmental entity;

                (4) a utility access cover;

                (5) a water meter cover;

                (6) a road or bridge guard rail;

                (7) a highway or street sign;

                (8) a traffic directional or control sign or signal;

                (9) a metal beer keg that is clearly marked as being the property of the beer manufacturer; or

                (10) a catalytic converter that is not part of an entire motor vehicle.

          B. The department shall promulgate rules that more specifically describe the type of documentation required before a secondhand metal dealer may engage in a transaction described in this section.

          C. A secondhand metal dealer shall not purchase or otherwise receive any regulated material that the secondhand metal dealer knows is not lawfully possessed by the person offering to sell or provide the regulated material.

          D. A secondhand metal dealer shall not knowingly purchase or otherwise receive a catalytic converter unless [(1)] the seller or offeror [presents a] verifies the seller's or offeror's identity by presenting a valid personal identification document and [(2)] the secondhand metal dealer makes a record of the transaction, to be maintained for at least three years from the date of the transaction, that shall include:

                [(a)] (1) a photocopy or digital image of the seller's or offeror's personal identification document;

                [(b)] (2) a written statement signed by the seller or offeror certifying that the seller or offeror has the lawful right to sell and dispose of the catalytic converter;

                (3) the date, [and] time and place of the transaction;

                (4) the amount paid for the catalytic converter;

                [(c)] (5) the name, address, telephone number, occupation and signature of the seller or offeror;

                [(d)] (6) the license plate number and vehicle identification number of the vehicle used to transport the catalytic converter to the secondhand metal dealer, if applicable;

                [(e)] (7) a photocopy or digital image of the legal document or affidavit demonstrating ownership by the seller or offeror; [and

                (f) photographs] (8) a digital image of the catalytic converter;

                (9) a digital image of the seller or offeror;

                (10) a description, including serial numbers and other identifying marks, when practical, of the catalytic converter; and

                (11) a copy of a receipt provided by the seller or offeror that describes with particularity the:

                     (a) catalytic converter that is being offered for sale;

                     (b) name of the person or business that issued the receipt;

                     (c) date of purchase by the seller or offeror; and

                     (d) price, if any, of the catalytic converter when obtained by the seller or offeror; or

                (12) if a copy of a receipt is not available, a notarized declaration by the seller or offeror that describes with particularity the:

                     (a) catalytic converter that is being offered for sale;

                     (b) name of the person who sold or otherwise transferred the item to the seller or offeror;

                     (c) date of sale or transfer of the item; and

                     (d) price, if any, of the catalytic converter when obtained by the seller or offeror.

          E. The secondhand metal dealer, after purchasing or otherwise receiving a catalytic converter, shall:

                (1) attach a tag to the catalytic converter that includes the year, make, model, license plate number and vehicle identification number of the vehicle from which the catalytic converter was removed and the name of the seller or offeror;

                (2) report the purchase to the applicable law enforcement agency, the record of which shall be maintained in the department of public safety's database; and

                (3) maintain possession of the catalytic converter for a period of at least sixty days before selling or otherwise disposing of the catalytic converter.