Mobile coalition wants Alabama scrap-metal reform to cut down copper theft

Sen. Ben Brooks, R-Mobile

MOBILE, Al.
In order to curtail copper theft, which officials say is out of control across the state, a tough new bill that would tightly restrict the purchase of scrap metal in Alabama has been drafted.
The coalition behind the bill includes government, law enforcement and business leaders, but passing the legislation intact could be a battle. The recycling industry lobby has scuttled a similar effort in the past.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ben Brooks, R-Mobile, would require scrap buyers to:

• Pay for all purchases, regardless of value, with a check.

• Submit an electronic record of the purchase, including the seller's verified identity, to law enforcement within 24 hours.

• Hold scrap copper for three business days after purchase.

• Obtain proof of ownership of certain metal objects, such as grave markers, vases and manhole covers, prior to buying them.

The bill also would increase penalties, making certain violations felony offenses.
Officials announced the bill during a news conference Thursday afternoon at the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce.
Mobile Mayor Sam Jones, at the urging of the Police Department, attempted this summer to pass a municipal ordinance with many of the same provisions.
That move met with swift resistance from recyclers, who said that it would threaten their business.
Jones abandoned the local measure when it was discovered that it might conflict with an existing state law that requires recyclers to pay by check on purchases over $100 and forbids municipalities from crafting their own regulations.
When that initiative failed, Jones joined Brooks and Mobile County Sheriff Sam Cochran, who were already working on a bill.
Brooks introduced a bill during the last legislative session that contained many of the same provisions as the one currently being offered, Cochran said. That bill never got off the ground, though, as the recycling lobby moved against it, he said.
The industry also successfully loosened restrictions on automotive recycling over the protests of law enforcement, who said it would contribute to car theft.
Beth Marietta Lyons, who lobbies for both the city and the county, said the current effort has so much support that it will be hard to defeat.
Since the last legislative session, she said, brazen copper thefts have stoked significant public outrage across the state.
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc., a national lobby group, said that 47 states, including Alabama, have laws targeting metal theft. A spokesman for the group declined to say how Alabama's proposed legislation compares nationally.

Spokesman for recycling association declined comment

Graham Champion, who lobbies for the Alabama Recycling Association and spoke loudly against Jones' local ordinance, declined to comment on the specific provisions in Brooks' proposed legislation.
He said the association is working with business leaders in north Alabama to craft their own reform bill. "Once we have ours ready to go, we look forward to sitting down with Senator Brooks and seeing how they are similar and how they are different and how we can reconcile the two pieces of legislation."
Brooks said he's open to suggestions, but he also said he would not allow his bill to be watered down.
"This train is on the tracks," he said. "I plan to get this bill passed."
Brooks, who is co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, where the bill will first be discussed, said he plans to use his position to make sure the bill at least makes it onto the Senate floor.
Cochran has already met with Champion and others about the bill. The sheriff said the debate is likely to turn on the requirement to pay for all transactions with a check, which the recyclers vehemently oppose.
Mobile Police Deputy Chief James Barber, who has been pushing for reform of scrap-metal recycling rules, said the check requirement is one of the most important parts of the proposed legislation.
Copper thieves tend to be drug addicts looking for a quick score to satisfy their habit, he said. As the law stands now, thieves can steel copper, sell it and buy drugs with the proceeds all in the same day.
"It's the one type of crime where you can get paid for the crime and have them destroy the evidence for you all in the same day," he said.
If you take away the quick fix, the incentive to steal copper will go with it, Barber said.