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Senate passes bills that aim to stifle copper wire theft
The Senate passed yesterday two bills of Sen. Frank Cruz (R-Tinian) that aim to crack down on copper wire theft and the sale of stolen items to pawnshops.
Senate bill 19-68 amends current Commonwealth code to task a withholding period of ten days for the payment of copper wire sale.
A recycler, at the time of making a purchase of copper wire worth $50, or more, must withhold the payment of the copper wire purchase for ten days, the bill states.
The recycler musts document the sale in accordance with this chapter, and must provide a copy of the sale receipt to the Department of Public Safety commissioner within three days of the sale transaction.
After the 10th business day from the date of the sale, the recycler may pay by cash or check mailed to the seller or collected by the seller unless otherwise instructed by Public Safety.
A recycler who violates the payment withholding or failure to provide the sale receipt as required in this subsection shall be penalized $500 for imprisonment of not more than one year, or both, the bill states.
“Copper wire theft causes business owners and residents financial loss and disrupts electrical service to homes, stores, and other structures when the wires are stolen and sold at recycling centers.” It is “necessary to implement a ten-day waiting period on payment…to further deter copper wire theft,” the bill states.
S.B. 19-69 amends Commonwealth code to provide similar reporting and withholding statutes as S.B. 19-68.
The bill argues that requiring pawnshops to report an item over to DPS before sale will “deter the sale of stolen items and help DPS better track stolen items.”
