Iowa Code § 714.27
Scrap metal transactions and reporting — penalties
Redline — January 1, 2012 → current.View current text →
Current — January 1, 2024
As of January 1, 2012
1. The governing body of a political subdivision in which copper theft has been reported may consider the adoption of a copper theft ordinance requiring a salvage dealer to maintain complete, accurate, and legible records in the English language of all purchases and receipt of salvaged materials. Such records shall be maintained and located at the place of business of the salvage dealer for a minimum of one year from the date of purchase or receipt by the salvage dealer.
2. The ordinance may require a salvage dealer to maintain one or more of the following records:
a. The identity of the person from whom the salvaged material was received or purchased, including name and address; date of birth; Iowa driver’s license number, Iowa nonoperator’s identification card number, or social security number in conjunction with photo identification; sex, age, height, and race.
b. The vehicle license plate number of the vehicle that delivered the salvaged material to the salvage dealer, if applicable.
c. The date and hour of the purchase or receipt of the salvaged material.
d. A reasonably accurate inventory and description of the salvaged material obtained.
e. The value of or amount paid for the salvaged material.
f. The weight or other measurable quantity of the salvaged material.
g. From whom and at what time and place the salvaged material was obtained by the person from whom it was purchased or received, if known.
h. The date and manner of disposition by the salvage dealer of the salvaged material by each article or in bulk.
i. The name and address of the person to whom the salvaged material was sold or otherwise disposed of.
3. a. (1) In the event that a political subdivision issues a license or permit to a salvage dealer for the operation of a salvage business, the ordinance may provide for the suspension, revocation, or nonrenewal of the license or permit in the event the ordinance is violated by the salvage dealer. A suspension, revocation, or nonrenewal shall not take effect without notice delivered to the licensee or permittee in the regular mail addressed to the licensee or permittee at the licensed premises a minimum of ten days prior to a date set for hearing before a magistrate or district associate judge. The notice shall inform the licensee or permittee of the time, date, and place of hearing, the purpose of the hearing, and shall set out briefly the reasons for the hearing.
(2) A decision regarding whether to suspend or revoke a license or permit, or deny its renewal, shall be at the discretion of the magistrate or district associate judge, based upon the circumstances surrounding the violation and its severity.
(3) A licensee or permittee whose license or permit or renewal has been revoked or denied because of a violation of this section shall not be eligible for another such license or permit for a period of one hundred eighty days after the revocation or denial.
b. In the event a political subdivision does not issue a license or permit to a salvage dealer for the operation of a salvage business, the ordinance may provide for such penalty provision as the governing body of the political subdivision may deem appropriate.
NEW section
1. For purposes of this section, and unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions shall apply:
a. “Scrap metal” means any metal suitable for reprocessing. “Scrap metal” does not include a motor vehicle or a catalytic converter detached from a motor vehicle.
b. “Scrap metal dealer” means any person operating a business at a fixed or mobile location that is engaged in one of the following activities:
(1) Buying, selling, procuring, collecting, gathering, soliciting, or dealing in scrap metal.
(2) Operating, managing, or maintaining a scrap metal yard.
c. “Scrap metal yard” means any yard, plot, space, enclosure, building, mobile facility, or other place where scrap metal is collected, gathered together, stored, or kept for shipment, sale, or transfer.
2. a. A person shall not sell scrap metal to a scrap metal dealer in this state unless the person provides to the scrap metal dealer, at or before the time of sale, the person’s name, address, and place of business, if any, and presents to the scrap metal dealer a valid driver’s license or nonoperator’s identification card, military identification card, passport, or other government-issued photo identification.
b. A scrap metal dealer shall not make an initial purchase of scrap metal from a person without demanding and receiving the information required by this subsection. However, after an initial transaction, a scrap metal dealer may only require the person’s name and place of business for subsequent purchases, provided the scrap metal dealer retains all information received during the initial transaction.
3. A scrap metal dealer shall keep a confidential register or log of each transaction, including a record of the information required by subsection 2. All records and information kept pursuant to this subsection shall be retained for at least two years, and shall be provided to a law enforcement agency or other officer or employee designated by a county or city to enforce this section upon request during normal business hours when the law enforcement agency or designated officer or employee of a county or city has reasonable grounds to request such information as part of an investigation. A law enforcement agency or designated officer or employee of a county or city shall preserve the confidentiality of the information provided under this subsection and shall not disclose it to a third party, except as may be necessary in enforcement of this section or the prosecution of a criminal violation.
4. All scrap metal transactions, other than those transactions exempt pursuant to subsection 5, in which the total sale price exceeds fifty dollars shall require payment by check or electronic funds transfer.
5. The following scrap metal transactions are exempt from the requirements of this section:
a. Transactions in which the total sale price is fifty dollars or less.
b. Transactions in which a scrap metal dealer is selling scrap metal.
c. Transactions in which the person selling the scrap metal is known to the scrap metal dealer purchasing the scrap metal to be the officer, employee, or agent of an established commercial or industrial business, operating from a fixed location, that may reasonably be expected to produce scrap metal during the operation of the business.
6. a. The provisions of this section shall take precedence over and supersede any local ordinance adopted by a political subdivision that regulates scrap metal transactions.
b. Notwithstanding paragraph “a” of this subsection, a city ordinance regarding scrap metal or other scrap material in effect prior to January 1, 2012, in a city with a population exceeding one hundred fifty thousand as shown by the 2010 federal decennial census may continue to be enforced by the city which adopted it.
7. A person who violates subsection 2, paragraph “a”, or a person who conducts a scrap metal transaction by or on behalf of a scrap metal dealer who violates this section shall be subject to a civil penalty as follows:
a. An initial violation shall subject the person to a civil penalty in the amount of one hundred dollars.
b. A second violation within two years shall subject the person to a civil penalty in the amount of five hundred dollars.
c. A third or subsequent violation within two years shall subject the person to a civil penalty in the amount of one thousand dollars.
For applicable scheduled fines, see §805.8C, subsection 10
Official source: Iowa Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Iowa statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.