Regulating sales of plastic bulk merchandise containers to scrap plastic dealers and providing penalties

This bill imposes the foregoing requirements on the sale of a plastic bulk merchandise container to a "scrap plastic dealer," which the bill defines as a person engaged in the business of buying and selling plastic to be processed for reuse in a mill or other manufacturing facility. With respect to establishing a seller's right to sell such a container, the bill requires a scrap plastic dealer to either: 1) obtain documentation establishing that the seller lawfully possesses the container; or 2) document that the dealer has made a diligent inquiry into the seller's right to sell the container and submit a report describing the container to a local law enforcement department. In addition, the exception for commercial accounts applies to a scrap plastic dealer.

Under current law, a scrap metal dealer must make certain documentation about scrap metal purchases available to law enforcement officers. Current law also allows a law enforcement officer of a city, village, town, or county in which a scrap metal dealer conducts business to request all scrap metal dealers in the city, village, town, or county to report all scrap metal purchases to the law enforcement officer, and requires scrap metal dealers to comply with such a request. Except for disclosures in documentation and reports to law enforcement, current law prohibits a scrap metal dealer from disclosing personally identifiable information to any person other than a successor in interest. This bill imposes all of the foregoing requirements and prohibition on scrap plastic dealers who purchase plastic bulk merchandise containers.

Under current law, a scrap metal dealer who knowingly violates current law is subject to a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment for up to 90 days, or both, except that if the dealer knowingly committed one previous violation, the maximum fine is increased to $10,000 and the maximum imprisonment is increased to nine months.

If a scrap metal dealer knowingly committed more than one previous violation, the dealer is subject to a fine of up to $10,000, imprisonment for up to three and one-half years, or both. This bill subjects a scrap plastic dealer who purchases plastic bulk merchandise containers to the same penalties. Current law also imposes different criminal penalties for theft of property that depend on the value of the stolen property. This bill provides that, if the stolen property is a plastic bulk merchandise container, the value includes any costs that would be incurred in repairing or replacing any property damaged in the theft or removal of the container. Current law includes a similar provision for the theft of certain scrap metal.

The bill creates a civil action allowing the owner of a stolen plastic bulk merchandise container to recover from the thief the cost of replacing the container.

The amount that may be recovered in the civil action is reduced by the amount that is collected as restitution or recompense in any criminal or municipal court action related to the same act or by the amount paid to the plaintiff under a deferred prosecution related to the same act. The civil action created by the bill is similar to a civil action under current law for certain stolen scrap metal.

The bill also allows a county, town, city, or village to enact an ordinance governing the sale of plastic bulk merchandise containers to scrap plastic dealers if the ordinance is not more stringent than the bill's requirements, except that a first class city may enact an ordinance that is more stringent than the bill's requirements.

Current law has similar provisions for ordinances regarding scrap metal.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime, the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a report concerning the proposed penalty and the costs or savings that are likely to result if the bill is enacted.