[HISTORY: Adopted by the Legislature of the County of Monroe 11-9-2021 by L.L. No. 9-2021.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law was adopted by the Legislature
9-14-2021, disapproved by the County Executive 10-14-2021, and reconsidered,
repassed and adopted 11-9-2021.
This chapter shall be known as the law "Regulating Sale of Used
Catalytic Converters."
A.
This Legislature
hereby finds that the County of Monroe has experienced an increase
in thefts of used catalytic converters from vehicles in our community
and their resale to scrap metal recyclers.
B.
This Legislature
finds that requiring scrap metal recyclers doing business in Monroe
County to delay payments to sellers of used catalytic converters for
at least 14 days after receipt will allow law enforcement additional
time to investigate the theft of used catalytic converters and discourage
criminal conduct.
C.
This Legislature
also finds that requiring scrap metal recyclers to maintain records
of the purchase of used catalytic converters will aid law enforcement
in the investigation of thefts of such devices.
The purpose of this chapter to discourage the theft of catalytic
converters from vehicles in Monroe County by requiring scrap metal
recyclers doing business in Monroe County to delay payments to sellers
of used catalytic converters for at least 14 days after receipt and
requiring scrap metal recyclers to maintain records of the purchase
of such devices for three years in order to aid law enforcement in
the investigation of the theft of such devices.
As used in this chapter:
A catalytic converter or other equipment or feature constituting
an operational element of a motor vehicle's air pollution control
system or mechanism required by federal or state law or by any rules
or regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, as amended from time
to time.
A business enterprise that repairs vehicles and is certified
by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.
A vehicle dismantler, salvage pool, mobile car crusher, itinerant
vehicle collector or scrap processor doing business in Monroe County;
but shall not include a dealer registered pursuant to § 415
of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law, an insurance company, a governmental
agency, a person in whose name a certificate of title, registration
or other ownership document has been issued for the vehicle from which
the used catalytic converter was removed, or a repair shop.
A catalytic converter that was previously installed in a
vehicle and which has been removed from such vehicle in whole or in
part.
No scrap metal recycler shall purchase or take possession of,
including for purposes of recycling or rebuilding, a used catalytic
converter from any person or entity other than a dealer registered
pursuant to § 415 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law, an insurance
company, a governmental agency, a person in whose name a certificate
of title or other ownership document has been issued for the vehicle
from which the catalytic converter was removed, a repair shop, or
a person registered or certified or issued an identification number
for the vehicle under the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
A.
Each scrap
metal recycler who purchases or takes possession of, including for
purposes of recycling or rebuilding, a used catalytic converter shall
record the purchase of the used catalytic converter documenting the
date of purchase, the name of seller, the seller's address or, in
the case that the seller is an individual, the seller's residence
address by street, number, city, village or town, the seller's driver's
license number or information from a government-issued photographic
identification card, if any, or by such description as will reasonably
locate the seller, or, if the seller is a repair shop, the repair
shop's New York State Department of Motor Vehicles certification number.
Such record shall be preserved by the scrap metal recycler for a period
of three years from the date of receipt of the used catalytic converter.
Such records shall be available for inspection by any law enforcement
authority with jurisdiction over the scrap metal recycler.
B.
Each scrap
metal recycler shall cause the record of purchase of the used catalytic
converter to be signed by the seller or his or her agent. It shall
be unlawful for any seller or agent to refuse to furnish such information
or to furnish incorrect or incomplete information. The scrap metal
recycler shall make and retain a copy of the government-issued photographic
identification card used to verify the identity of the person from
whom the used catalytic converter was purchased or obtained and shall
retain the copy in a separate book, register or electronic archive
for three years from the date of purchase. Such records shall be available
for inspection by any law enforcement agency having jurisdiction over
the scrap metal recycler.
Payments by any scrap metal recycler to a business, agency or
private citizen who turns in a catalytic converter for scrap will
be issued through check, with a copy of the check being held by the
scrap metal recycler for three years from the date of disbursement.
Such records shall be available for inspection by any law enforcement
agency having jurisdiction over the scrap metal recycler.
A.
Any person
that violates this chapter shall: i) be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor;
and ii) upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to
exceed $300 for the first offense, $500 for the second offense, and
$1,000 for each subsequent offense.
B.
This chapter
shall be enforced by any local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction
over the scrap metal recycler.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or section of this chapter
shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid,
such determination shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder
thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence,
paragraph, or section thereof directly involved in the proceeding
in which such adjudication shall have been rendered. This chapter
shall not supersede any applicable state or federal laws or regulations
with regard to the subject matters set forth herein.
