No person shall use, exercise, or carry on the business, trade,
or occupation of the buying, selling, or pawning of scrap metal without
complying with the requirements of this chapter in the exact manner
described herein.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ACCEPTABLE IDENTIFICATION
A current valid New Jersey driver's license or identification
card, a current valid photo driver's license issued by another
U.S. state, a valid United States passport, or other verifiable U.S.
government-issued identification, which will be recorded on the receipt
retained by the dealer and subsequently forwarded to the local Police
Department on request.
DEALER
Any person, partnership, limited liability company, corporation,
or other entity who, either wholly or in part, engages in or operates
a scrap metal business involving the buying and/or selling of scrap
metal as defined herein, including itinerant businesses, and transient
buyers as defined herein.
ITINERANT BUSINESS
Any scrap metal dealer who conducts business intermittently
within the Township or at varying locations.
PUBLIC
Individuals and retail sellers, not to include wholesale
transactions or transactions between other merchants.
REPORTABLE TRANSACTION
Every transaction conducted between a dealer and a member
of the public in which scrap metal is purchased or pawned.
SCRAP METAL
Used, discarded, or previously owned items that consist predominantly
of ferrous metals, aluminum, brass, copper, lead, chromium, tin, nickel,
or alloys.
SCRAP METAL BUSINESS
A commercial establishment which, as one of its principal
business purposes, advertises for the purchase of or purchases scrap
metal for purposes of resale or processing, including transient buyers
of scrap metal and itinerant businesses, as defined herein.
SELLER
A member of the public who sells scrap metal to a dealer.
TRANSIENT BUYER
An operator of a scrap metal business, as defined herein,
who has not been in the scrap metal business continuously for at least
six months at any address in the Township where the dealer is required
to register or who intends to close out or discontinue the scrap metal
business within six months.
For every reportable transaction between a dealer and the public,
the dealer shall be required to do as follows:
A. Require acceptable identification from each person selling scrap
metal.
B. Require each seller to execute a declaration of ownership, which
shall contain the following certification: "My signature confirms
that I am the sole legal owner of and am legally authorized to sell
the goods being sold. By signing below I certify that I did not obtain
and do not possess the identified goods through unlawful means. I
am the full age of 18 years and the identification presented is valid
and correct."
C. Record and issue to each person selling or pawning such goods on
a sequentially numbered receipt:
(1) The name, address, and telephone number of the purchaser, including
the clerk or employee of the licensee making the purchase;
(2) The name, address, date of birth, and telephone number of the seller
or sellers;
(3) A photographed recording of the seller in a format acceptable to
the Chief of Police, along with a physical description of the seller,
including height and weight (approximate), hair color, eye color,
facial hair, if any, etc.;
(4) A photographed recording of the seller's presented acceptable
identification, in a format acceptable by the Chief of Police;
(5) A photographed recording of all items sold in a format acceptable
by the Chief of Police.
(7) A detailed, legible description of the item(s) purchased, including
but not limited to the manufacturer, type, amount, form, model, any
identifying marks, numbers, dates, sizes, shapes, initials, monograms
and serial numbers;
(8) The price paid for the item(s);
(9) The make, model and license plate of the motor vehicle delivering
the scrap metal;
(10)
The time and date of the transaction.
D. The information outlined in Subsection
C above must additionally be electronically documented through the use of an electronic database system authorized by the Chief of Police. Installation and training in this software will be made mandatory as of the effective date of this chapter, and licensing will be conditional upon compliance with proper use of the system as described herein. These records shall be subject to the inspection of any authorized police officer or any sworn law enforcement officer acting in the performance of his or her duty as set forth in Subsection
F below. Through the use of applicably required computer equipment, and using the electronic format approved by the Chief of Police, every dealer shall enter all reportable transactions into the electronic database by the end of the close of business on the same date as the purchase. The information entered must contain all pertinent information outlined in Subsection
C above.
E. In the event of a database failure, or a dealer's computer equipment malfunction, all transaction information is required to be submitted on paper forms approved by the Chief of Police within 24 hours from the date of purchase. In the event that paper forms are used, the dealer is responsible to enter all transaction information set forth in Subsection
C above into the database as soon as possible upon the dealer's equipment being repaired or replaced, or the database coming back into service. Failure by the dealer to properly maintain computer equipment in a reasonable fashion, or failure by the dealer to replace faulty computer equipment, may result in the dealer being cited for a violation of this chapter and subsequently being subject to the penalties for doing so, including revocation of the dealer's license as described in §
319-6.
F. It shall be the requisite duty of every dealer, and of every person in the dealer's employ, to admit to the premises during business hours any member of the Police Department to examine any database, book, ledger, or any other record on the premises relating to the reportable transactions of scrap metal, as well as the articles purchased or received and, where necessary, relinquish custody of those articles as provided in §
319-6. Itinerant businesses and transient buyers will be responsible for notifying the Chief of Police of the address where these records and articles will be stored.
G. For all reportable transactions between a dealer and a member of the public, the dealer may only accept delivery of scrap metal for purchase by motor vehicle, and the license plate of the motor vehicle must be recorded as provided in Subsection
C above.
H. No scrap metal business shall purchase the following, except as provided in Subsection
I below:
(1) Any metal marked with identification of a telephone, cable, electric,
water, other public utility, or other government entity;
(2) Any utility access or water meter cover;
(3) Any streetlight pole or fixture;
(4) Any road or bridge guard rail;
(5) Any highway or street sign, traffic directional or control sign,
or light signal;
(6) Any metal beer keg that is clearly marked as being the property of
the beer manufacturer;
(7) Any historical marker, grave marker, or burial vase;
(8) Any central air conditioner evaporator coils or condensers or catalytic
converters that are not attached to a vehicle; or
(9) Any metal bleachers or benches.
I. The provisions of Subsection
H shall not apply to purchases of scrap metal from entities that manage such metal in the ordinary course of business. These entities include manufacturing, industrial, government, contractor, individual or other commercial vendors or scrap metal businesses that generate, purchase or process scrap metal in the ordinary course of business.
Each dealer covered under this chapter shall deliver a bond
to the Municipal Clerk executed by the applicant as principal and
executed by a surety company authorized to do business under the laws
of the State of New Jersey. The bond shall be subject to review and
approval by the Township Attorney, and shall be in the penal sum of
$10,000, conditioned for the due and proper observance of and compliance
with the provisions and requirements of all ordinances of the Township
in force or which may be adopted respecting the conduct of this business
and conditioned also that the bond shall be and remain for the benefit
of any person or persons who shall have received judgment against
the dealer licensed under this chapter, which damage shall be established
by a judgment of a court of proper jurisdiction. Said bond shall contain
the following language: "The obligation of this bond shall, in addition
to the Township of Little Egg Harbor, be and remain for the benefit
of any person who shall obtain a judgment against obligor as a result
of damage sustained in operation pursuant to any license granted under
this chapter." Said bond shall be kept for a minimum of one year from
the date of issuance of license and must be renewed annually along
with the license.
A nonrefundable fee for initial application and license under
this chapter is $300. The annual renewal fee for a license is $250.
These fees are separate from and in addition to any fees the dealer
must pay in relation to the mandatory electronic database system designated
by the Chief of Police. Payments are to be made in the manner directed
by the Municipal Clerk. A license is valid for a one-year period from
the date of its issuance.
Violation of any provision of this chapter by any dealer shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not in excess of $2,000 or by a term of imprisonment or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days, in addition to a suspension or revocation of the operating license as provided in §
319-6. Each and every violation shall be considered a separate violation. Each violation shall result in an additional suspension period. Any person who is found guilty of violating the provisions of this chapter within one year of the date of a previous violation and who was fined for the previous violation may be sentenced by the court to an additional fine as a repeat offender and, in addition, may be subject to revocation proceedings as provided in §
319-6G. The additional fine imposed as a repeat offender shall not be less than the minimum or exceed the maximum fine provided herein, and same shall be calculated separately from the fine imposed for the violation of this chapter.
Any person, partnership, limited liability company, corporation,
or other entity engaging in the business of a pawnbroker, or a dealer
in precious metals or other secondhand goods, shall conform to the
provisions of this chapter within 90 days following the effective
date of this chapter.