The purpose and intent of this chapter is to assist law enforcement
officials and victims of crime in recovering scrap metal by requiring
minimum identification, reporting, maintenance and distribution criteria
for licensed dealers in these goods.
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.
ACCEPTABLE IDENTIFICATION
A current, valid New Jersey driver's license or identification
card; a current, valid photo driver's license issued by another United
States state; a valid United States passport; or other verifiable
United States 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 municipality 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, 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 municipality where the dealer is
required to register or who intends to close out or discontinue the
scrap metal business within six months.
No person, partnership, limited-liability company, corporation, or other entity shall engage in a scrap metal business, as defined above, within the jurisdiction of the municipality without having first obtained a license therefor from the Borough Clerk, which license shall bear a number issued by the Borough Clerk. The application for a license to the Borough Clerk shall set forth the name, date of birth, and address of the dealer, whether or not he or she is a citizen of the United States, and whether or not he or she has ever been convicted of any crime(s), disorderly persons offense(s), or municipal ordinance violation(s), and the date(s) thereof. Advertising in any print or electronic media or by sign regarding the purchase of scrap metal at any location within the municipality shall constitute engaging in business as a dealer of scrap metal for purposes of this chapter. No person, partnership, limited-liability company, corporation or other entity shall place or cause to be placed any advertisement for purchase of such item(s) without stating in the advertising the license number issued to a person or entity by the municipality. In any print advertisement, the license number shall appear in type no smaller than eight points in the lower right-hand corner of the advertisement. In any advertisement in electronic media, the license number shall be visually or audibly stated. Failure to state or indicate the license number shall be a violation of this chapter and shall be subject to the penalties established in §
206-9.
For every reportable transaction between a dealer and the public,
the dealer shall be required to do as follows:
A. Require of each member of the public selling scrap metal acceptable identification as defined above in §
206-2.
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 scrap metal 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, as set forth in §
206-2, 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 full
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 documented through the use of an electronic database software 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 their 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 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 §
206-6.
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 and, where necessary, relinquish custody of those articles as provided in §
206-6. Itinerant businesses and transient buyers will be responsible for notifying the Chief of Police of the address where 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, except as provided in subsection
I below, purchase:
(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
street light 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 who 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 or purchase or process scrap metal in the ordinary course of business.
Each dealer covered under this chapter shall deliver a bond
to the Borough 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 as surety. The bond shall be subject to review
and approval by the Municipal Attorney, as defined in N.J.S.A. 40A:9-139,
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 municipality 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 Borough
of Rockaway, 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 for an operator of a scrap metal business and the annual renewal fee for a license are as provided in Chapter
A263, Fees. 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, as provided by §
206-5D of this chapter. Payments are to be made in the manner directed by the Borough 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 the limitations of N.J.S.A. 40:49-5, or by a term of imprisonment or a period of community service not exceeding 90 days, in addition to a suspension or revocation of operating license as provided in §
206-6F and §
206-6G above. 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 §
206-6G. 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.