[HISTORY: Adopted by the Rockland County Legislature 9-4-2007
by L.L. No. 14-2007. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as "The Rockland County Hazardous Materials
Notification Law."
It is hereby declared and found that because of the dangers from terrorist activity this nation, state and County face on a daily basis, and because of the ease with which certain precursor materials (as defined by § 282-3) can be obtained by the general public, and because of the many sources of information generally available to the public that provide instructions as to how to use precursor materials to create explosive and chemical devices, allowing business enterprises to continue to operate without laws to control and regulate the purchase of such articles not only jeopardizes the safety of many people but also extremely hampers the police agencies in their efforts to protect the public. If the law enforcement agencies are to function in this area, a local law regulating acquisition of certain precursor materials that can be made into explosive and chemical devices is necessary. Thereby, the public health, safety and general welfare of the County of Rockland will be protected and promoted and the best interest of the people would be served by the control and regulation of transfer of certain precursor materials. It is the intention of the Legislature of Rockland County that this chapter shall constitute the complete law in relation to the control and regulation of certain household products for the County of Rockland.
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the meanings of
terms used in this chapter shall be as followed:
Solid ammonium nitrate that is chiefly the ammonium salt of nitric
acid and contains not less than 33% nitrogen, of which:
Any of the following materials shall be considered a precursor:
Any individual or business that sells or transfers ownership of a
precursor material to a third party as party of a business transaction.
A.
Every wholesaler and retailer in precursor materials,
by the close of the business day, shall keep a written record in duplicate
of consecutively numbered transactions, legibly written in English, which
shall contain a complete, thorough description of every precursor material
so purchased, utilizing accepted trade words and phrases, quantities of precursor
materials and number or numbers of said materials. The records shall also
include the name, present address and date of birth of the person to whom
such sale was made, including the day and hour of the purchase. Within 48
hours of the close of business on the day of purchase, the dealer of precursor
materials shall forward by mail, fax or Internet to the Rockland County Intelligence
Task Force, care of the Rockland County Sheriff, the duplicate record of purchase,
as provided herein, of each transaction which had taken place that week.
B.
Such record shall be kept on the business premises of
the precursor materials dealership at all times during normal business hours.
Such record shall be open to the inspection of any federal, state and County
police officer or the Rockland County Sheriff, or any person duly authorized
for such purposes by the Rockland County Sheriff and chief of police of the
jurisdiction in which the business premises is located.
A.
It shall be the duty of every wholesaler and retailer
of precursor materials to verify the identity of every person to whom he makes
a sale and to make and keep a written record of the nature of the evidence
submitted by such person to prove his identity.
B.
Only government-issued photo identification with signature
shall be deemed acceptable evidence of identity.
C.
It shall be the duty of every wholesaler and retailer
of precursor materials to require that every person to whom an article is
sold sign his or her name in the presence of the wholesaler and retailer of
precursor materials and to compare the signature of the identifying document,
if any, and retain on said premises the person's signature, together
with the number and description of the identifying document, if any.
Every wholesaler and retailer of precursor materials shall store/display
said precursor materials behind the counter in an area accessible only to
employees or in a locked container. Violating the storage display requirement
is treated as the equivalent of selling precursor materials without fulfilling
the reporting requirements of this chapter.
Every wholesaler and retailer of precursor materials shall furnish to
the Rockland County Sheriff or his or her agent and the chief of police in
the jurisdiction in which the business premises is located all information
requested relative to all records required to be kept under this chapter.
This chapter shall not create any liability on the part of the County
of Rockland, its officers, agents or employees or any police officer for any
act or damage caused as a result of reliance on this chapter or any administrative
decision lawfully made thereunder.
This chapter shall not apply to licensed service contractors bringing
precursor materials to a residence for the purpose of use by that resident.
A.
A failure to comply with the provision of § 282-4, which requires every wholesaler and retailer of precursor materials by the close of the business day to keep a written record of every purchase, shall constitute a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment.
B.
A failure to comply with the other sections of this chapter
shall constitute a violation and shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding
$250 or imprisonment. The continuation of an offense shall constitute a separate
and distinct violation hereunder for each day the offense is continued.
C.
In addition to the penalties provided above, any offense
against the provisions of this chapter shall subject the person committing
the offense to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $500 for each day
that the offense shall continue. Said penalty shall be collectible by and
in the name of the County of Rockland.
