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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger State Capitol Sacramento, CA 95814 Dear Governor Schwarzenegger: I am pleased to REQUEST YOUR SIGNATURE on AB 844 (Berryhill), which requires junk dealers and recyclers to comply with specified recordkeeping and identification procedures, restricts cash transactions and increases penalties for violating these provisions. Scrap metal theft is rampant throughout California and is affecting businesses and individuals throughout the state. Copper and aluminum are being stripped from building sites, farms, utilities, schools, hospitals, vacant homes, and other sites and are sold to metal recyclers for a profit. The recent rise in scrap metal values has made the theft and sale of these materials increasingly profitable. California’s farmers and businesses want a solution to metal theft this year. AB 844 provides the tools necessary to reduce the sales of stolen metal. This bill requires scrap metal recyclers to obtain current identification, including a thumbprint and a video or picture of the seller, and a photograph of the items sold. It also requires the sellers to complete a form disclosing the origin of the materials. In addition to the improved recordkeeping requirements, these bills also change payment methods for scrap metal. Sellers will be paid after a three-day waiting period, unless an individual completes five or more separate transactions per month. Recyclers are required to report their transactions on a monthly basis to local law enforcement. Finally, the bill increases penalties against recyclers violating these provisions and requires convicted scrap metal thieves to pay for costs associated with their crime. It is important to recognize the need to require thumbprints for sellers of scrap metal. Obtaining a thumbprint acts as a significant deterrent towards individuals trying to sell stolen scrap metal because it is the one form of identification that can’t be forged. AB 844 contains provisions that properly protect sellers’ thumbprints.

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