Scrap vehicle verification required

Last summer, the auto theft unit of the St. Paul Police Department uncovered nearly a dozen illegal tow truck drivers stealing cars and scrapping them for cash at a rogue scrap metal processor.

“In some cases the vehicles had been scrapped within hours of being stolen,” said Kenneth Reed, an assistant chief with the department’s Major Crimes Division. “To date, there are 17 defendants and over 86 stolen motor vehicles involved,” he said.

Sponsored by Rep. Carol McFarlane (R-White Bear Lake), HF1901 would establish more regulations on scrap vehicle purchases in hopes of providing extra consumer protection.

In addition to obtaining a seller’s proof of identification and a statement of the right to sell the vehicle, the bill states that any vehicle bought without a title may not be destroyed or dismantled for seven days. There would be no hold period if a valid title exists.

“That will give law enforcement the opportunity to investigate reports of stolen cars and hopefully get them returned to the rightful owner before the vehicle is destroyed,” McFarlane said. Scrap yards do not have to physically hold the vehicle on their property; rather they can create a purchase agreement with the seller that contains information already required by law and then finalize the transaction and take delivery a week later. Dealer-to-dealer and insurance companies-to-dealer sales would be exempt.

Approved March 12 by the House Transportation Policy and Finance Committee on a split-voice vote, the bill awaits action by the House Commerce and Regulatory Reform Committee. The Senate companion, SF2411, sponsored by Sen. John Harrington (DFL-St. Paul), awaits action by the Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee.

“We hope that this does not place any unnecessary and erroneous obstacles to anybody in the industry who is legally buying and selling cars for scrap or their parts,” McFarlane said.

Representing the Minnesota Chapter of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Paul Cassidy disagrees, saying the potential change is unnecessary and would increase administrative costs. “Criminals are being prosecuted and the current law works,” he said.

He said scrap metal processors would like to work with law enforcement on a faster, more efficient reporting system. Because there is “terrible two-way communication between the law enforcement community and our industry,” he suggested creation of a centralized database that scrap recyclers can use to identify stolen vehicles.