Certificates were issued this week to the first scrap metal dealers to be registered with the attorney general’s office under a new law enacted last year by the Legislature, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced today.
The Scrap Metal Theft Reduction Act, enacted last June, requires every “scrap metal dealer” to obtain a registration certificate from the attorney general in order to legally purchase scrap metal in Kansas. So far, scrap metal dealers operating in nine locations have completed the registration process. A directory of registered dealers is available on the attorney general’s website at www.ag.ks.gov/scrap-metal.
“Our staff is working hard to efficiently process the registration applications,” Schmidt said. “We encourage all scrap metal dealers in the state to register promptly because the law requiring them to register is now in full force.”
Later this year, the law requires the attorney general to implement a second part of the new law that will track registered dealers’ purchases of scrap metal. The legislature’s purpose in enacting the law was to discourage the theft of copper and other metals by making it more difficult for thieves to sell stolen scrap metal without being caught.
Scrap metal dealers or consumers who have additional questions may call the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at (800) 432-2310.
