Growing Metal Thefts Spur New Bill

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer announced last week a bill that would regulate the buying and selling of metal.

The bill comes as a result of the rapidly growing theft of copper in the region. Schumer’s bill would require documentation on where the metal came from and make it a federal crime to steal metal.

It would also cap the amount of cash a recycler can pay at $100. Any transaction more than $100 would have to be paid by check, making it possible to trace who sold it and where the metal came from.