(A) To register as a scrap metal dealer or a bulk merchandise container dealer with the director of public safety as required by division (B) of section 4737.04 of the Revised Code, a person shall do all of the following:

(1) Provide the name and street address of the dealer's place of business;

(2) Provide the name of the primary owner of the business, and of the manager of the business, if the manager is not the primary owner;

(3) Provide the electronic mail address of the business;

(4) Provide confirmation that the dealer has the capabilities to electronically connect with the department of public safety for the purpose of sending and receiving information;

(5) Provide any other information required by the director in rules the director adopts pursuant to sections 4737.01 to 4737.045 of the Revised Code;

(6) Pay an initial registration fee of two hundred dollars.

(B) A person engaging in the business of a scrap metal dealer or a bulk merchandise container dealer in this state on or before September 28, 2012, shall register with the director not later than January 1, 2013. With respect to a person who commences engaging in the business of a scrap metal dealer or a bulk merchandise container dealer after September 28, 2012, the person shall register with the director pursuant to this section prior to commencing business as a scrap metal dealer or a bulk merchandise container dealer.

(C) A registration issued to a scrap metal dealer or a bulk merchandise container dealer pursuant to this section is valid for a period of one year. A dealer shall renew the registration in accordance with the rules adopted by the director and pay a renewal fee of one hundred fifty dollars to cover the costs of operating and maintaining the registry created pursuant to division (E) of this section.

(D) A scrap metal dealer or a bulk merchandise container dealer registered under this section shall prominently display a copy of the annual registration certificate received from the director pursuant to division (E)(2) of this section.

(E) The director shall do all of the following:

(1) Develop and implement, by January 1, 2014, and maintain as a registry a secure database for use by law enforcement agencies that is capable of all of the following:

(a) Receiving and securely storing all of the information required by division (A) of this section and the daily transaction data that scrap metal dealers and bulk merchandise dealers are required to send pursuant to division (E)(1) of section 4737.04 of the Revised Code;

(b) Providing secure search capabilities to law enforcement agencies for enforcement purposes;

(c) Creating a link and retransmission capability for receipt of routine scrap theft alerts published by the institute of scrap recycling industries for transmission to dealers and law enforcement agencies in the state;

(d) Making the electronic lists prepared pursuant to division (F)(2) of section 4737.04 of the Revised Code available through an electronic searchable format for individual law enforcement agencies and for dealers in the state;

(e) Providing, without charge, interlink programming enabling the transfer of information to dealers.

(2) Issue, reissue, or deny registration to dealers;

(3) Adopt rules to enforce sections 4737.01 to 4737.045 of the Revised Code, rules establishing procedures to renew a registration issued under this section, rules for the format and maintenance for the records required under division (A) of section 4737.012 of the Revised Code or division (C) of section 4737.04 of the Revised Code, and rules regarding the delivery of the report required by division (E)(1) of section 4737.04 of the Revised Code to the registry, which shall be used exclusively by law enforcement agencies.

(F) A scrap metal dealer or bulk merchandise container dealer may search, modify, or update only the dealer's own business data contained within the registry established in division (E) of this section.

(G) All fees received by the director pursuant to this section and division (F) of section 4737.99 of the Revised Code shall be used to develop and maintain the registry required under this section and for the department of public safety's operating expenses. The fees shall be deposited into the infrastructure protection fund which is hereby created in the state treasury.

Amended by 133rd General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 166, §101.01, eff. 10/17/2019.

Amended by 130th General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 483, §101.01, eff. 9/15/2014.

Added by 129th General AssemblyFile No.132, SB 193, §1, eff. 9/28/2012.