Attorney's Note

Under the Michigan Laws, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Eup to 5 years
For details, see Mich. Comp. Laws ch. 777 pt. 2

Terms Used In Michigan Laws 445.433

  • Majority leader: see Floor Leaders
  • Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, joint venture, trust, association, or other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 445.423
  • Purchase transaction: means a purchase of scrap metal, or the purchase of property described in section 10 if the knowing purchase or offer to purchase that property is not prohibited by that section, by a scrap metal dealer. See Michigan Laws 445.423
  • Scrap metal: means ferrous or nonferrous metal, or items that contain ferrous or nonferrous metal, that are sold or offered for sale for the value of the ferrous or nonferrous metal they contain rather than their original intended use; ferrous or nonferrous metal removed from or obtained by cutting, demolishing, or disassembling a building, structure, or manufactured item; or other metal that cannot be used for its original intended purpose but can be processed for reuse in a mill, foundry, die caster, or other manufacturing facility. See Michigan Laws 445.423
  • Scrap metal dealer: means a person or governmental unit that buys scrap metal and is not a first purchaser. See Michigan Laws 445.423
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
  (1) If a person violates section 7, or section 9, and knows or should have known that the person has violated that section, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $500.00 or imprisonment for not more than 93 days, or both. If a violation of section 7 is the result of a malfunction of an electronic record-keeping system described in section 7(4), it is an affirmative defense in an action against the scrap metal dealer that utilizes that system that the dealer diligently pursued repair of the electronic record-keeping system after the malfunction occurred, and implemented and maintained a manual record-keeping system for purchase transactions that occurred while the electronic record-keeping system was malfunctioning.
  (2) In connection with a purchase transaction, each of the following is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both, for a first offense and is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than $10,000.00, or both, for a second or subsequent offense:
  (a) A scrap metal dealer that purchases scrap metal or an item of property described in section 10 and knew or should have known that it was stolen.
  (b) A person that sells scrap metal or an item of property described in section 10 to a scrap metal dealer and knew or should have known that it was stolen.
  (3) By July 1, 2016, the department of state police shall provide a written report to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the senate majority leader concerning that department’s assessment of the effectiveness of this act in reducing scrap metal theft and assisting in the investigation and prosecution of scrap metal theft. The report shall also include any recommendations the department of state police may have for further legislative action.