Dive Brief:

• The Michigan House approved a bill that only allows Michigan scrapyards to pay sellers of copper wire, catalytic converters and air conditioners for materials through the mail. The bill is intended to help law enforcement to solve and prosecute cases of metal theft. 
• The legislation was passed in the House with 98-12 approval. This brings the lengthy dispute concerning the measure to an end. The agreement took two and a half years to update the 2008 anti-scrap metal theft law that wasn't successful.
• Scrapyards will be required to photograph or shoot video of metal brought to be sold. Those selling materials will be paid by check, money order or from an onsite ATM. 

Dive Insight:

In October, the House approved a three-day waiting period for sellers to receive payment. The Senate voted to instead create a real-time database of each purchase of pertinent materials. A compromise was reached that scrapyards can only buy certain items by sending payment through the mail. The database could be established in the future, but is now not required as part of the bill. 

Michigan has one of the highest rates of insurance claims for metal theft in the United States, coming in as the ninth-highest state. Despite requirements previously in place, officials have found difficulty in prosecuting cases. The state police will report about the effectiveness of the law to the governor and leaders in legislation by July of 2016. Scrap metal theft is an ongoing issue in many areas across the nation, prompting the ISRI to form a new group working to combat metal theft exclusively.