Establishes requirements for receipt and purchase of scrap metals containing lithium-ion or propulsion batteries.

A2399

ASSEMBLY, No. 2399

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman WILLIAM F. MOEN, JR.

District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)

Assemblyman STERLEY S. STANLEY

District 18 (Middlesex)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes requirements for receipt and purchase of
scrap metals containing lithium-ion or propulsion batteries.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning scrap metal businesses and amending
P.L.2009, c.8.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

����� 1.�� Section
1 of P.L.2009, c.8 (C.45:28-1) is amended to read as follows:

����� 1.�� As
used in this act:

�����
�Lithium-ion
battery� means a rechargeable battery charged and discharged by the movement of
lithium ions between positive and negative electrodes.

�����
�Propulsion
battery� means the same as that term is defined in section 2 of P.L.2023, c.222
(C.13:1E-99.81b) and shall include any other battery that could pose an
environmental danger, as determined by the Department of Environmental
Protection.

����� "Scrap
metal" means used, discarded, or previously owned items that consist
predominantly of ferrous metals, aluminum, brass, copper, lead, chromium, tin,
nickel, or alloys, and shall include a used catalytic converter, in whole or in
part, if the used catalytic converter is not attached to a motor vehicle.

����� "Scrap
metal business" means a commercial establishment which, as one of its
principal business purposes, purchases scrap metal for purposes of resale or
processing.

(cf:
P.L.2023, c.56, s.1)

����� 2.�� Section
2 of P.L.2009, c.8 (C.45:28-2) is amended to read as follows:

����� 2.�� The
operator of a scrap metal business shall:

����� a.�� Verify
the identity of any person delivering or selling scrap metal to the scrap metal
business by requesting and examining a photograph-bearing, valid State or
federal driver's license or other government-issued form of identification
bearing a photograph;

����� b.�� Make
a clear copy of, and record, in a manner as may be prescribed by the Attorney
General, the number of the driver's license or other government-issued form of
identification presented by the person delivering or selling the scrap metal,
before receiving or purchasing any scrap metal from that person;

����� c.�� Maintain,
for at least five years, a record of all receipts or purchases of scrap metal
in excess of 100 pounds or $50, whichever is less, including, but not limited
to:

����� (1)
the date of receipt or purchase of the scrap metal;

����� (2)
the name and address of the person delivering or selling the scrap metal;

����� (3)
the type and number of the identification presented by the person delivering or
selling the scrap metal, along with a copy of the driver's license or other
government-issued form of identification;

����� (4)
a description of the scrap metal received or purchased, including, but not
limited to its type, amount, and form;

����� (5)
the signature of the person delivering or selling the scrap metal;

����� (6)
for a used catalytic converter, in whole or in part, that is not attached to a
motor vehicle at the time of sale or attempted sale, unless the seller is a
registered business that, in the regular course of business, collects, stores,
or sells a used catalytic converter or any other motor vehicle part:

����� (a)
the Vehicle Identification Number of the motor vehicle from which the catalytic
converter was taken; and

����� (b)
a copy of the certificate of title or registration, a receipt from a
transaction of repair, or a bill of sale for the motor vehicle from which the
catalytic converter was taken; and

����� (7)
any other information as may be required by the Attorney General;

����� d.�� Make
any records maintained pursuant to subsection c. of this section available,
upon request, to any law enforcement agency or official investigating the
possible theft or resale of scrap metals;
[
and
]

����� e.�� Purchase
or attempt to purchase only from a person delivering or selling scrap metal who
provides the information required pursuant to this section
;

�����
f.��� Require
a person delivering or selling scrap metal to the scrap metal business to
disclose in writing, to the best of the person�s knowledge, whether the scrap
metal contains

a lithium-ion battery or a propulsion battery before the
scrap metal business receives or purchases the scrap metal from that person;

�����
g.�� If
a disclosure made by a person delivering or selling scrap metal indicates the
scrap metal does not contain

a lithium-ion battery or

a
propulsion battery, inspect the scrap metal to confirm that the scrap metal
does not contain

a lithium-ion battery or

a propulsion battery
before receiving or purchasing the scrap metal from that person; and

�����
h.�� Maintain,
for at least five years and in a manner as may be prescribed by the Attorney
General, a record of all lithium-ion battery and

propulsion battery
disclosures for scrap metal received or purchased by the scrap metal business
and a record of the inspection of scrap metal received or purchased by the
scrap metal business if the disclosure made by the person delivering or selling
the scrap metal indicates the scrap metal does not contain

a lithium-ion
battery or

a propulsion battery
.

(cf:
P.L.2023, c.56, s.2)

����� 3.�� This
act shall take effect on the first day of the sixth month following enactment,
except that the Attorney General and the

Department of Environmental
Protection may take any anticipatory administrative action as shall be
necessary for the implementation of this act.

STATEMENT

����� This bill establishes requirements for the receipt
and purchase of scrap metals containing propulsion batteries.

����� Under the bill, a person delivering or selling scrap
metal to a scrap metal business is required to disclose, in writing, whether
the scrap metal contains a propulsion battery before the scrap metal business
receives or purchases the scrap metal.� The bill also requires a scrap metal
business to inspect scrap metal before receipt or purchase to confirm that the
scrap metal does not contain a propulsion battery if the disclosure made by the
person delivering or selling the scrap metal indicates that the scrap metal
does not contain such a battery.�

����� Additionally, a scrap metal business is required to
maintain, for at least five years and in a manner as may be prescribed by the
Attorney General, a record of all propulsion battery disclosures for scrap
metal received or purchased by the scrap metal business and a record of the
inspection of scrap metal received or purchased by the scrap metal business if
the disclosure made by the person delivering or selling the scrap metal
indicates the scrap metal does not contain a propulsion battery.