Saipan Independent Rep. Stanley T. Torres, who chairs the committee, hopes his bill will deter thieves from stealing copper from the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., and other public and private facilities.
“The price of copper has increased nearly 700 percent over the past five years. As a result, copper theft is epidemic, costing businesses, utilities and private citizens thousands in damages. It causes phone outages, power outages and rising construction costs,” according to the findings of House Bill 17-30 or the Copper Trading Moratorium Act of 2010 which Torres pre-filed.
He said copper wire theft affects many street lights and utility poles, posing major threats to public safety.
CUC has lost an undetermined amount of money from copper wire thieves over the years.
The biggest case involved hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of copper wire stolen from the abandoned La Fiesta Mall which the CNMI government bought in 2005.
Torres’ bill establishes the offense of theft of copper.
The bill repealed in part Public Law 15-36 and inserted a new chapter entitled “Copper Trading Moratorium.”
This chapter prohibits any recycling firm from engaging in the “purchase, sale, trade or barter or copper in any form.”
It also makes it unlawful for any recycling firm or any of its employees to engage in a buying transaction with a person who may be under the influence of alcohol or drugs; below 18 years of age; a person with no identification; and a person using another person’s name or business.
The bill proposes a fine of $500 and revocation of the recycler’s license for at least one year for violating the moratorium if the copper sold is over five pounds in weight.
A person convicted of stealing copper from a private or public business will serve a prison term which should not be suspended.
Fines collected from violators of the proposed measure will be deposited in a special account to be known as the Recycling Business Administration and Enforcement Fund which should benefit the Department of Commerce and the Division of Customs.
