By ROBIN HINDERY
The Associated Press
OLYMPIA — State lawmakers are seeking to combat the trafficking of precious metals through a bill that would place greater restrictions on cash-for-gold operations that set up temporary storefronts and often deal in stolen goods.
The bill would require secondhand precious metal dealers to keep the items they purchase for at least 30 days and maintain detailed transaction records for three years, including the name, date of birth and address of the seller.
First-time violations would be considered a misdemeanor; anything more than that would be a felony offense.
The measure would apply to any dealer who buys, sells or trades secondhand precious metals more than three times a year, whether or not that person maintains a fixed place of business within the state.
Rep. Katrina Asay, R-Milton, the bill’s lead sponsor, says the increasing market price of gold and silver has led to a corresponding rise in both illicit cash-for-gold operations and precious-metal thefts.
Home robberies in Asay’s King County district were up 15 percent in the past year, and much of what was stolen were gold and silver items such as jewelry and silverware, she said.
Dealers often set up temporary shops in hotel rooms or gas stations and then transfer the metals out of state within days to be melted down or resold, she said.
“Their main clientele are the ones who have drug habits, so they want to get in and out, get their cash and hit their dealer,” Asay told members of the Senate Committee on Labor, Commerce and Consumer Protection last week.
Criminals flock to transient dealers because their operations preserve a seller’s anonymity, said Frank Carpino, manager of the family-owned West Seattle Coins, a 32-year-old business specializing in rare gold and silver coins and heirloom jewelry.
Carpino said Asay’s measure will hold those operations to the same standards many more established stores already maintain.
“We work with Seattle Police Department, we report everything we buy,” he said. “It helps them to find criminals easier and quicker.”
The bill was modeled after a state law passed in 2007 that imposes similar requirements on scrap metal dealers — a response to a rash of copper wire and aluminum thefts.
In 2009, Maryland enacted a law that requires pawnbrokers and secondhand precious metal dealers to report all purchases by noon the next day. State police said they recovered more than $50,000 worth of stolen goods in the first month alone.
Asay’s measure faced some initial opposition from people who were concerned it would track the purchase of precious metal coins, bullion, gold dust and gold nuggets.
The current version exempts those items, and Asay said most dealers and lawmakers she has spoken to have expressed their support.
“I think we’ve got everyone about as happy as we can,” she said Thursday. “I understand it’s a little bit more work, but those who are legitimately buying do most of this already, to protect themselves.
The bill will help secondhand dealers’ business by getting rid of the illegitimate ones.”
House lawmakers voted 85-12 in favor of the bill. It was transferred Thursday to the Senate Rules Committee, the final stop before a full Senate floor vote.
Asay’s precious metals bill is HB1716.
