| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Negative | Neutral |
Summary: SB 875 would prohibit a business that buys, recycles, shreds or destroys plastic bulk merchandise containers from purchasing the containers with cash, unless the seller provides proof of acting on behalf of a corporation, business or governmental agency. The buyer would also have to record proof of this verification, as they are already required to do with the seller’s identification.
Analysis: Due to a growing epidemic of thefts involving plastic bulk merchandise containers, and the difficulty of investigating those thefts after the stolen containers have been sold to recyclers, SB 875 seeks to make it more difficult for thieves to pass of their stolen merchandise. In order to make it easier to investigate these crimes, this bill essentially co-opts buyers into the investigative process by requiring them to establish and maintain a paper trail that law enforcement can use to investigate and prosecute thieves. This is clearly an expansion of regulation. Businesses owners can brand their containers with identifiers that would make them easier to track and harder to pass of after they have been stolen. While perhaps well intentioned, this legislation is an expansion of state regulation. We oppose SB 875.