Stupid Law File: Cash no good for used stuff in Louisiana

Some genius group of legislators in the state of Louisiana thought it was a good idea to outright ban cash transactions for pre-owned goods to discourage thieves from stealing stuff like copper and selling it for cash.

But the law is not limited to selling copper, iron and other in-fashion recyclable metals. If you go into a furniture store to sell that 1950s kitchen table you have had enough of, the dealer you sell it to will need to write down all of your personal information and the license plate number of the car you’re driving. The information will have to be kept on file and available to law enforcement for three years.

They have to pay you with some sort of traceable funds … no cash.

Sure, I understand the stealing metal problem, but to expand this to stereo speakers and my circa 1984 tape deck?

Louisiana is open for business! From the legislation signed into law July 1 and effective Aug. 1.

Every person in this state engaged in the business of buying, selling, trading in, or otherwise acquiring or disposing of junk or used or secondhand property, including but not limited to jewelry, silverware, diamonds, precious metals, ferrous materials, catalytic converters, auto hulks, copper, copper wire, copper alloy, bronze, zinc, aluminum other than in the form of cans, stainless steel, nickel alloys, or brass, whether in the form of bars, cable, ingots, rods, tubing, wire, wire scraps, clamps or connectors, railroad track materials, water utility materials, furniture, pictures, objects of art, clothing, mechanic’s tools, carpenter’s tools, automobile hubcaps, automotive batteries, automotive sound equipment such as radios, CB radios, stereos, speakers, cassettes, compact disc players, and similar automotive audio supplies, used building components, and items defined as cemetery artifacts is a secondhand dealer. Anyone, other than a nonprofit entity, who buys, sells, trades in, or otherwise acquires or disposes of junk or used or secondhand property more frequently than once per month from any other person, other than a nonprofit entity, shall be deemed as being engaged in the business of a secondhand dealer.

A secondhand dealer shall not enter into any cash transactions in payment for the purchase of junk or used or secondhand property. Payment shall be made in the form of check, electronic transfers, or money order issued to the seller of the junk or used or secondhand property and made payable to the name and address of the seller. All payments made by check, electronic transfers, or money order shall be reported separately in the daily reports required by R.S. 37:1866.

These businesses…

shall either keep a register and file reports or electronically maintain data and be capable of readily providing reports, as specified in Subsection B of this Section, in the form prescribed by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections which shall contain the following information:

(a) The name and address of the residence or place of business of the person required to either keep the register and file reports or electronically maintain the data and generate the requested reports.
(b) The date and place of each such purchase.
(c) The name and address of the person or persons from whom the material was purchased, including the distinctive number of the person’s or persons’ Louisiana driver’s license, driver’s license from another state, passport, military identification, or identification issued by a governmental agency or the United States Postal Service. If the person cannot produce any of the above forms of identification at the time of purchase, the purchaser shall not complete the transaction.
(d) The motor vehicle license number of the vehicle or conveyance on which such material was delivered.
(e) A full description of all such material purchased, including the weight of the material and whether it consists of bars, kegs, cable, ingots, rods, tubing wire, wire scraps, clamps, connectors, or other appurtenances or some combination thereof.

Posted in ,

Steve McGough

Steve's a part-time conservative blogger. Steve grew up in Connecticut and has lived in Washington, D.C. and the Bahamas. He resides in Connecticut, where he’s comfortable six months of the year.

11 Comments

  1. Sad4CT on October 19, 2011 at 7:18 pm

    This will certainly make yard sales a tad more complicated.



  2. Dimsdale on October 19, 2011 at 8:46 pm

    Wouldn’t it have just been simpler to keep an eye on scrap yards?



  3. Plainvillian on October 19, 2011 at 10:38 pm

    So trade in used stuff must be outside the definition of “all debts, public and private”?? Who knew?



  4. ricbee on October 19, 2011 at 10:45 pm

    ?Our books are full of laws just as bad & the sad thing is that instead of just repealing this law they will probably pass yet another law to limit this one. Just like they do here in Corrupticut.



  5. phil on October 20, 2011 at 7:58 am

    Interstate truckers gonna get a lot of business.



  6. Murphy on October 20, 2011 at 8:51 am

    What a way to be sure to collect sales tax……?? Don’t let our own Dr. Evil mini me find? out.



  7. lpalshaw on October 20, 2011 at 10:32 am

    We have a similar law in Conn, passed this year went into effect 10/1/2011 PA11-100. It is designed to recover stolen goods by creating a paper trail. The fencing of stolen property is a billion dollar business in the United States.



    • Murphy on October 20, 2011 at 12:18 pm

      Billion $ business huh, no wonder they’re trying to legislate it to leave Connecticut. Or perhaps it can apply for first five funds.



  8. Dimsdale on October 20, 2011 at 10:33 am

    Now you know why our tax code looks the way it does.? And weighs as much as it does.



    • winnie on October 20, 2011 at 8:23 pm

      Does it weigh as much as an ingot?? heh 😉
      ?



  9. ernie d. on October 21, 2011 at 5:00 pm

    just another step towards the elimination of cash in our society. if the public knew that only 3% of hard currency existed…they wouldn’t be so credit card happy…but like everything else, lets just ignore it.
    ?



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