Klobuchar and Ramstad: copper scraps not your golden ticket

Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Jim Ramstad are introduced legislation this afternoon to curb copper thieves that can cause serious safety concerns in abandoned homes and buildings. The tough times just got tougher.

The two lawmakers are presenting the bill at a Minneapolis home where copper theft led to a natural gas leak and explosion last month. The explosion leveled the unoccupied building and seriously damaging neighboring units.

The Copper Theft Prevention Act would require dealers to keep records of all copper-selling transactions, including details about the sellers. This information would be available to police too.

A similar bill already passed in Minnesota last year.

According to Fox News:

The price of copper has increased more than 400 percent since 2000, tempting thieves to steal copper and resell it to scrap metal dealers. Construction sites, wholesalers, utilities, and vacant homes and buildings are typically the targets of copper thefts.

Cross that off our "How to Survive Bad Times" list.