§ 18-153. Definitions.

Unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions shall apply to this article:

Appliance means any device which contains and uses a refrigerant and which is used for household or commercial purposes, including any air conditioner, refrigerator, chiller or freezer.

Auction house means any premises where any article of personal property is sold, via competitive bidding process between one (1) or more parties, to the highest bidder or is sold at public outcry or any auction business as defined in section 468.382(1), Florida Statutes.

Coin dealer means any person or entity who engages in the purchase, collecting or trading of coins or other forms of minted legal tender.

Ferrous metals means any metals containing significant quantities of iron or steel.

Fixed location means any site occupied by a secondary metals recycler as owner of the site or as lessee of the site under a lease or other rental agreement providing for occupation of the site by the secondary metals recycler for a total duration of not less than three hundred sixty-four (364) days.

Flea market means a market, usually held outdoors or indoors in such places as a warehouse or other large open area, on any premises where new items, articles labeled as antiques, secondhand goods, or precious metals are the subject of a transaction to be sold, exchanged, bartered, traded or accepted for consignment. A flea market may also include a market where inexpensive merchandise or food and drink are sold as incidental to the transaction of secondhand goods or precious metals.

Flea market merchant means any person who occupies any portion of any premises used for a flea market which engages in a transaction involving secondhand goods.

Flea market operator means any person who rents space to others for purpose of conducting a flea market.

Garage sale, estate sale or lawn sale means any transaction or secondhand goods or precious metals by any seller on premises, owned by the seller, and which must be primarily used as a dwelling or residence of the seller, and can occur no more than four (4) times on the same premises within a calendar year.

Jewelry means a personal ornament that contains precious metals and may contain gemstones.

Mall or mini mall means any premises where secondhand articles of personal property, including, but not limited to, articles labeled or referred to as "antique" are sold, exchanged, bartered or accepted for consignment and/or new merchandise is sold as an incident thereto.

Mail-in secondhand precious metals dealer means any person or entity that conducts business within Hernando County and, contracts with other persons or entities to buy secondhand goods or precious metals through an Internet website, the United States Mail, or telemarketing.

Nonferrous metals means metals not containing significant quantities of iron or steel, including, without limitation, copper, brass, aluminum, bronze, lead, zinc, nickel, and alloys thereof, excluding precious metals subject to regulation under part I.

Personal identification card means a valid driver's license or identification card issued by the department of highway safety and motor vehicles under sections 322.03 and 322.051, Florida Statutes, or an equivalent form of identification issued by another state, a military identification card, a passport, or an appropriate work authorization issued by the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, which contains a photograph.

Precious metals means any item containing any gold, silver, platinum, or any combinations thereof.

Precious metals dealer or gold dealer means a secondhand dealer who normally or regularly engages in the business of buying precious metals, including, but not limited to, coins and jewelry.

Purchase transaction means a transaction in which a secondary metals recycler gives consideration for regulated metals property.

Refrigerant means for these purposes, any substance consisting in part or whole of a class I or class II ozone-depleting substance that is used for heat transfer purposes and provides a cooling effect.

Regulated metals property means any item composed primarily of any nonferrous metals, but shall not include aluminum beverage containers, used beverage containers, or similar beverage containers. The term shall include stainless steel beer kegs.

Restricted regulated metals means any of the following specific regulated metal items:

(1)

Manhole cover;

(2)

Electric light pole or other utility structure and its fixtures, wires, and hardware which are readily identifiable as coming from the utility structure;

(3)

Guardrail;

(4)

Street sign, traffic sign or traffic signal or its fixtures and hardware;

(5)

Communication, transmission, distribution, and service wire, from a utility including copper or aluminum bus bars, connectors, and grounding plates or grounding wire;

(6)

Funeral marker or funeral vase;

(7)

Historical marker;

(8)

Railroad equipment, including, but not limited to; any track or rail, tie plate, signal house, control box, switch plate, E clip or rail tie junction;

(9)

Any metal item that is observably marked, upon reasonable inspection with any form of the name, initials or logo of a governmental entity, utility company, cemetery or railroad;

(10)

Any copper, aluminum or aluminum-copper condensing or evaporator coil, including its tubing or rods, from a heating, air conditioning or heat exchange unit (excluding coils from window air conditioning units and automobiles):

(11)

Aluminum or stainless steel container or bottle designed to hold propane for fueling forklifts;

(12)

Stainless steel beer kegs;

(13)

Catalytic converter or any nonferrous part of a catalytic converter unless purchased as part of a vehicle;

(14)

Metallic wire that was burned in whole or in part to remove insulation;

(15)

Brass or bronze commercial valves or fittings, referred to as FDC valves, that are commonly used on structures for access to water for the purpose of extinguishing fires;

(16)

Brass or bronze residential or commercial potable water backflow preventer valves that are valves commonly used to prevent backflow of potable water into municipal or domestic water systems from commercial or residential structures; or

(17)

Shopping cart.

Secondary metals recycler means any person who is engaged, from a fixed location or otherwise, in the business of gathering or obtaining ferrous or nonferrous metals that have served their original economic purpose or is in the business of performing the manufacturing process by which ferrous metals or nonferrous metals are converted into raw material products consisting of prepared grades and having an existing or potential economic value; or has facilities for performing the manufacturing process by which ferrous metals or nonferrous metals are converted into raw material products consisting of prepared grades and having an existing or potential economic value, other than by the exclusive use of hand tools, by methods including, without limitation, processing, sorting, cutting, classifying, cleaning, baling, wrapping, shredding, shearing, or changing the physical form or chemical content thereof.

Secondhand dealer means any person, corporation or other business organization or entity which is not a secondary metals recycler and who is transacting in secondhand goods. The term includes any person who conducts business as an antique dealer, auction house, coin dealer, flea market merchant, gold dealer, precious metals dealer, swap shop operator or mail-in secondhand precious metal dealer.

Secondhand goods means personal property previously owned or used. The term includes precious metals and coins, with an intrinsic value greater than their face value due to their precious metal content. The term does not include regulated metals, restricted regulated metals, firearms, office furniture, pianos, books, clothing, organs, motor vehicles, costume jewelry, and secondhand sports equipment that is not permanently labeled with a serial number.

Seller means any person from whom the items regulated under this article are acquired.

Swap shop means the fixed or non-fixed place or premises at which a person engages in transactions involving secondhand goods.

Technician means any person who performs maintenance, service, repair or disposal of appliances that could be reasonably expected to release refrigerants from appliances into the atmosphere.

Transaction or transacting means any purchase, consignment, barter or exchange.

Transaction form means the written record of a transaction completed by a secondhand dealer or secondary metals recycler approved by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Hernando County Sheriff's Office.

Utility means any firm, corporation, association or political subdivision, whether private, municipal, county, or cooperative, which is engaged in the sale, generation, provision or delivery of gas, electricity, heat, water, oil, sewer service, telephone service, telegraph service, radio service or telecommunication service.

(Ord. No. 2012-2, § 4, 2-14-12)