BOISE - Freshman Rep. Luke Malek said he is polishing follow-up legislation to a law passed last year to crack down on scrap metal thieves - and better regulate scrap metal dealers.

Malek, R-Coeur d'Alene, on Tuesday requested in the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration that the latest version of his bill be withdrawn so he can ensure that it's clear that scrap metal dealers are required to keep transaction records for no more than five years.

The measure, House Bill 433, was subsequently withdrawn. Malek said he will seek to get another version of the legislation through the Legislature.

The current law that came about after the utilities and agriculture industries in Idaho complained that scrap metal was being stolen from places such as electric power substations and from agricultural irrigation equipment, Malek noted.

"Stealing whatever they can get their hands on and then taking them to recyclers to try to get cash for that, that metal that they've stolen," Malek explained. "For farmers, it's affecting their sprinkler systems because copper wires run there - when they have a pivot system in particular or even just a regular irrigation sprinkler system, they just tear that copper wire off. So, they can do $10,000 worth of damage for $100 worth of copper."

According to a bill description, the three amendments to the law would include a provision to, "reduce the circumstances by which a felony charge may be imposed on scrap metal dealers."

Last year's law required scrap dealers to "take certain photographs or create digital video records," as part of the records of sales of "nonferrous or stainless steel property purchased from the general public." It also made some scrap metal thefts felonies.