The bill would also require a $100 limit on cash payments from scrap dealers for metal. Dealers also would need to keep records of purchases and make sure that those selling them scrap metal are authorized to do so.

Aside from copper, scrap metal in general is a lure for would-be thieves at a large vacant building, says Mark DeLawter, real estate practice leader at Zurich North America Commercial.

Some thieves have been stealing iron storm-drain covers from the parking lots of buildings, throwing them into stolen cars and taking the whole thing to the junkyard for the scrap money, he says. These drain covers can weigh up to 200 lbs.

At the state level, Illinois, Vermont and North Carolina have passed similar laws to curb heavy-metal theft.

On Aug. 10, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law a measure that forces scrap-metal operators to create a paper trail—by using checks or money orders, not cash—when buying copper and other heating and air-conditioning materials worth more than $100.

One Illinois county alone in 2011 saw up to 50 scrap-metal thefts, with losses totaling up to $300,000. Many of the state's thefts have involved copper wiring stolen from abandoned buildings or new construction. The state legislature made national news last November when a copper sword was stolen from a statue at the tomb of Abraham Lincoln in Springfield.

Vermont passed a similar law that requires scrap-metal processors to maintain detailed records of their metal sellers, plus documentation proving that each seller is legitimate. The legislation was spurred by such major metal thefts as copper piping stolen from restrooms at a high school playing field in July, and the theft of a 400-pound section of gate taken from the Burgess Cemetery in Grafton in June.

In North Carolina, a new law effective Oct. 1 bans cash payments for copper sales; requires scrap dealers to take video or digital photos of the seller and the metal being sold; and charges convicted metal thieves for the value of the stolen metal plus the cost of repairs for damages incurred during the theft.

The bill was supported by the state's electric cooperatives, and stems from a copper haul in July 2011 wherein thieves caused some $350,000 in damages to an oil-filled transformer—causing a massive oil spill—for about only $500 worth of copper pipe.