AB 640

Under current law, a person may not operate as a pawnbroker in a city, village,

or town (municipality) without an annual license issued by that municipality. Also,

unless an exemption applies, current law prohibits a person from operating as a

secondhand jewelry dealer anywhere in the state without a license issued by the

municipality in which the person has its principal place of business. Current law

imposes other requirements on pawnbrokers and secondhand jewelry dealers,

including requirements for making written records of transactions and holding

items received from customers for specified periods of time after receipt. In general,

pawnbrokers must hold certain items and secondhand jewelry for not less than 30

days after receipt, and secondhand jewelry dealers must hold secondhand jewelry for

not less than 21 days after receipt. However, if a law enforcement officer requires

the pawnbroker or secondhand jewelry dealer to submit an electronic report about

the item or secondhand jewelry, the pawnbroker or secondhand jewelry dealer must

hold the item or secondhand jewelry for not less than seven days after submitting the

electronic report. The foregoing holding periods do not apply to items or secondhand

jewelry received on consignment or to coins or bullion.

This bill prohibits a person from operating as a secondhand jewelry dealer in

a municipality unless the person obtains an annual license from the municipality.

Unlike current law, the license does not authorize the person to operate as a

secondhand jewelry dealer anywhere in the state. Instead, the person must obtain

a license from each municipality in which the person operates as a secondhand

jewelry dealer. The bill requires the law enforcement agency of a municipality to

require each pawnbroker and secondhand jewelry dealer licensed by the

municipality to participate in a system specified by the law enforcement agency for

electronically reporting each transaction with a customer that involves secondhand

jewelry. The bill allows a law enforcement agency to specify a system only if the

system provides for digitally photographing each item or component of secondhand

jewelry that is subject to a transaction. Also, a law enforcement agency may allow

a pawnbroker or secondhand jewelry dealer either to make reports to the system or

to provide information or make other arrangements for the law enforcement agency

to make reports on the pawnbroker's or secondhand jewelry dealer's behalf. If a law

enforcement agency determines that the foregoing reporting requirements render

unnecessary compliance with the written recordkeeping requirements under

current law, the bill allows the law enforcement agency to waive those recordkeeping

requirements. A law enforcement agency must provide written notice of such a

waiver to all pawnbrokers and secondhand jewelry dealers that are subject to the

agency's jurisdiction.

The bill also revises the holding periods for secondhand jewelry that apply to

pawnbrokers and secondhand jeweler dealers under current law. The bill does not

affect the holding periods required for items other than secondhand jewelry. Under