BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                AB 391
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        CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
        AB 391 (Pan)
        As Amended  June 27, 2012
        2/3 vote.  Urgency
         
         
         ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
        |ASSEMBLY: |     |(June 1, 2011)  |SENATE: |36-0 |(July 2, 2012)       |
         ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
             (vote not relevant)


         ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
        |COMMITTEE VOTE:  |8-0  |(July 3, 2012)      |RECOMMENDATION: |concur    |
        |(B.,P. & C.P.)   |     |                    |                |          |
         ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

        Original Committee Reference:    L. & E.  

         SUMMARY  :  Establishes the process and fee schedule to implement a 
        single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting system for 
        pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers as specified administered by the 
        Department of Justice (DOJ). 

         The Senate amendments  delete the Assembly version of this bill, and 
        instead:

        1)Authorize the DOJ, in consultation with local law enforcement, to 
          develop a single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting system.

        2)Provide until the single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting 
          system is implemented for information to be reported by the 
          current paper format. 

        3)Authorize for 30 days, that the DOJ implements the single, 
          statewide, uniform electronic reporting system; secondhand 
          dealers shall continue to report on paper form.

        4)Require a coin dealer who engages in less than 10 transactions 
          each week, to report daily, as specified. 

        5)Provide that the secondhand dealer and pawnbroker licensing 
          authority, as specified, shall collect a fee not to exceed the 
          actual costs incurred to process the application and transmit the 
          fee to the DOJ. 








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        6)Revise the requirements for a secondhand dealer's renewal 
          application.

        7)Require each applicant for initial license and renewal license to 
          pay a fee not to exceed $300, as specified, to the DOJ.

        8)Provide that the fees assessed shall be no more than necessary to 
          cover reasonable and regulatory costs to the DOJ for the 
          following:

           a)   Processing initial license applications; 

           b)   Processing renewal applications; and,

           c)   Implementing, operating and maintaining the single, 
             statewide, uniform electronic reporting system.

        9)Provide that within 120 days of the effective date of this bill, 
          all licensees holding a license issued before the effective date 
          of this bill, shall pay a fee not to exceed $288 to DOJ.

        10)Establish the Secondhand Dealer and Pawnbroker Fund, as 
          specified. 

        11)Require an applicant to submit fingerprint images and related 
          information required by the DOJ for the purposes of obtaining 
          specified criminal history. 

        12)Authorize the DOJ to charge a fee to cover the costs of 
          processing the criminal record check process.

        13)Add an urgency clause.
         
        EXISTING LAW  :

        1)Defines "secondhand dealer" to include any person, 
          co-partnership, firm, or corporation whose business includes 
          buying, selling, trading, taking in pawn, accepting for sale on 
          consignment, accepting for auctioning, or auctioning secondhand 
          tangible personal property.

        2)Requires every secondhand dealer or coin dealer to report daily, 
          to local law enforcement or on the first working day after 
          receipt or purchase of the property, on specified forms approved 








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          by the DOJ, all tangible personal property, except for firearms, 
          taken in trade, taken in pawn, accepted for sale on consignment, 
          or accepted for auctioning. 

        3)Establishes identification requirements for the intended seller 
          or pledger of the property and requires it be verified by the 
          person taking the information, as specified.

        4)Authorizes law enforcement to accept applications and grant a 
          license permitting the licensee to engage in the business of 
          secondhand dealer, as defined, to an applicant who has not been 
          convicted of an attempt to receive stolen property or any other 
          offense involving stolen property.

        5)Establishes specified requirements for a coin dealer who engages 
          in less than 10 transactions each week in which he or she has 
          purchased, taken in trade, taken in pawn, accepted for sale or 
          consignment, or accepted for auctioning tangible personal 
          property.

         AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill required the Employment 
        Development Department (EDD), on or before July 1, 2012, to provide 
        in-person unemployment benefit assistance in five of the 
        comprehensive state one-stop career centers.  It further provided 
        that the unemployment benefit services would be funded with 
        existing monies available to the EDD for the administration of the 
        unemployment insurance compensation program.  

         FISCAL EFFECT  :   According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

        One-time costs of $1.2 million (Special Fund) to the DOJ in 2012-13 
        to develop the electronic reporting system, to be offset through 
        the collection of a combination of fees, both from a new/renewal 
        license fee of $300 and a one-time fee of $288 imposed on 
        pre-existing licensees. The DOJ estimates $1,382,000 in fees will 
        be collected from an estimated 4,800 licensees statewide within 120 
        days of the bill's enactment.  Additional time may be required for 
        sufficient funding to be available to initiate development of the 
        system to the extent there are fewer licensees statewide. 

        Ongoing costs of $691,000 (Special Fund) in 2013-14 and thereafter 
        to the DOJ to operate and maintain the electronic reporting system, 
        to be offset by biennial license renewal fees and new license 
        application fees of $720,000 from an estimated 2,400 licensees in 
        2013-14 and annually thereafter.  To the extent there are fewer 








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        new/renewed licensees and/or increased costs for ongoing system 
        operation and maintenance, annual costs in the initial years of 
        operation may not be fully covered by fees.
            
        Potential increase in the Proposition 98 minimum funding guarantee 
        in the range of $550,000 one-time and $288,000 (General Fund) 
        ongoing should the increased revenues be considered General Fund 
        proceeds of taxes for purposes of calculating the minimum school 
        funding obligation.

        Ongoing costs to the DOJ to process fingerprint images for new 
        licensees, to be fully offset by fees of $32 per applicant 
        (Fingerprint Fee Account). 

        Ongoing costs to local licensing authorities, to be offset by fees 
        authorized to be charged to applicants to recover the actual costs 
        of processing applications.  Clarifying language to include costs 
        for the collection and transmittal of license fees in the 
        authorized fee is recommended to ensure full cost recovery by 
        licensing agencies.

        Some degree of economic stimulus resulting from cost savings 
        realized by affected businesses through operational efficiencies 
        gained by transitioning from the paper reporting process to the 
        electronic reporting system.

        Non-reimbursable local enforcement costs for increased enforcement 
        of licensing requirements and investigations associated with the 
        recovery of stolen property. 

         COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "this bill increases the 
        licensing fee paid by secondhand dealers and pawn brokers to $300 
        biennially, to fund the development and operation of a personal 
        property database with the DOJ."  

        This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and the 
        Assembly-approved provisions of this bill were deleted.  This bill, 
        as amended in the Senate, is inconsistent with the Assembly 
        actions.


         Analysis Prepared by  :    Elissa Silva / B.,P. & C.P. / (916) 
        319-3301 










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