Amended in Senate September 3, 2015

Amended in Senate August 18, 2015

Amended in Assembly May 5, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 21, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1182

Introduced by Assembly Member Santiago

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bonta and Cooley)

(Coauthors: Senators Pan and Stone)

February 27, 2015

An act to amend begin delete Sections end delete begin insert Section end insert 21627 begin insert of, end insert and begin delete 21628 of end delete begin insert to add Section 21628.3 to, end insert the Business and Professions Code, relating to secondhand goods.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1182, as amended, Santiago. Secondhand goods: tangible personal property.

Existing law requires secondhand dealers and coin dealers to, among other things, report certain secondhand tangible personal property taken in trade or pawn, accepted for sale on consignment, or accepted for auctioning, to the chief of police or to the sheriff, as specified. Existing law defines “tangible personal property” for those purposes as including secondhand tangible personal property that bears or bears evidence of having had a serial number or personalized initials and new or used tangible personal property that is received as security for a loan by a pawnbroker or is commonly sold by secondhand dealers and part of a significant class of stolen goods. Existing law requires the Attorney General to supply to local law enforcement agencies and periodically review a list of that personal property commonly sold by secondhand dealers which statistically is found through crime reports to the Attorney General to constitute a significant class of stolen goods.

This bill would require the Attorney General to update that list annually and post the list on his or her Internet Web site. The bill would instead specify that “tangible personal property” means secondhand tangible personal property that bears or bears evidence of having had a serial number or personalized initials, new or used tangible personal property that is received as security for a loan by a pawnbroker, or all tangible personal property that the Attorney General statistically determines through the most recent Department of Justice “Crime in California” report to constitute a significant class of stolen goods, as defined.

This bill would require the secondhand dealer to verify the identification of the seller or pledger for each transaction.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 21627 of the Business and Professions
Code is amended to read:

21627.  

(a) As used in this article, “tangible personal property”
means all secondhand tangible personal property which bears a
serial number or personalized initials or inscription or which, at
the time it is acquired by the secondhand dealer, bears evidence
of having had a serial number or personalized initials or inscription.

(b) “Tangible personal property” also means the following:

(1) All tangible personal property, new or used, including motor
vehicles, received in pledge as security for a loan by a pawnbroker.

(2) All tangible personal property that bears a serial number or
personalized initials or inscription which is purchased by a
secondhand dealer or a pawnbroker or which, at the time of such
purchase, bears evidence of having had a serial number or
personalized initials or inscription.

(3) All tangible personal property that the Attorney General
statistically determines through the most recent Department of
Justice “Crime in California” report to constitute a significant class
of stolen goods. A list of such personal property shall be supplied
by the Attorney General to all local law enforcement agencies and
posted on the Attorney General’s Internet Web site. Such list shall
be updated annually by the Attorney General, beginning January
1, 2016, to ensure that it addresses current problems with stolen
goods.

(c) As used in this article, “tangible personal property” does not
include any new goods or merchandise purchased from a bona fide
manufacturer or distributor or wholesaler of such new goods or
merchandise by a secondhand dealer. For the purposes of this
article, however, a secondhand dealer shall retain for one year
from the date of purchase, and shall make available for inspection
by any law enforcement officer, any receipt, invoice, bill of sale
or other evidence of purchase of such new goods or merchandise.

(d) As used in this article, “tangible personal property” does
not include coins, monetized bullion, or commercial grade ingots
of gold, silver, or other precious metals. “Commercial grade ingots”
means 0.99 fine or finer ingots of gold, silver, palladium, or
platinum, or 0.925 fine sterling silver art bars and medallions,
provided that the ingots, art bars, and medallions are marked by
the refiner or fabricator as to their assay fineness.

(e) For purposes of this article, a “significant class of stolen
goods” means those items determined through the Department of
Justice’s annual “Crime in California” report to constitute more
than 10 percent of property reported stolen in the calendar year
preceding the annual posting of the list of significant classes of
stolen goods.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 21628.3 is added to the end insert begin insert Business and
Professions Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 21628.3. end insert   

In complying with the requirements of Section 21628,
a secondhand dealer shall verify the identification of the seller or
pledger for each transaction, not for each item that shall be
reported.

end insert

begin delete

SEC. 2.  

Section 21628 of the Business and Professions Code
is amended to read:

21628.  

Every secondhand dealer or coin dealer described in
Section 21626 shall report daily, or on the first working day after
receipt or purchase of secondhand tangible personal property, on
forms or through an electronic reporting system approved by the
Department of Justice, all secondhand tangible personal property,
except for firearms, which he or she has purchased, taken in trade,
taken in pawn, accepted for sale on consignment, or accepted for
auctioning, to the chief of police or to the sheriff, in accordance
with the provisions of Sections 21630 and 21633 and subdivision
(j). The report shall be legible, prepared in English, completed
where applicable, and include, but not be limited to, the following
information:

(a) The name and current address of the intended seller or
pledger of the property.

(b) The identification of the intended seller or pledger. The
identification of the seller or pledger of the property shall be
verified by the person taking the information. The verification
shall be valid if the person taking the information reasonably relies
on any one of the following documents, provided that the document
is currently valid or has been issued within five years and contains
a photograph or description, or both, of the person named on it,
and, where applicable, is signed by the person, and bears a serial
or other identifying number:

(1) A passport of the United States.

(2) A driver’s license issued by any state or Canada.

(3) An identification card issued by any state.

(4) An identification card issued by the United States.

(5) A passport from any other country in addition to another
item of identification bearing an address.

(6) A Matricula Consular in addition to another item of
identification bearing an address.

(c) A complete and reasonably accurate description of serialized
property, including, but not limited to, the following: serial number
and other identifying marks or symbols, owner-applied numbers,
manufacturer’s named brand, and model name or number. Watches
need not be disassembled when special skill or special tools are
required to obtain the required information, unless specifically
requested to do so by a peace officer. A special tool does not
include a penknife, caseknife, or similar instrument and
disassembling a watch with a penknife, caseknife, or similar
instrument does not constitute a special skill. In all instances where
the required information may be obtained by removal of a
watchband, then the watchband shall be removed. The cost
associated with opening the watch shall be borne by the
pawnbroker, secondhand dealer, or customer.

(d) A complete and reasonably accurate description of
nonserialized property, including, but not limited to, the following:
size, color, material, manufacturer’s pattern name (when known),
owner-applied numbers and personalized inscriptions, and other
identifying marks or symbols. Watches need not be disassembled
when special skill or special tools are required to obtain the
required information, unless specifically requested to do so by a
peace officer. A special tool does not include a penknife, caseknife,
or similar instrument and disassembling a watch with a penknife,
caseknife, or similar instrument does not constitute a special skill.
In all instances where the required information may be obtained
by removal of a watchband, then the watchband shall be removed.
The cost associated with opening the watch shall be borne by the
pawnbroker, secondhand dealer, or customer.

(e) A certification by the intended seller or pledger that he or
she is the owner of the property or has the authority of the owner
to sell or pledge the property.

(f) A certification by the intended seller or pledger that to his
or her knowledge and belief the information is true and complete.

(g) A legible fingerprint taken from the intended seller or
pledger, as prescribed by the Department of Justice. This
requirement does not apply to a coin dealer, unless required
pursuant to local regulation.

(h) (1) When a secondhand dealer complies with all of the
provisions of this section, he or she shall be deemed to have
received from the seller or pledger adequate evidence of authority
to sell or pledge the property for all purposes included in this
article, and Division 8 (commencing with Section 21000) of the
Financial Code.

(2) In enacting this subdivision, it is the intent of the Legislature
that its provisions shall not adversely affect the implementation
of, or prosecution under, any provision of the Penal Code.

(i) Any person who conducts business as a secondhand dealer
at any gun show or event, as defined in Section 478.100 of Title
27 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or its successor, outside
the jurisdiction that issued the secondhand dealer license in
accordance with subdivision (d) of Section 21641, may be required
to submit a duplicate of the transaction report prepared pursuant
to this section to the local law enforcement agency where the gun
show or event is conducted.

(j) (1) The Department of Justice shall, in consultation with
appropriate local law enforcement agencies, develop clear and
comprehensive descriptive categories denoting tangible personal
property, as detailed in this section, subject to the reporting
requirements of this section. These categories shall be incorporated
by secondhand dealers and coin dealers described in Section 21626
for purposes of the reporting requirements set forth herein. Except
as otherwise provided in this section, any report required of a
secondhand dealer shall be transmitted by electronic means. With
the consultation by the Department of Justice with local law
enforcement agencies and representatives from the secondhand
dealer businesses, pursuant to Resolution Chapter 16 of the Statutes
of 2010, and upon the availability of sufficient funds in the
Secondhand Dealer and Pawnbroker Fund created pursuant to
Section 21642.5, the department shall promptly develop a single,
statewide, uniform electronic reporting system to be used to
transmit these secondhand dealer reports.

(2) (A) Until the date that the Department of Justice implements
the single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting system described
in paragraph (1), each secondhand dealer may continue to report
the information required by this section under the reporting
categories described in paragraph (1) in paper format on forms
approved of or provided by the Department of Justice.

(B) On and after the date that the Department of Justice
implements the single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting
system described in paragraph (1), each secondhand dealer shall
electronically report using that system the information required
by this section under the reporting categories described in
paragraph (1), except that for the first 30 days following the
implementation date, each secondhand dealer shall also report the
information in paper format as described in subparagraph (A).

(3) A coin dealer shall report the information required by this
section under the reporting categories described in paragraph (1)
on a form developed by the Attorney General that the coin dealer
shall transmit each day by facsimile transmission or by mail to the
chief of police or sheriff. A transaction shall consist of not more
than one item.

(4) For purposes of this subdivision, “item” shall mean any
single physical article. However, with respect to a commonly
accepted grouping of articles that are purchased as a set, including,
but not limited to, a pair of earrings or place settings of china,
silverware, or other tableware, “item” shall mean that commonly
accepted grouping.

(5) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as excepting
a secondhand dealer from the fingerprinting requirement of
subdivision (g).

(k) Nothing in this section shall be construed to exempt a person
licensed as a firearms dealer pursuant to Sections 26700 to 26915,
inclusive, of the Penal Code from the reporting requirements for
the delivery of firearms pursuant to Sections 26700 to 26915,
inclusive, of the Penal Code.

(l) The secondhand dealer shall verify the identification of the
seller or pledger for each transaction, not for each item that must
be reported.

end delete