BILL ANALYSIS
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|Hearing Date:March 22, 2010 |Bill No:SCR |
| |63 |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod, Chair
Bill No: SCR 63Author:Yee
As Amended:March 1, 2010 Fiscal: No
SUBJECT: Secondhand goods.
SUMMARY: Urges the Department of Justice to ensure compliance with a
requirement to develop a standard format to be used statewide for
purposes of electronically reporting secondhand dealer transactions.
Existing law:
1) States legislative intent to curtail the dissemination of, and
facilitate the recovery of stolen property by means of a uniform,
statewide, state-administered program of regulation of persons
whose principal business is dealing in personal property and to aid
the Board of Equalization to detect possible sales tax evasion.
2) States legislative intent to require the uniform statewide
reporting of transactions in, and acquisitions of, secondhand and
pawned property by pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers.
3) Defines "secondhand dealer" as a business engaged in buying,
selling, taking in trade, taking in pawn, taking in consignment,
accepting for auction or auctioning secondhand tangible personal
property.
4) Defines "coin dealer" as a business which principally is buying,
selling, and trading coins, monetized bullion, or commercial grade
ingots of gold, silver or other precious metals.
5) Requires secondhand dealers and coin dealers, to report daily to
the local chief of police or sheriff, on forms approved or provided
by the Department of Justice (DOJ), all tangible personal property
purchased, taken in trade, taken in pawn, or accepted for sale on
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consignment or for auction.
6) Requires DOJ in consultation with local law enforcement, to develop
clear and comprehensive descriptive categories of property subject
to reporting requirements, to be used for reporting by secondhand
dealers and coin dealers.
7) Requires DOJ and local law enforcement, in consultation with
secondhand dealer and coin dealer representatives, to develop a
standard statewide format for secondhand dealers and coin dealers
to make reports electronically to law enforcement.
This resolution:
1) Makes various findings, including:
a) The legislative intent expressed in Existing Law #1), above.
b) The requirement for second hand dealers and coin dealers to
make daily reports to law enforcement on forms provided or
approved by DOJ as described in Existing Law #5), above.
c) Prior to 2000, the law generally required the forms to be
submitted by mail.
d) In 2000 legislation was enacted to require the DOJ to develop
reporting categories and develop a standard format to be used to
transmit reports electronically.
e) Implementation of the standard format for the purposes of
electronic transmission has yet to occur.
1) Urges the DOJ to ensure compliance at the earliest possible time
with the requirement to develop a standard format to be used
statewide for purposes of electronically reporting secondhand
dealer transactions.
FISCAL EFFECT: This resolution has been keyed "non-fiscal" by
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose. This bill is sponsored by Collateral Loan and Secondhand
Dealers Association of California (Sponsor) to urge the Attorney
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General to implement provisions established in the year 2000, by SB
1520 (Schiff, Chapter 994) and to begin the process of converting a
required paper reporting system to an electronic reporting system
for pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers.
The Sponsor states that SB 1520 did not contain a funding mechanism;
therefore, it was never instituted. The Sponsor further states
that the Author of that bill, then State Senator, now Congressman
Adam Schiff now sits on the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee
on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies which is charged
with distributing federal stimulus funds. The Sponsor believes
that this resolution will assist in securing funding to implement
this important tool for law enforcement.
2. Background. In 2000, in an effort to save limited investigative
resources of law enforcement agencies, SB 1520 was enacted to
establish a system to be used by pawnbrokers, secondhand dealers
and coin dealers to electronically report pawn, loan and
consignment transactions, and to replace the cumbersome triplicate
paper forms used for reporting transactions to law enforcement.
When the police know that certain property has been stolen, a
description, including any serial number, can be entered into a
statewide, computerized system. However, at that time, the
"uniform" statewide reporting system for pawned property consisted
of a standardized, triplicate form filled out by hand. The forms
were then mailed to the police chief of an incorporated city, or to
the sheriff of an unincorporated area of a county, not a state
agency. Pawnshops and secondhand dealers generate tens of
thousands of forms per day.
Before pawned property can be included in the automated system, police
personnel must go through each form and manually key property into
the automated system. As a practical matter, only property with
serial numbers can be entered into an automated system. In large
part, pawn forms are collected, boxed and stored in relatively
useless conditions.
While seeking to establish a more efficient, electronic method for
reporting transactions to law enforcement, SB 1520 did not contain
any funding mechanism for developing such a system.
3. Arguments in Support. The Sponsor, representing more than 600
pawnbrokers in California, states that the hard copy papers system
for reporting transactions to law enforcement is inefficient and
expensive. The provisions for the DOJ to develop the electronic
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reporting format were established in 2000, and now, a decade later,
it still has not been done.
The Santa Maria Police Department , echoes the Sponsor's arguments and
further states that the electronic system would create a useful,
uniform statewide system which will save law enforcement and
licensees significant resources."
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
Collateral Loan and Secondhand Dealers Association of California
(Sponsor)
California Peace Officers' Association
Criminal Justice Administrators' Association of San Luis Obispo
County
Santa Maria Police Department.
Opposition:
None received as of March 17, 2010
Consultant:G. V. Ayers