BILL ANALYSIS
SCR 63
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 4, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND CONSUMER
PROTECTION
Mary Hayashi, Chair
SCR 63 (Yee) - As Amended: March 1, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 34-0
SUBJECT : Secondhand goods.
SUMMARY : Urges the Department of Justice (DOJ) to ensure
compliance with a requirement to develop a standard format to be
used statewide for purposes of 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 consignment or for auction.
SCR 63
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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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This resolution is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS :
Purpose of this resolution . According to the author's office,
"SB 1520 [Schiff] (Chapter 994, Statutes of 2000) was an effort
to save valuable investigative time for law enforcement. This
bill proposed to implement a system whereby pawnbrokers,
secondhand dealers and coin dealers report pawn, loan and
consignment transactions electronically instead of the
cumbersome triplicate paper forms now used for reporting.
"To date, DOJ has not instituted the legislatively mandated
electronic reporting system. In 2000, then State Senator
[Schiff] authored SB 1520 (Chapter 994), which would create a
uniform statewide electronic reporting system.
"This measure would urge DOJ to ensure compliance with a
requirement that the department develops a standard format to be
used statewide for purposes of reporting secondhand dealer
transactions.
"The system envisioned would allow all California law
enforcement to interactively track stolen tangible personal
property across jurisdictional lines, and could effectively help
law enforcement in California recover stolen property as well as
apprehend more serious offenders. Some local jurisdictions are
contemplating spending scarce funds on internal systems, which
would be much less effective in fighting crime and more costly.
A further benefit to such an electronic system would be
assisting the State Board of Equalization in detecting possible
sales tax evasion."
Background . In 2000, in an effort to save limited investigative
resources of law enforcement agencies, SB 1520 (Schiff), Chapter
SCR 63
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994, Statutes of 2000, 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.
Previous legislation . SB 1520 (Schiff), Chapter 994, Statutes
of 2000, streamlines the reporting system for pawned and
secondhand property to an electronic system that uses specified
reporting categories for law enforcement.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Collateral Loan & Secondhand Dealers Association of California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Rebecca May / B.,P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301