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 BillNo. 1182


Introduced by Assembly Member Santiago

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bonta and Cooley)

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(Coauthor: Senator Pan)

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(Coauthors: Senators Pan and Stone)

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February 27, 2015


An act to amendbegin delete Sectionend deletebegin insert Sectionsend insert 21627begin insert and 21628end insert of 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 periodicallybegin delete updateend deletebegin insert reviewend insert a list of that personal property commonly sold by secondhand dealersbegin delete and part ofend deletebegin insert which statistically is found through crime reports to the Attorney General to constituteend insert 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.begin delete The bill would allow a county law enforcement agency to use its own list, as described, until the Attorney General provides the first annual updated list.end delete 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 personalizedbegin delete initials andend deletebegin insert initials,end insert new or used tangible personal property that is received as security for a loan by abegin delete pawnbroker or is commonly sold by secondhand dealers and part ofend deletebegin insert pawnbroker, or all tangible personal property that the Attorney General statistically determines through the most recent Department of Justice “Crime in California” report to constituteend insert a significant class of stolenbegin delete goods.end deletebegin insert goods, as defined.end insert

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

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

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

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 21627 of the Business and Professions
2Code
is amended to read:

3

21627.  

(a) As used in this article, “tangible personal property”
4means all secondhand tangible personal property which bears a
5serial number or personalized initials or inscription or which, at
6the time it is acquired by the secondhand dealer, bears evidence
7of having had a serial number or personalized initials or inscription.

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

9(1) All tangible personal property, new or used, including motor
10vehicles, received in pledge as security for a loan by a pawnbroker.

11(2) All tangible personal property that bears a serial number or
12personalized initials or inscription which is purchased by a
13secondhand dealer or a pawnbroker or which, at the time of such
14purchase, bears evidence of having had a serial number or
15personalized initials or inscription.

P3    1(3) begin delete(A)end deletebegin deleteend deletebegin deleteAll end deletebegin insertAll tangible end insertpersonal propertybegin delete commonly sold by
2secondhand dealers which statistically is found through crime
3reports to the Attorney Generalend delete
begin insert that the Attorney General
4statistically determines through the most recent Department of
5Justice “Crime in California” reportend insert
to constitute a significant
6class of stolen goods. A list of such personal property shall be
7supplied by the Attorney General to all local law enforcement
8agencies and posted on the Attorney General’s Internet Web site.
9Such list shall be updated annually by the Attorneybegin delete General to
10insureend delete
begin insert General, beginning January 1, 2016, to ensureend insert that it
11addresses current problems with stolen goods.

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12(B) A county law enforcement agency may use its own list of
13personal property commonly sold by secondhand dealers which
14statistically is found through crime reports to the county law
15enforcement agency to constitute a significant class of stolen goods
16until the Attorney General provides the first annual update of the
17list of personal property.

end delete

18(c) As used in this article, “tangible personal property” does not
19include any new goods or merchandise purchased from a bona fide
20manufacturer or distributor or wholesaler of such new goods or
21merchandise by a secondhand dealer. For the purposes of this
22article, however, a secondhand dealer shall retain for one year
23from the date of purchase, and shall make available for inspection
24by any law enforcement officer, any receipt, invoice, bill of sale
25or other evidence of purchase of such new goods or merchandise.

26(d) As used in this article, “tangible personal property” does
27not include coins, monetized bullion, or commercial grade ingots
28of gold, silver, or other precious metals. “Commercial grade ingots”
29means 0.99 fine or finer ingots of gold, silver, palladium, or
30platinum, or 0.925 fine sterling silver art bars and medallions,
31provided that the ingots, art bars, and medallions are marked by
32the refiner or fabricator as to their assay fineness.

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33(e) For purposes of this article, a “significant class of stolen
34goods” means those items determined through the Department of
35Justice’s annual “Crime in California” report to constitute more
36than 10 percent of property reported stolen in the calendar year
37preceding the annual posting of the list of significant classes of
38stolen goods.

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39begin insert

begin insertSEC. 2.end insert  

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begin insertSection 21628 of the end insertbegin insertBusiness and Professions Codeend insert
40begin insert is amended to read:end insert

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21628.  

Every secondhand dealer or coin dealer described in
2Section 21626 shall report daily, or on the first working day after
3receipt or purchase of secondhand tangible personal property, on
4forms or through an electronic reporting system approved by the
5Department of Justice, all secondhand tangible personal property,
6except for firearms, which he or she has purchased, taken in trade,
7taken in pawn, accepted for sale on consignment, or accepted for
8auctioning, to the chief of police or to the sheriff, in accordance
9with the provisions of Sections 21630 and 21633 and subdivision
10(j). The report shall be legible, prepared in English, completed
11where applicable, and include, but not be limited to, the following
12information:

13(a) The name and current address of the intended seller or
14pledger of the property.

15(b) The identification of the intended seller or pledger. The
16identification of the seller or pledger of the property shall be
17verified by the person taking the information. The verification
18shall be valid if the person taking the information reasonably relies
19on any one of the following documents, provided that the document
20is currently valid or has been issued within five years and contains
21a photograph or description, or both, of the person named on it,
22and, where applicable, is signed by the person, and bears a serial
23or other identifying number:

24(1) A passport of the United States.

25(2) A driver’s license issued by any state or Canada.

26(3) An identification card issued by any state.

27(4) An identification card issued by the United States.

28(5) A passport from any other country in addition to another
29item of identification bearing an address.

30(6) A Matricula Consular in addition to another item of
31identification bearing an address.

32(c) A complete and reasonably accurate description of serialized
33property, including, but not limited to, the following: serial number
34and other identifying marks or symbols, owner-applied numbers,
35manufacturer’s named brand, and model name or number. Watches
36need not be disassembled when special skill or special tools are
37required to obtain the required information, unless specifically
38requested to do so by a peace officer. A special tool does not
39include a penknife, caseknife, or similar instrument and
40 disassembling a watch with a penknife, caseknife, or similar
P5    1instrument does not constitute a special skill. In all instances where
2the required information may be obtained by removal of a
3watchband, then the watchband shall be removed. The cost
4associated with opening the watch shall be borne by the
5pawnbroker, secondhand dealer, or customer.

6(d) A complete and reasonably accurate description of
7nonserialized property, including, but not limited to, the following:
8size, color, material, manufacturer’s pattern name (when known),
9owner-applied numbers and personalized inscriptions, and other
10identifying marks or symbols. Watches need not be disassembled
11when special skill or special tools are required to obtain the
12required information, unless specifically requested to do so by a
13peace officer. A special tool does not include a penknife, caseknife,
14or similar instrument and disassembling a watch with a penknife,
15caseknife, or similar instrument does not constitute a special skill.
16In all instances where the required information may be obtained
17by removal of a watchband, then the watchband shall be removed.
18The cost associated with opening the watch shall be borne by the
19pawnbroker, secondhand dealer, or customer.

20(e) A certification by the intended seller or pledger that he or
21she is the owner of the property or has the authority of the owner
22to sell or pledge the property.

23(f) A certification by the intended seller or pledger that to his
24or her knowledge and belief the information is true and complete.

25(g) A legible fingerprint taken from the intended seller or
26pledger, as prescribed by the Department of Justice. This
27requirement does not apply to a coin dealer, unless required
28pursuant to local regulation.

29(h) (1) When a secondhand dealer complies with all of the
30provisions of this section, he or she shall be deemed to have
31received from the seller or pledger adequate evidence of authority
32to sell or pledge the property for all purposes included in this
33article, and Division 8 (commencing with Section 21000) of the
34Financial Code.

35(2) In enacting this subdivision, it is the intent of the Legislature
36that its provisions shall not adversely affect the implementation
37of, or prosecution under, any provision of the Penal Code.

38(i) Any person who conducts business as a secondhand dealer
39at any gun show or event, as defined in Section 478.100 of Title
4027 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or its successor, outside
P6    1the jurisdiction that issued the secondhand dealer license in
2accordance with subdivision (d) of Section 21641, may be required
3to submit a duplicate of the transaction report prepared pursuant
4to this section to the local law enforcement agency where the gun
5show or event is conducted.

6(j) (1) The Department of Justice shall, in consultation with
7appropriate local law enforcement agencies, develop clear and
8comprehensive descriptive categories denoting tangible personal
9property, as detailed in this section, subject to the reporting
10requirements of this section. These categories shall be incorporated
11by secondhand dealers and coin dealers described in Section 21626
12for purposes of the reporting requirements set forth herein. Except
13as otherwise provided in this section, any report required of a
14secondhand dealer shall be transmitted by electronic means. With
15the consultation by the Department of Justice with local law
16enforcement agencies and representatives from the secondhand
17dealer businesses, pursuant to Resolution Chapter 16 of the Statutes
18of 2010, and upon the availability of sufficient funds in the
19Secondhand Dealer and Pawnbroker Fund created pursuant to
20Section 21642.5, the department shall promptly develop a single,
21statewide, uniform electronic reporting system to be used to
22transmit these secondhand dealer reports.

23(2) (A) Until the date that the Department of Justice implements
24the single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting system described
25in paragraph (1), each secondhand dealer may continue to report
26the information required by this section under the reporting
27categories described in paragraph (1) in paper format on forms
28approved of or provided by the Department of Justice.

29(B) On and after the date that the Department of Justice
30implements the single, statewide, uniform electronic reporting
31system described in paragraph (1), each secondhand dealer shall
32electronically report using that system the information required
33by this section under the reporting categories described in
34paragraph (1), except that for the first 30 days following the
35implementation date, each secondhand dealer shall also report the
36information in paper format as described in subparagraph (A).

37(3) A coin dealer shall report the information required by this
38section under the reporting categories described in paragraph (1)
39on a form developed by the Attorney General that the coin dealer
40shall transmit each day by facsimile transmission or by mail to the
P7    1chief of police or sheriff. A transaction shall consist of not more
2than one item.

3(4) For purposes of this subdivision, “item” shall mean any
4single physical article. However, with respect to a commonly
5accepted grouping of articles that are purchased as a set, including,
6but not limited to, a pair of earrings or place settings of china,
7silverware, or other tableware, “item” shall mean that commonly
8accepted grouping.

9(5) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as excepting
10a secondhand dealer from the fingerprinting requirement of
11subdivision (g).

12(k) Nothing in this section shall be construed to exempt a person
13licensed as a firearms dealer pursuant to Sections 26700 to 26915,
14inclusive, of the Penal Code from the reporting requirements for
15the delivery of firearms pursuant to Sections 26700 to 26915,
16inclusive, of the Penal Code.

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17(l) The secondhand dealer shall verify the identification of the
18seller or pledger for each transaction, not for each item that must
19be reported.

end insert


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