BILL NUMBER: AB 1182AMENDED BILL TEXT 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 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Santiago (Coauthors: Assembly Members Bonta and Cooley) (Coauthors: Senators Pan and Stone) FEBRUARY 27, 2015 An act to amend Sections Section 21627 of, and 21628 of to add Section 21628.3 to, 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. SEC. 2. Section 21628.3 is added to the Business and Professions Code , to read: 21628.3. 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. 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.