85R1731 GRM-D
By: Davis of Harris H.B. No. 1157
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the hold period for the disposition of and payment for
items of goods acquired by pawnbrokers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 371.182, Finance Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 371.182. HOLD PERIOD FOR ACQUIRED GOODS; WITHHOLDING
OF PAYMENT. (a) Subject to Subsections (b) and (c), a [The
commissioner may designate a reasonable hold period during which a]
pawnbroker may not modify, sell, or otherwise dispose of an item of
goods acquired [and offered for sale or other disposition] by the
pawnbroker for a period of at least 20 days after the date the item
of goods is acquired.
(b) A pawnbroker may modify, sell, or otherwise dispose of
an item of goods acquired by the pawnbroker for a period of less
than 20 days if the municipality in which the pawnshop is located
has enacted an ordinance that specifies the hold period.
(c) A pawnbroker and a local law enforcement agency of the
municipality in which the pawnshop is located may agree to
establish a reduced hold period of seven days or less if:
(1) the ticket information for acquired goods is
exchanged electronically;
(2) the agreement for a reduced hold period does not
conflict with an ordinance of the municipality; and
(3) the agreement is submitted in writing to the
commissioner by the chief local law enforcement officer of the
municipality.
(d) A pawnbroker shall hold an item of goods for the
applicable hold period required by this section at the pawnshop
location at which the item of goods was acquired by the pawnbroker.
(e) A pawnbroker shall withhold payment from the seller for
each item of goods acquired by the pawnbroker until the day the
applicable hold period prescribed by this section ends.
(f) A pawnbroker shall hold in escrow for six months any
money withheld under Subsection (e) that remains unclaimed by a
seller after the date the hold period for the goods expires. At the
end of the six-month period, the money is presumed abandoned for the
purposes of Title 6, Property Code.
SECTION 2. Section 371.182, Finance Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to a transaction involving the purchase of
goods by a pawnbroker on or after the effective date of this Act. A
transaction involving the purchase of goods by a pawnbroker before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.