Sponsored by:
Senator PAUL A. SARLO
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
SYNOPSIS
Requires pawnbrokers retain goods for seven days and record and report certain information.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning pawnbrokers and amending R.S.45:22-34.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.45:22-34 is amended to read as follows:
45:22-34. a. All pawnbrokers or dealers in secondhand goods, in addition to keeping a proper record of the deposit and redemption of all goods and pledges shall, each day, except Sunday, before eleven o'clock in the forenoon, deliver to the chief of police, or other head of the police department of the municipality having an established police department and in which said pawnbroker or dealer has his place of business, a legible and correct transcript, on blank forms to be furnished by said police department, from the book or books in which said pawnbroker or dealer keeps his record of the deposit or redemption of goods and pledges, showing the description of each article or thing received by him during the business day immediately preceding the filing of the report, together with the amount of money loaned thereon, and a [description of the person making the pledge] copy of a government-issued identification and affidavit of the person making the pledge, as prescribed in subsection b. of this section. In the case of business done on Saturday such report shall be delivered to the chief of police or head of the police department before eleven o'clock A.M. of the succeeding Monday. Any pawnbroker or dealer in secondhand goods who fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall [forfeit and pay to the municipality wherein he has his place of business a fine or penalty of one hundred dollars for each and every offense] be guilty of a disorderly persons offense for the first offense, and for a subsequent offense the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance shall revoke the authority of that pawnbroker or dealer of secondhand goods to do business in this State.
b. Every pawnbroker and dealer of secondhand goods, when engaging in business, shall make a good faith effort to verify the identity of a person making a pledge by requesting and examining:
(1) a government-issued identification, which may include:
(a) a valid document issued by a government agency bearing the person's signature, a photographic image of the person's face, including a photographic image contained on a valid driver's license issued by another state, and a physical description of the person;
(b) a valid passport;
(c) a valid identification card issued by any branch of the armed forces of the United States; or
(d) a valid identification card issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; and
(2) an affidavit from the person making the pledge stating that the goods or articles being pledged are owned by that person.
c. A pawnbroker or dealer of secondhand goods shall retain any goods or pledges in the form in which they were purchased or pledged for a period of not less than seven business days.
(cf: R.S.45:22-34)
2. This act shall take effect on the 90th day next following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill amends R.S.45:22-34, which mandates that pawnbrokers and dealers of secondhand goods record certain information regarding their transactions with the public and report this information to the police, by requiring that these pawnbrokers and dealers also record and report additional information.
More specifically, the bill stipulates that every pawnbroker and dealer of secondhand goods, when engaging in business, shall make a good faith effort to verify the identity of a person making a pledge by requesting and examining: (1) a government-issued identification, which may include: a valid document issued by a government agency bearing the person's signature, a photographic image of the person's face, including a photographic image contained on a valid driver's license issued by another state, and a physical description of the person; a valid passport; a valid identification card issued by any branch of the armed forces of the United States; or a valid identification card issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; and (2) an affidavit from the person making the pledge stating that the goods or articles being pledged are owned by that person. This information is to be transmitted to the local police.
The bill also provides that pawnbrokers and dealers of secondhand goods must retain any goods or pledges in the form in which they were purchased or pledged for a period of not less than seven business days.
In addition, the bill states that any pawnbroker or dealer in secondhand goods who fails to comply with the provisions of R.S.45:22-34 shall be guilty of a disorderly persons offense for the first offense, and for a subsequent offense the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance shall revoke the authority of that pawnbroker or dealer of secondhand goods to do business in this State.