Senate Bill No. 233
(By Senators Snyder, Ball, Hunter and Edgell)
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[Introduced January 27, 1999;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article three, chapter sixty-one of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
fifty-five, relating to the regulation of pawnbrokers; and
criminal violations and penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article three, chapter sixty-one of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
fifty-five, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY.
ยง61-3-55. General regulation of pawnbrokers.
(a) As used in this section, "pawnbroker" means any person
who lends or advances money or other things for profit on the
pledge and possession of personal property, or other valuable things, other than securities or written or printed evidences of
indebtedness, or who deals in the purchasing of personal property
or other valuable things on condition of selling the same back to
the seller at a stipulated price.
(b) No pawnbrokers may sell any pawn or pledge until: (1)
It has been in his possession for four months, unless a shorter
period of not less than thirty days is agreed to in writing by
the pawner; and (2) a sworn statement of ownership acknowledged
by a notary public licensed under chapter twenty-nine-c of this
code is obtained from the pawner. The governing body of the
locality wherein the pawnbroker conducts his business may
determine the contents of the statement of ownership.
(c) Every pawnbroker shall keep at his place of business an
accurate and legible record of each loan or transaction in the
course of his business. The account shall be recorded at the
time of the loan or transaction and shall include:
(1) A description of the make, manufacturer, model, model
number, size or shape, serial number, year of manufacture, and a statement of ownership of the goods, article or thing pawned or
pledged or received on account of money loaned thereon. In
addition to the aforementioned description of pawned or pledged
items, firearms shall also include in their description the
color, caliber and size;
(2) The time, date and place of the transaction;
(3) A separate transaction number shall be assigned for each
of the goods, article or thing pledged or pawned in a
transaction;
(4) The full name, residence address, work place, and home
and work telephone numbers of the person or persons pawning or
pledging the goods, article or thing, together with a particular
description, including the height, weight, date of birth, social
security number, race, gender, hair and eye color and any other
identifying marks, of such person or persons;
(5) Verification of the identification by the exhibition of
a government-issued identification card such as a driver's
license, division of motor vehicles nondriver's license, military
identification card or passport. The record shall contain the
type of identification exhibited, the issuing agency and the
number thereon;
(6) The superintendent of the state police in the department
of military affairs and public safety shall make rules
specifying the nature of the particular description for
subdivision (4) of this section. The superintendent shall also
make rules specifying the nature of identifying credentials of
the person pawning or pledging the goods. Such credentials shall
be examined by the pawnbroker, and an appropriate record retained
thereof.
(d) Every pawnbroker shall prepare a daily report of all
goods, articles or things pawned or pledged with him that day and
file a report within seventy-two hours with the chief of police,
sheriff, state police detachment responsible for that county or
other law-enforcement officer of the county, city or town where
his business is conducted. The report shall include the name and
residence of the pledgor and description of the goods, article or
thing pledged and shall be in writing and clearly legible to any
person inspecting it.
(e) Every pawnbroker and every employee of the pawnbroker
shall admit to the pawnbroker's place of business during regular
business hours, the chief law-enforcement officer, or his
designee, of the jurisdiction where his business is being conducted, or any law-enforcement official of the state or
federal government. The pawnbroker or employee shall permit the
officer to: (1) Examine all records required by this section and
any article listed in a record which is believed by the officer
to be missing or stolen; and (2) search for and take into
possession any article known to him to be missing, or known or
believed by him to have been stolen.
(f) No property received on deposit or pledge by any
pawnbroker may be disfigured or its identity destroyed or
affected in any manner so long as it continues in pawn or in the
possession of the pawnbroker, nor may any property be concealed
for forty-eight hours after the property is received by the
pawnbroker.
(g) Pawnbrokers shall store, or take care to protect from
damage during disuse, all blankets, clothing, carpets, furs,
rugs, dress goods, cloths, mirrors, oil paintings, glass and
chinaware, pianos, organs, curtains, beddings and upholstered
furniture pawned or pledged with them. Pawnbrokers are allowed
to charge two percent per month in addition to the regular
charges for the first three months, or part thereof, while such
goods remain as pledge for money advanced.
(h) A pawnbroker may not acquire a precious metal object, or
take any merchandise in a pawn transaction, from an individual
who is a minor.
(i) Any licensed pawnbroker who violates any of the
provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than ten thousand
dollars or confined in a county or regional jail, not less than
one day nor more than one year, or both fined and imprisoned.
NOTE: This bill creates a law regulating pawnbrokers in
this state. It contains criminal penalties.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.