SB 263 - This act requires pawnbrokers to make a photograph of anybody selling or pledging jewelry, gold, or silver and to complete a form for each transaction involving such items. In addition to descriptive information about the seller or pledgor and the sale, the transaction form must include the seller or pledgor's thumb print. The pawnbroker must display the photograph and fingerprint requirements in a prominent place. The pawnbroker must hold onto the photograph and the form for a year. Sixty days before destroying the documents, the pawnbroker must notify the local police who may request the documents. The police may also request the documents at any other time within the year in connection with a specific item of stolen property and the pawnbroker must turn over the documents.
Pawnbrokers may not sell, trade, melt, dispose of, alter, or destroy jewelry, gold, or silver until a week after receiving the items unless the items are the subject of a hold order or needed as evidence.
A willful violation of this act is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 or up to six months confinement in the county jail. A second conviction will be punishable by fine or imprisonment and a permanent revocation of the pawnshop’s license.
MEGHAN LUECKE