AB 2231: Pawnbrokers: education.

Existing law defines every person engaged in the business of receiving goods in pledge as security for a loan as a pawnbroker and requires those persons to apply to the chief of police, the sheriff, or the police commission for a license permitting the licensee to engage in the business of pawnbroker. Existing law requires the licensing authority to accept an application for and grant a license to engage in the business of pawnbroker, if the applicant has complied with specified requirements, including filing a surety bond and a financial statement, and if they have not been convicted of an attempt to receive stolen property or any other offense involving stolen property, as specified. Existing law also requires a pawnbroker to comply with a specified reporting requirement imposed upon secondhand dealers. Existing law creates the California Pawn and SecondhandDealer System (CAPSS), a statewide, uniform, electronic reporting system that receives secondhand dealer reports and is operated by the Department of Justice. Existing law requires every secondhand dealer to electronically report daily, or no later than the next business day, after receipt or purchase of secondhand tangible personal property, to the CAPSS, all secondhand tangible personal property that they have purchased, taken in trade, taken in pawn, accepted for sale on consignment, or accepted for auctioning, as specified.

This bill, the Pawnbroker Education Act, would establish the California Pawnbroker Education Council, governed by a board of directors, as specified. The bill would require the council to establish fees sufficient to support its functions and to cover the reasonable regulatory costs of administering these provisions. The bill would require the council, on or before January 1, 2026, to develop and establish a standard course and curriculum in pawnbroker transactions that includes at least 8 hours of prelicensing education to be completed by an applicant for licensure, and 8 hours of continuing education to be completed by a licensee or their designated representative, as a condition precedent to being issued, or renewing, a pawnbrokers license. The bill would require the curriculum to meet minimum standards for compliance with state and federal law applicable to the pawnbroker business including, the CAPSS reporting requirements described above. The bill would require individuals, entities, agencies, and associations that propose to offer educational courses that satisfy the prelicensing and continuing education requirements determined by the council to apply for and obtain the approval of the council. The bill would require the council, beginning on January 1, 2026, to issue a certificate to an applicant for a pawnbroker license, or to a licensee applying for renewal of a pawnbroker license, who has satisfied the educational requirements, and to maintain records verifying completion of the educational requirements for at least 2 years. The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2029.