Bills

SB 1317: Secondhand goods: tangible personal property: reporting requirements.

  • Session Year: 2021-2022
  • House: Senate
  • Latest Version Date: 2022-09-28
Version:

Existing law requires every secondhand dealer and coin dealer to report daily the receipt of all secondhand tangible personal property, except for firearms, that they have purchased, taken in trade or pawn, or accepted for sale on consignment or for auctioning, in accordance with certain provisions, to the statewide uniform electronic reporting system known as the California Pawn and SecondhandDealer System (CAPSS), operated by the Department of Justice. Existing law requires the report to contain specified information, including the name and current address of the intended seller or pledger, and a form of identification for that person, which may include a Matricula Consular, in addition to another item of identification bearing an address. Existing law makes it a crime to commit perjury and also imposes various criminal penalties for violations of the secondhand goods provisions.

Beginning January 1, 2023, existing law exempts a seller or pledger who verifies their identity with a Matricula Consular along with another item of identification from the requirements that their name and current address be included in the report. Existing law specifies that in these cases no personal identifying information shall be reported to CAPSS. Existing law instead requires a secondhand dealer or coin dealer to record and maintain the name, current address, and the Matricula Consular number of the seller or pledger for 3 years from the date the item was reported to CAPSS, and to also record and maintain a certification by the intended seller or pledger that the person is the owner of the property or has the authority of the owner to sell or pledge the property, along with taking a legible fingerprint from that person.

This bill would remove the requirement to include in the CAPSS report the identities and identifying information of intended sellers and pledgers who present the secondhand dealer or coin dealer with information to verify their identity, and would also remove the exemption for a seller or pledger who verifies their identity with a Matricula Consular in addition to another item of identification. The bill would additionally remove the requirement to include in the CAPSS report a certification by the intended seller or pledger that they are the owner of the property or have the authority of the owner to sell or pledge the property, along with the exemption for a seller or pledger who verifies their identity with a Matricula Consular in addition to another item of identification.

This bill would revise the requirements governing the identifying information a secondhand dealer or coin dealer is required to record and maintain on the intended seller or pledger for 3 years from the date the item was reported to CAPSS. The bill would require a secondhand dealer or coin dealer to verify the seller or pledger of the propertys identity by using one of specified documents, including a passport of the United States, a drivers license issued by any state or Canada, or an identification card issued by any state. The bill would authorize the individual performing the verification to use prescribed technology to obtain information and to verify identity remotely.

Existing law requires a secondhand dealer or coin dealer, upon receiving notification from local law enforcement that an item has been reported lost, stolen, or embezzled, to provide law enforcement with the information collected from the identification used by the intended seller or pledger.

This bill would instead require a secondhand dealer or coin dealer to provide the information required to be recorded immediately upon request or no later than the next business day. The bill would make conforming changes. By expanding the scope of existing crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Authors shown for version:
Chaptered (9/28/2022)

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