Blythe Municipal Code Ch. 5.57 Pawnbrokers and Secondhand Dealers

A. "Pawnbroker" shall mean every person engaged in the business of receiving goods, including motor vehicles, in pledge as security for a loan pursuant to Section 21000 of the California Financial Code.

B. "Secondhand dealer" shall mean any person, corporation, firm, or corporation whose business includes buying, selling, trading, taking in pawn, accepting for sale on consignment, accepting for auctioning or auctioning, secondhand tangible personal property pursuant to Section 21626 of the Business and Professions Code.

C. "Permittee" shall mean every person, business, corporation, or firm that has obtained a permit pursuant to this chapter.

D. "Permit" shall mean any permit granted pursuant to this chapter.

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)

A. "Pawnbroker." Subject to regulation by the state of California, all pawnbrokers are regulated by Division 8, Section 21000 et seq. of the California Financial Code. A pawnbroker is exempt from the licensing requirements for secondhand dealers pursuant to Sections 21641 and 21642 of the California Business and Professions Code and may engage in any secondhand dealer transaction. Nonetheless, a pawnbroker conducting secondhand dealer activities must comply with all applicable secondhand dealer laws.

B. "Secondhand Dealer." Subject to regulation by the state of California, all secondhand dealers must comply with the requirements set forth in the California Business and Professions Code, Division 8, Chapter 9, Section 21500 et seq.

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)

This chapter shall not apply to any of the following:

A. The sale of secondhand goods when such sale is made other than at a regular business location and no more than one sale, not exceeding forty-eight hours duration, is conducted during any thirty-day period, provided the vendor of the goods has an ownership or possessory interest in the real property upon which the sale takes place or has written permission from a person with an ownership or possessory interest in the real property to conduct the sale, and such written permission is in the vendor's possession at the time of the sale. If the conditions under which this exception is to apply are not satisfied, a permit shall be required.

B. The purchase by a person or business organization of new merchandise for the use in its regular business activity and, after having used the merchandise for its intended purpose, sells the merchandise as an incident to its primary business activity.

C. Car dealers duly permitted to sell used motor vehicles pursuant to the California Vehicle Code and rules and regulations promulgated by the state of California relating to such sales.

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)

It shall be unlawful for any person, business, corporation, or firm to engage in the business of a pawnbroker or secondhand dealer within the city limits without first obtaining a permit issued by the chief of police or his designee. A permit shall be issued to each pawnbroker or secondhand dealer after their application is approved by the chief of police or his designee, and the department of justice.

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)

Each permittee required to have a permit under this chapter shall, at all times, prominently display such permit at the business location which has been permitted.

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)

Each person, corporation, or firm, respectively, that desires to be permitted as a pawnbroker or secondhand dealer in the city of Blythe shall complete an application. This application will be vetted by the chief of police or his designee. All applications shall contain a financial statement reviewed and signed by a permitted certified public accountant.

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)

The chief of police, or his designee, shall cause an investigation to be conducted of all statements submitted in an application submitted pursuant to Section 5.57.060 if this chapter. A background check of the applicant shall be conducted. All applications and fingerprints of applicants shall be forwarded to the department of justice for review.

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)

After reviewing an application for pawnbroker or secondhand dealer permit, the chief of police, or his designee, may refuse to issue permits under this chapter for any of the following reasons:

A. The investigation reveals that the applicant has falsified information on the application, concealed a material fact, or otherwise committed any fraud in the application.

B. It is discovered that the applicant has been convicted of a misdemeanor and/or felony involving an offense against private property interests. Such property offenses include, but are not limited to, larceny, false pretense, fraud, grand theft, embezzlement, and receipt of stolen property.

C. The applicant has been previously denied a permit or had a permit revoked under this chapter within one year of the current application. A permit may be issued, however, if the applicant can and does show, to the satisfaction of the chief of police or his designee, that the reasons for the previous denial no longer exist.

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)

A. The applicant shall bear the cost for the review of the applicant(s) fingerprints by the department of justice.

B. The applicant shall also pay a processing fee to the city of Blythe police department for each application submitted. This processing fee shall be established by resolution of the city council.

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)

Pawnbroker and secondhand dealer permits shall be maintained and renewed every other year commencing from the date of issuance by the city.

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)

Pawnbroker and secondhand dealer permits shall not be sold, transferred, or assigned by the permittee, or by operation of law, to any other person(s), corporation(s), or firm(s). Any such sale, transfer, or assignment, or any attempt thereof, shall be deemed to constitute a voluntary surrender of the permit

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)

A. A permit granted under this chapter shall be revoked if it is determined and established that the permittee has violated any section or provision of this chapter where such violation demonstrates to be part of a pattern of impermissible conduct.

B. A permit granted under this chapter shall be revoked if it is determined that the permittee has violated any applicable state or federal law where such violation demonstrates to be part of a pattern of impermissible conduct.

C. No revocation shall occur unless the permittee is given a hearing in which permittee may contest the proposed revocation of permit. Written notice of this hearing shall be given to permittee at least ten days prior to the scheduled hearing date.

D. There shall be no refund of any fees or costs for any permit revoked pursuant to this chapter.

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)

A. All permittees under this chapter shall maintain records for each day that a permittee may be open for business, and for each transaction that takes place. The records shall contain the true and complete report of all articles received during each day. The records kept shall comply with state law and contain the following information:

1. The name and current address of the person from whom the property was received;

2. A brief description of the property received;

3. The pawn ticket number associated with the property received;

4. The amount loaned or the amount paid for the property received; and

5. If the property has any serial numbers, those serial numbers shall also be recorded.

B. All permittees shall use recordkeeping forms of a type and content approved by the chief of police or his designee.

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)

All records kept pursuant to this chapter shall be, at all reasonable times, open to the inspection by members of the city of Blythe police department, the chief of police, or his designee.

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)

It shall be unlawful for any person, business, corporation, or firm permitted under this chapter to fail to keep or maintain reports as specified under Section 5.57.130 of this chapter or to refuse to make such reports available to members of the city of Blythe police department, chief of police, or his designee, upon reasonable demand pursuant to Section 5.57.140 of this chapter. Failure to comply with Sections 5.57.130 and 5.57.140 of this chapter shall be subject to penalties described in Section 5.57.180 of this chapter. Nothing in this chapter shall preclude or prevent similar or parallel prosecution under any applicable state or federal law.

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)

No permittee shall operate a pawnbroker and secondhand dealer business without compliance with all applicable zoning regulations.

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)

Any person, business, corporation, or firm shall be guilty of a misdemeanor for violation of this chapter, which shall be punishable by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not to exceed six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

(Ord. No. 853, § 1, 10-25-11)