Report Title:

Pawnbrokers; Secondhand Dealers

 

Description:

Changes the method used to record the daily transactions of pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers, from a manual system to an electronic system.  (HB2553 HD1)

 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2553

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT


 

 

RELATING TO PAWNBROKERS AND SECONDHAND DEALERS.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  In recent years, property crime in Hawaii has increased at an alarming rate, and experts generally agree that drug use, specifically crystal methamphetamine use, is the driving force behind the high property crime rate.  This nexus exists because stolen property can easily be sold for money that can then be used to feed the perpetrator's drug habit.

     One approach to reducing the profits from property crimes is to expedite the reporting of pawnbroker and secondhand dealer transactions to law enforcement.  The current method of recording the daily transactions of pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers is antiquated and time-consuming.  Currently, pawn ticket receipts are manually recovered and entered into a computer system.  By the time the police department receives this information, it may already be outdated.

     An automated system to record daily transactions would revolutionize this process by increasing the speed by which information is transferred from the pawnshop or secondhand dealer to the police department.  Such a system would reduce the recovery time for stolen items and allow the police to inspect and track these transactions in a timely manner, thereby increasing the likelihood that a person committing a crime will be identified using the information provided by pawn ticket receipts.

     The purpose of this Act is to facilitate the timely reporting of pawnbroker and secondhand dealer transactions to law enforcement, by requiring daily electronic reporting of these activities. 

     SECTION 2.  Section 486M-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§486M-2  Record of transactions.  (a)  Every dealer[, or the agent, employee, or representative of the dealer] shall, immediately upon receipt of any article, record the following information, [on a form] in a manner authorized by the chief of police in each county:

     (1)  The name and address of the dealer;

     (2)  The name, residence address, date of birth, and the age of the person from whom the article was received;

     (3)  The date and time the article was received by the dealer;

     (4)  The signature of the person from whom the article was received;

     (5)  The Hawaii [[]driver's[]] license number, or if the person does not possess a Hawaii [[]driver's[]] license, the number of and description of any government issued identification [which] that bears a photograph of the person from whom the article was received;

     (6)  A complete and accurate description of the article received, including all markings, names, initials, and inscriptions;

     (7)  A reasonable estimate of the fineness and weights of the precious and semiprecious metals and precious and semiprecious gems received; and

     (8)  The price paid by the dealer for each article.

     (b)  Upon request and at the discretion of the chief of police of each county, copies of all completed forms required by this section shall be surrendered, mailed, or electronically inputted and transmitted via modem or by facsimile transmittal to the chief of police or to the chief of police's authorized representative.  The method of submittal to the chief of police shall be at the option of the [dealer.] chief of police.

     (c)  Every dealer shall perform daily electronic reporting via the Internet or computer disk in a manner and using software as directed by the chief of police in each county; provided that a dealer may continue using existing software deemed by the chief of police in that county to be sufficient to meet the electronic reporting requirements of this section.  The daily report shall include all property pledged, received, traded, bartered, bought, or otherwise acquired during the twenty-four hours ending at 8:00 p.m. on the date of the report.

     (d)  If a dealer discovers an error in the daily electronic report required under subsection (c), the dealer shall immediately correct the error.  A dealer shall be allowed at least thirty days to correct an error in the daily report discovered by the police department of that county, commencing upon the receipt of notice of the error from the police department.

     (e)  If a dealer experiences a computer malfunction relating to the daily electronic reporting requirements of this section, the dealer shall be allowed a period of at least fifteen days to repair the malfunction.  During this period, the dealer shall not be deemed in violation of this section if the dealer has notified the police department of that county of the malfunction and is making a bona fide effort to repair the malfunction.

     (f)  A dealer shall not be responsible for a delay in submitting daily electronic reports under this section resulting from a malfunction of the reporting database.

     (g)  During the period needed to address a reporting error under subsection (d), a computer malfunction under subsection (e), or a database malfunction under subsection (f), the dealer and the chief of police for that county shall arrange a mutually acceptable alternative method by which the dealer shall provide the reportable data to the chief of police of that county.

     (h)  Regardless of the cause of any technical problem preventing a dealer from uploading daily electronic reports under this section, upon correction of the problem, the dealer shall upload every reportable transaction from every business day beginning on the day of the first occurrence of the problem.

     (i)  An administrative fee of $1.50 shall be charged to the dealer for each pawn transaction reported electronically under this section to offset the administrative costs of the electronic reporting system; provided that for pawn transactions of less than $20 the dealer may, in lieu of electronic reporting under this section, manually record the transaction and deliver the paper tickets for the transaction twice a week to the chief of police of that county.

     (j)  If the dealer is unable to afford a computer and the software deemed necessary by the chief of police of that county to submit daily electronic reports under this section, the dealer may manually record pawn transactions and deliver the paper tickets for these transactions twice a week to the chief of police of that county; provided that such dealer shall be charged an administrative fee of $1.50 for every pawn transaction of at least $20 to offset the administrative costs of the electronic reporting system.

     (k)  As used in this section, unless the context requires otherwise, "dealer" means a dealer, or the agent, employee, or representative of the dealer operating as a pawnbroker or secondhand dealer."

     SECTION 3.  Implementation of the electronic reporting system established by this Act shall begin immediately following the date on which a pawn transaction electronic database developed for use by the police department of each county is initially capable of receiving pawnshop and secondhand dealer transaction reports.  The actual completion date for the total conversion to the electronic reporting system required by this Act shall be determined by the chief of police of each county.  Prior to the completion of implementation under this Act, the chief of police of each county, in collaboration with pawn brokers and secondhand dealers in the respective county, shall:

     (1)  Investigate and determine software options;

     (2)  Develop reporting requirements that are not unduly burdensome;

     (3)  Establish minimum reporting requirements deemed necessary by the county police departments to effectively track business transactions;

     (4)  Determine the current ability of the county police departments to implement and enforce the reporting requirements of this Act and whether any additional funding is necessary; and

     (5)  Prepare a schedule for implementation of the electronic reporting system that is appropriate for each county.

     SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that section 2 shall take effect on January 1, 2010.