Chapter 399
2011 -- H 5807 SUBSTITUTE A AS
AMENDED
Enacted 07/13/11
A N A C T
RELATING TO
COMMERCIAL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- PURCHASE AND
Introduced By: Representatives JP O`Neill, Nunes, Johnston, Jackson, and Serpa
Date Introduced: March 03, 2011
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Title 6 of the General Laws entitled
"Commercial Law - General
Regulatory Provisions"
is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
53
PURCHASE
AND
6-53-1. License
required "Person" defined. (a) No person, including a
pawnbroker,
consignment shop, salvage yard operator, or second hand dealer as
defined in section 5-21-1,
shall engage in the business of buying or receiving for the
purpose of selling tools or electronic
equipment, whether or not readily identifiable with a serial
number to include, but not limited to,
generators, powers tools, video game consoles, MP3 players,
computers, audio and video
equipment, referred to in this chapter as "tools and
electronics or trade-ins and store credits of the
aforementioned," from the general public for the purpose of
reselling the tools and electronics in
any condition without first obtaining a license from the
attorney general of the State of
Island (attorney general). The attorney general
shall not issue any license to a person who has
not registered a permanent place of business within the state
for the purchase or sale of tools and
electronics. The criteria for determining a person's permanent
place of business shall be
formulated by the attorney general within ninety (90) days after
passage.
(b) The word
"person," when used in this chapter, shall include individuals,
partnerships,
associations, and corporations.
6-53-2.
Application for license Annual fee. Attorney general
to promulgate rules
and regulations. - (a) Application for the license shall be in writing, under oath,
and in the form
prescribed by attorney general and shall contain the name and
the address (both of the residence
and place of business) of the applicant, and if the
applicant is a partnership or association of every
member, and if a corporation, of each officer and director
and of the principal owner or owners of
the issued and outstanding capital stock; also the city
or town with the street and number where
the business is to be conducted, and any further
information that the attorney general may require.
After receipt of an application for a license, the
attorney general shall conduct an investigation to
determine whether the facts presented in the application are
true. The attorney general may also
request a record search and a report from the national crime
and information center (NCIC) of the
federal bureau of investigation. If the application discloses
that the applicant has a disqualifying
criminal record, or if the investigation indicates that any of
the facts presented in the application
are not true, or if the records of the department of the
attorney general indicate criminal activity
on the part of the person signing the application and
any other persons named in the application,
or if the NCIC report indicates an outstanding warrant
for the person signing the application and
any other persons named in the application, then the
attorney general may initiate a nationwide
criminal records check by the federal bureau of investigation
regarding the person signing the
application and any other persons named in the application, in
accordance with any applicable
federal standards regarding a criminal records check. The
applicant at the time of making his or
her initial application only shall pay to the attorney
general the sum of fifty dollars ($50.00) as a
fee for investigating the application and the additional
sum of fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be paid
annually. Licenses shall not be assignable or transferable to
any other person or entity. The
attorney general is authorized to promulgate rules and
regulations not inconsistent with this
chapter to provide for the effective discharge of the
responsibilities granted by this chapter;
provided, however, if the applicant is a holder of a precious
metals and dealers license the fees as
required in this section shall be waived.
6-53-3.
Identification and authority of seller. (a) Every person required to be licensed
under this chapter shall require positive proof of
identification with photograph, date of birth and
current address of every seller from whom tools and
electronics is to be purchased and shall
require the seller to sign a statement on a form to be
approved by the attorney general stating that
the seller is the legal owner of the property or is the
agent of the owner authorized to sell the
property, and when and where or in what manner the property
was obtained.
(b) Every person
required to be licensed under this chapter shall, before purchasing any
tool or electronic device, require the seller, if a minor,
to be accompanied by the parent or legal
guardian of the minor.
6-53-4. Record of
transactions required Reports to police. (a) Every
person
licensed under this chapter shall keep a copy of the report
form obtained from or under the
direction of the attorney general, containing a comprehensive
record of all transactions
concerning tools and electronics. The comprehensive record shall
be hand printed legibly or
typed. The record shall include the name, address,
telephone number and date of birth of the
seller, a complete and accurate description of the property
purchased or sold including any serial
numbers or other identifying marks or symbols, and the date
and hour of the transaction.
(b) All persons
licensed under this chapter shall deliver or send electronically to the chief
of police of the city or town in which the business is
located and to the attorney general copies of
all report forms from the preceding seven (7) day period.
(c) Every person
licensed under this chapter shall retain a copy of the report for a period
of one year from the date of the sale stated on the
form.
6-53-5.
Fourteen day holding period Recovery of stolen property.
Return to
rightful owner. (a) All persons licensed
under this chapter shall retain in their possession in an
unaltered condition for a period of fourteen (14) days all
tools and electronics including items
which do not contain serial numbers or other identifying
marks. The fourteen (14) day holding
period shall commence with the date the report of its
acquisition was delivered to or received
through the mails by the chief of police or the attorney
general, whichever is later. The records so
received by the chief of police or the attorney general shall
be available for inspection only by
law enforcement officers for law enforcement purposes. If
the chief of police has probable cause
to believe that tools and electronics have been stolen,
he or she may give notice, in writing, to the
person licensed, to retain the tools, electronics or article
for an additional period of fifteen (15)
days, and the person shall retain the property for this additional
fifteen (15) day period unless the
notice is recalled, in writing, within the fifteen (15) day
period; within the fifteen (15) day period
the chief of police, or his or her designee, shall
designate, in writing, an officer to secure the
property alleged to be stolen and the persons in possession of
the property shall deliver the
property to the officer upon display of the officer's written
designation by the chief of police or
his or her designee. Upon receipt of the property from
the officer, the clerk or person in charge of
the storage of alleged stolen property for a police
department shall enter into a book a description
of every article of property alleged to be stolen which
was brought to the police department and
shall attach a number to each article. The clerk or person
in charge of the storage of alleged stolen
property shall deliver the property to the owner of the
property upon satisfactory proof of
ownership, without any cost to the owner, provided that the
following steps are followed:
(1) A complete
photographic record of the property is made;
(2) A signed
declaration of ownership under penalty of perjury is obtained from the
person to whom the property is delivered;
(3) The person from
whom the custody of the property was taken is served with written
notice of the claim of ownership and is given ten (10) days
from the mailing of the notice to file a
petition in district court objecting to the delivery of the
property to the person claiming
ownership. If a petition is filed in a timely manner, the
district court shall at a hearing determine
by a preponderance of the evidence whether the property
was stolen and that the person claiming
ownership of the property is the true owner. The decision of
the district court may only be
appealable by writ of certiorari to the supreme court.
(b) The clerk or
person in charge of the storage of alleged stolen property shall not be
liable for damages for any official act performed in good faith
in the course of carrying out the
provisions of this section. The photographic record of the
alleged stolen property shall be allowed
to be introduced as evidence in any court of this state
in place of the actual alleged stolen
property; provided that the clerk in charge of the storage of
the alleged stolen property shall take
photographs of the property, and those photographs shall be
tagged and marked and remain in
his/her possession or control.
6-53-6.
Persons injured by violations of chapter Damages and costs.
Any person
who has been damaged or injured by the failure of a
person required to be licensed under this
chapter to comply with the provisions of this chapter, may
recover the actual damages sustained.
The court in its discretion, may also award punitive
damages and/or the costs of suit and
reasonable attorneys' fees to a prevailing plaintiff.
6-53-7.
Penalties. (a) Every
person who shall violate the provisions of this chapter shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not more
than five hundred dollars ($500) or
imprisoned for not more than one year, or both.
(b) If the value of
the property involved in a transaction which is in violation of this
chapter exceeds five hundred dollars ($500), a person
convicted of a violation shall be fined not
more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) or imprisoned for
not more than three (3) years, or both.
(c) The attorney
general shall have the authority to suspend the license of any person
required to be licensed under this chapter as a result of
violations of this chapter or attorney
general regulations leading to penalties under this chapter.
6-53-8.
Rules and regulations. The attorney general
is authorized to promulgate,
adopt, and enforce any and all rules and regulations deemed
necessary to carry out the duties and
responsibilities of this chapter. Rules and regulations shall be
adopted in accordance with the
Administrative Procedures Act,
chapter 35 of title 42.
6-53-9.
Refusal to issue license. The attorney
general shall refuse to issue a license
when the attorney general has found that the application
for the license contains a false
representation of a material fact, when investigation reveals that
the person applying for the
license has previously been guilty of a violation of this
chapter or has been a partner of a
partnership, member of an association, or an officer or director
of a corporation which has
previously been guilty of a violation of this chapter, or has a
disqualifying criminal record as
defined in section 6-53-13. The attorney general may, in his
or her discretion, issue a license if
the disqualifying criminal record is more than ten (10)
years old.
6-53-10.
Suspension, revocation, and nonrenewal of license. The
attorney general,
upon his or her own motion or upon receipt of a signed
written complaint which alleges violations
of this chapter or of the rules and regulations
promulgated pursuant to this chapter, may, after a
hearing, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew any license
issued pursuant to this chapter.
6-53-11.
Hearings. Hearings conducted pursuant to this
chapter shall be in accordance
with the Administrative Procedures Act, chapter 35 of
title 42.
6-53-12.
Appeals. Appeals from a decision by the
attorney general shall be made to the
sixth division district court in
court shall be to the supreme court in accordance with the
Administrative Procedures Act, chapter
35 of title 42, as amended.
6-53-13. Disqualifying criminal records Employees or agents of
licensee. A
licensee convicted in a court of this state, a court of
another state or in a federal court, of a felony
charge of forgery, embezzlement, obtaining money under false
pretenses, bribery, larceny,
extortion, conspiracy to defraud, receiving stolen goods,
burglary, breaking and entering, or any
similar offense or offenses, or tax evasion associated with
the conduct of business under a license
issued pursuant to this chapter, shall forfeit his or her
license. Prior to the forfeiture of the license,
the licensee may request a hearing on the forfeiture. The
attorney general when so requested shall
hold a hearing. No licensee shall employ or engage any
person as an employee or agent while
engaging in the business of trading in tools and electronics
who has been convicted of any of the
offenses as they are described in this section and which shall
be deemed to be a disqualifying
criminal record.
6-53-14.
Severability. If any provisions of this
chapter or application of this chapter to
any person or circumstances is held invalid, the
invalidity shall not affect other provisions or
applications of this chapter than can be given effect without the
invalid provision or phrase or
application, and to this end the provisions and phrases of this
chapter are severable.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect on
June 15, 2012.
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LC01968/SUB A
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