It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 5-58 of the General Laws entitled "Auctioneers" is hereby amended by adding the following section thereto:

{ADD 5-58-11. Escrow accounts. -- ADD} {ADD (a) Each licensee shall keep in one (1) or more interest or noninterest bearing escrow accounts all funds belonging to others that come into his or her possession nd are held by the licensee for more than twenty-four (24) hours after the funds become available for use by the licensee. The licensee shall clearly identify any account containing such funds as an escrow account. Such escrow accounts shall contain all auction proceeds not yet disbursed and all other funds belonging to others.

(b) The licensee shall not use any escrow account for the deposit of any personal funds or other business funds and shall keep a detailed record of the amount of funds, the co-signor of the funds and any interest accrued in each escrow account. Any interest earned shall be held for the co-signor. ADD}

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.