HB 1541

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to pawnbroking; amending s. 539.001, F.S.;
3	revising a definition to refer to the term "stolen" rather
4	than "misappropriated"; revising the time period that a
5	pawnbroker is required to secure and maintain goods that
6	are the subject of a purchase transaction in certain
7	circumstances; providing that inspections by law
8	enforcement officials must be conducted in a reasonable
9	manner so as not to disrupt the pawnbroker's business
10	operations; limiting construction of the effect of the
11	act; deleting a limitation requiring the conveying
12	customer to be convicted of theft as a condition precedent
13	to the court ordering such customer to repay the
14	pawnbroker certain moneys; prohibiting a county or
15	municipality from requiring a pawnbroker to pay any fee or
16	charge that is not assessed to other retail businesses;
17	revising references to the term "misappropriated," to
18	conform; revising a reference from the term
19	"misappropriation" to the term "theft," to conform;
20	amending s. 539.003, F.S.; limiting the use of records
21	relating to pawnbroker transactions; providing an
22	effective date.
23
24	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
25
26	Section 1.  Paragraphs (c) and (f) of subsection (2),
27	paragraph (c) of subsection (9), paragraphs (b) and (n) of
28	subsection (12), paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (15),
29	paragraphs (a) and (c) of subsection (16), and subsection (20)
30	of section 539.001, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
31	539.001  The Florida Pawnbroking Act.--
32	(2)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:
33	(c)  "Claimant" means a person who claims that his or her
34	property was stolen misappropriated.
35	(f)  "Stolen "Misappropriated" means stolen, embezzled,
36	converted, or otherwise wrongfully appropriated against the will
37	of the rightful owner.
38	(9)  RECORDKEEPING; REPORTING; HOLD PERIOD.--
39	(c)  All goods delivered to a pawnbroker in a pawn or
40	purchase transaction must be securely stored and maintained in
41	an unaltered condition within the jurisdiction of the
42	appropriate law enforcement official for a period of 30 calendar
43	days after the transaction if the pawnbroker is delivering the
44	original transaction forms to the appropriate law enforcement
45	official or, in the case of a purchase transaction, for a period
46	of 15 days if the pawnbroker is electronically transferring the
47	information from the transaction form to the appropriate law
48	enforcement official. Those goods delivered to a pawnbroker in a
49	purchase transaction may not be sold or otherwise disposed of
50	before the expiration of such period. Inspections by law
51	enforcement officials must be conducted in a reasonable manner
52	so as not to disrupt the pawnbroker?s normal business
53	operations. The pawnbroker shall make all pledged and purchased
54	goods and all records relating to such goods available for
55	inspection by the appropriate law enforcement official during
56	normal business hours throughout such period. The pawnbroker
57	must store and maintain pledged goods for the period prescribed
58	in subsection (10) unless the pledged goods are redeemed
59	earlier; provided, however, that within the first 30 days after
60	the original pawn, the pledged goods may be redeemed only by the
61	pledgor or the pledgor's attorney in fact. Nothing in this
62	subsection shall be construed to require the pawnbroker to
63	attach information required to be maintained pursuant to this
64	subsection to the individual items which have transferred to the
65	ownership of the pawnbroker by operation of this subsection and
66	which, subsequent to the appropriate hold period required by
67	this subsection, have been offered for sale by the pawnbroker.
68	(12)  PROHIBITED ACTS.--A pawnbroker, or an employee or
69	agent of a pawnbroker, may not:
70	(b)  Refuse to allow the agency, the appropriate law
71	enforcement official, or the state attorney, or any of their
72	designated representatives having jurisdiction, to inspect
73	completed pawnbroker transaction forms or pledged or purchased
74	goods during the ordinary hours of the pawnbroker's business or
75	other time acceptable to both parties. The appropriate law
76	enforcement official shall disclose to a claimant the name and
77	address of the pawnbroker, the name and address of the conveying
78	customer, and a description of pawned, purchased, or consigned
79	goods that the claimant claims to be stolen misappropriated.
80	(n)  Knowingly accept or receive stolen misappropriated
81	property from a conveying customer in a pawn or purchase
82	transaction.
83	(15)  CLAIMS AGAINST PURCHASED GOODS OR PLEDGED GOODS HELD
84	BY PAWNBROKERS.--
85	(a)  To obtain possession of purchased or pledged goods
86	held by a pawnbroker which a claimant claims to be stolen
87	misappropriated, the claimant must notify the pawnbroker by
88	certified mail, return receipt requested, or in person evidenced
89	by signed receipt, of the claimant's claim to the purchased or
90	pledged goods. The notice must contain a complete and accurate
91	description of the purchased or pledged goods and must be
92	accompanied by a legible copy of the applicable law enforcement
93	agency's report on the theft misappropriation of such property.
94	If the claimant and the pawnbroker do not resolve the matter
95	within 10 days after the pawnbroker's receipt of the notice, the
96	claimant may petition the court to order the return of the
97	property, naming the pawnbroker as a defendant, and must serve
98	the pawnbroker with a copy of the petition. The pawnbroker shall
99	hold the property described in the petition until the right to
100	possession is resolved by the parties or by a court of competent
101	jurisdiction. The court shall waive any filing fee for the
102	petition to recover the property, and the sheriff shall waive
103	the service fees.
104	(b)  If, after notice and a hearing, the court finds that
105	the property was stolen misappropriated and orders the return of
106	the property to the claimant:
107	1.  The claimant may recover from the pawnbroker the cost
108	of the action, including the claimant's reasonable attorney's
109	fees.; and
110	2.  If the conveying customer is convicted of theft, a
111	violation of this section, or dealing in stolen property, The
112	court shall order the conveying customer to repay the pawnbroker
113	the full amount the conveying customer received from the
114	pawnbroker for the property, plus all applicable pawn service
115	charges. As used in this paragraph, the term "convicted of"
116	includes a plea of nolo contendere to the charges or any
117	agreement in which adjudication is withheld.; and
118	3.  The conveying customer shall be responsible to pay all
119	attorney's fees and taxable costs incurred by the pawnbroker in
120	defending a replevin action or any other civil matter wherein it
121	is found that the conveying customer was in violation of this
122	paragraph.
123	(16)  HOLD ORDERS; ISSUANCE; REQUIRED INFORMATION;
124	PROCEDURES.--
125	(a)  When an appropriate law enforcement official has
126	probable cause to believe that property in the possession of a
127	pawnbroker is stolen misappropriated, the official may place a
128	written hold order on the property. The written hold order shall
129	impose a holding period not to exceed 90 days unless extended by
130	court order. The appropriate law enforcement official may
131	rescind, in writing, any hold order. An appropriate law
132	enforcement official may place only one hold order on property.
133	(c)  A hold order must specify:
134	1.  The name and address of the pawnbroker.
135	2.  The name, title, and identification number of the
136	representative of the appropriate law enforcement official or
137	the court placing the hold order.
138	3.  If applicable, the name and address of the appropriate
139	law enforcement official or court to which such representative
140	is attached and the number, if any, assigned to the claim
141	regarding the property.
142	4.  A complete description of the property to be held,
143	including model number and serial number if applicable.
144	5.  The name of the person reporting the property to be
145	stolen misappropriated unless otherwise prohibited by law.
146	6.  The mailing address of the pawnbroker where the
147	property is held.
148	7.  The expiration date of the holding period.
149	(20)  CONFLICTING ORDINANCES.--Any county or municipality
150	may enact ordinances that are in compliance with, but not more
151	restrictive than this section, except that local ordinances may
152	not restrict hours of operations other than between midnight and
153	6 a.m. Any ordinance that conflicts with this subsection is
154	void. Nothing in this section shall affect the authority of a
155	county or municipality to establish land use controls or require
156	a pawnbroker to obtain a local occupational license. A county or
157	municipality may not require a pawnbroker to pay any fee or
158	charge that is not assessed to other retail businesses within
159	its jurisdiction.
160	Section 2.  Section 539.003, Florida Statutes, is amended
161	to read:
162	539.003  Confidentiality.--All records relating to
163	pawnbroker transactions delivered to appropriate law enforcement
164	officials pursuant to s. 539.001 are confidential and exempt
165	from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the
166	State Constitution and may be used only for official law
167	enforcement purposes that are directly related to the recovery
168	of stolen property and may not be used to profile pawnshop
169	customers. This section does not prohibit the disclosure by the
170	appropriate law enforcement officials of the name and address of
171	the pawnbroker, the name and address of the conveying customer,
172	or a description of pawned property to the alleged owner of
173	pawned property.
174	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.