AB797: Bill Text

LRB-2912/4

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2003 - 2004 LEGISLATURE

2003 Assembly BILL 797

February 2, 2004 - Introduced by Representatives Krusick, Suder, Albers, Berceau, Colon, Friske, Gielow, Gronemus, Gundrum, Hahn, Jeskewitz, Kerkman, Kestell, Kreibich, M. Lehman, Plouff, Sinicki, Staskunas, Steinbrink, Stone, Vrakas and Zepnick, cosponsored by Senators Schultz, Carpenter, Lassa and Plale, by request of City of Greenfield Police Department, Wisconsin Law Enforcement Coalition, Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association and Milwaukee Police Association. Referred to Committee on Criminal Justice.

AB797,1,4 An Act to amend 134.71 (5) (a), 134.71 (5) (c), 134.71 (6), 134.71 (7) (a) 1., 134.71 (8) (c) 1., 134.71 (8) (c) 2., 134.71 (8) (d) 2. and 134.71 (8) (d) 3.; and to create 134.71 (1) (a) 12m. and 134.71 (8) (c) 3. of the statutes; relating to: the regulation of pawnbrokers and secondhand article and jewelry dealers.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Under current law, transactions involving the purchase, receipt, and exchange of certain articles (transactions) by pawnbrokers and by secondhand article dealers and secondhand jewelry dealers (secondhand dealers) are regulated by law. Pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers must have a license issued by the county or by the city, town, or village in which they operate.

Under current law, transactions relating to only certain articles require a pawnbroker or secondhand article dealer to have a license. Those articles include china, computers, electronic equipment, and small electrical appliances. This bill provides that transactions involving prerecorded video tapes or disks, audio tapes or disks, or other optical media also require a pawnbroker or secondhand article dealer to have a license.

Current law requires a pawnbroker or secondhand dealer to provide certain information on an application to obtain a license, including the applicant's name, place of birth, and residence address. This bill requires that the applicant also list all states where the applicant has previously resided.

Under current law, the governing body of a county or a city, town, or village is required to grant a license to an applicant for a pawnbroker's or secondhand dealer's license if the applicant satisfies certain conditions. Among those conditions is that the applicant has not been convicted of a felony within the preceding ten years or a misdemeanor within the preceding five years. Under this bill, the applicant may not obtain a license if the applicant has been convicted of a felony within the preceding 20 years or a misdemeanor within the preceding ten years.

Current law requires secondhand article dealers to keep a written inventory for certain transactions. The secondhand article dealer must record certain information in the inventory including the name and address of each customer and the date, time, and a detailed description of the article that is the subject of the transaction. This bill provides that the inventory must also include the article's serial number and model number, if any.

Under current law, a secondhand article dealer must keep any secondhand article purchased or received by the secondhand article dealer for not less than ten days after purchase or receipt. A secondhand jewelry dealer must keep any secondhand jewelry purchased or received by the secondhand jewelry dealer for not less than 15 days after purchase or receipt. This bill provides that the secondhand article or secondhand jewelry must be kept for 21 days.

This bill also requires every secondhand article dealer to prepare a list on a weekly basis that contains certain information about transactions occurring during the week for which the list was prepared. The secondhand article dealer must make this list available to any law enforcement officer for inspection.

For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB797, s. 1 Section 1. 134.71 (1) (a) 12m. of the statutes is created to read:

AB797,2,3 134.71 (1) (a) 12m. Prerecorded video tapes or disks, prerecorded audio tapes or disks, and other prerecorded optical media.

AB797, s. 2 Section 2. 134.71 (5) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB797,2,6 134.71 (5) (a) The applicant's name, place and date of birth and, residence address, and all states where the applicant has previously resided.

AB797, s. 3 Section 3. 134.71 (5) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB797,3,3 134.71 (5) (c) A statement as to whether the applicant has been convicted within the preceding 10 20 years of a felony or within the preceding 5 10 years of a misdemeanor, statutory violation punishable by forfeiture or county or municipal ordinance violation in which the circumstances of the felony, misdemeanor or other offense substantially relate to the circumstances of the licensed activity and, if so, the nature and date of the offense and the penalty assessed.

AB797, s. 4 Section 4. 134.71 (6) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB797,3,13 134.71 (6) Investigation of license applicant. The law enforcement agency of the county or municipality shall investigate each applicant for a pawnbroker's, secondhand article dealer's or secondhand jewelry dealer's license to determine whether the applicant has been convicted within the preceding 10 20 years of a felony or within the preceding 5 10 years of a misdemeanor, statutory violation punishable by forfeiture or county or municipal ordinance violation described under sub. (5) (c) and, if so, the nature and date of the offense and the penalty assessed. The law enforcement agency shall furnish the information derived from that investigation in writing to the clerk of the municipality or county.

AB797, s. 5 Section 5. 134.71 (7) (a) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB797,3,22 134.71 (7) (a) 1. The applicant, including an individual, a partner, a member of a limited liability company or an officer, director or agent of any corporate applicant, has not been convicted within the preceding 10 20 years of a felony or within the preceding 5 10 years of a misdemeanor, statutory violation punishable by forfeiture or county or municipal ordinance violation in which the circumstances of the felony, misdemeanor or other offense substantially relate to the circumstances of being a pawnbroker, secondhand jewelry dealer, secondhand article dealer or secondhand article dealer mall or flea market owner.

AB797, s. 6 Section 6. 134.71 (8) (c) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB797,4,10 134.71 (8) (c) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., for each transaction of purchase, receipt or exchange of any secondhand article or secondhand jewelry from a customer, a pawnbroker, secondhand article dealer or secondhand jewelry dealer shall require the customer to complete and sign, in ink, the appropriate form provided under sub. (12). No entry on such a form may be erased, mutilated or changed. The pawnbroker, secondhand article dealer or secondhand jewelry dealer shall retain an original and a duplicate of each form for not less than one year after the date of the transaction except as provided in par. (e), and during that period shall make the duplicate available to any law enforcement officer for inspection at any time that the pawnbroker's, secondhand article dealer's, or secondhand jewelry dealer's principal place of business is open to the public or at any other reasonable time.

AB797, s. 7 Section 7. 134.71 (8) (c) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB797,5,3 134.71 (8) (c) 2. For every secondhand article purchased, received or exchanged by a secondhand article dealer from a customer off the secondhand article dealer's premises or consigned to the secondhand article dealer for sale on the secondhand article dealer's premises, the secondhand article dealer shall keep a written inventory. In this inventory the secondhand article dealer shall record the name and address of each customer, the date, time and place of the transaction and a detailed description of the article which is the subject of the transaction , including the article's serial number and model number, if any. The customer shall sign his or her name on a declaration of ownership of the secondhand article identified in the inventory and shall state that he or she owns the secondhand article. The secondhand article dealer shall retain an original and a duplicate of each entry and declaration of ownership relating to the purchase, receipt or exchange of any secondhand article for not less than one year after the date of the transaction except as provided in par. (e), and shall make duplicates of the inventory and declarations of ownership available to any law enforcement officer for inspection at any time that the secondhand article dealer's principal place of business is open to the public or at any other reasonable time.

AB797, s. 8 Section 8. 134.71 (8) (c) 3. of the statutes is created to read:

AB797,5,14 134.71 (8) (c) 3. Every secondhand article dealer shall prepare a list on a weekly basis that contains the name and address of each customer of the secondhand article dealer during the week for which the list was prepared, the date, time, and place of each transaction with each of those customers, and a detailed description of the secondhand article, including the secondhand article's serial number and model number, if any. The secondhand article dealer shall retain the list for not less than one year after the date on which the list was prepared. The secondhand article dealer shall make the list available to any law enforcement officer for inspection at any time that the secondhand article dealer's principal place of business is open to the public or at any other reasonable time.

AB797, s. 9 Section 9. 134.71 (8) (d) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB797,5,19 134.71 (8) (d) 2. Except as provided in subd. 5., any secondhand article purchased or received by a secondhand article dealer shall be kept on the secondhand article dealer's premises or other place for safekeeping for not less than 10 21 days after the date of purchase or receipt.

AB797, s. 10 Section 10. 134.71 (8) (d) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB797,5,24 134.71 (8) (d) 3. Except as provided in subd. 5., any secondhand jewelry purchased or received by a secondhand jewelry dealer shall be kept on the secondhand jewelry dealer's premises or other place for safekeeping for not less than 15 21 days after the date of purchase or receipt.

AB797,5,25 (End)