[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Red Bank by Ord. No. 2000-28 (Sec. 3-16 of the 1987 Revised General Ordinances). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Precious and semiprecious stones, jewels and gems of whatever
nature.
Gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and alloys thereof.
A buyer of precious metals who has not been in any retail
business continuously for at least six months at the address in the
municipality where he is required to register or who intends to close
out or discontinue all retail business in the municipality within
six months.
No person shall engage in the business of purchasing precious
metals or items composed of precious metals, gems and all forms of
previously owned jewelry, either as a primary business or in connection
with another business, without first having obtained a license from
the Borough Clerk.
A.
An application shall be filed with the Borough Clerk which shall
set forth the applicant's age, residence and place of business
and, in cases of corporate applicants, the date and state of incorporation,
the principal office and the registered office of the corporation
and the names and addresses of the corporate officers.
B.
The Borough Clerk shall thereupon refer such application to the Chief
of Police, who shall conduct such investigation of the moral character
of the applicant or the applicant's officers and the business
responsibility of the applicant as he deems necessary for the protection
of the public welfare. Upon completion of the investigation, which
in no event shall take more than 10 days, the Chief of Police shall
forward his written recommendation to the Clerk. If the recommendation
of the Chief of Police is to deny the license, the grounds for such
denial shall be stated.
C.
Grounds for denying a license may include information indicating
that the applicant is not of good moral character or is of questionable
business responsibility. In no event shall a recommendation to grant
a license be made if the applicant has been convicted of any crime
involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.
D.
Upon receipt of the recommendation from the Chief of Police, the
Borough Clerk shall issue or deny the license accordingly.
E.
Any person aggrieved by such denial may appeal to the Borough Council,
which shall hold a public hearing in connection therewith within 30
days from said appeal, and the Council shall thereafter affirm, modify
or reverse the denial.
Any person regulated by this chapter who buys, attempts to buy
or offers to buy precious metals or gems (the buyer) from another
person (the seller), shall first obtain from the seller a copy of
his/her driver's license or voter's registration or similar
identification. Buyer must also obtain from seller the following information:
name, address, sex, date of birth, social security number and physical
description. This information shall be recorded by the buyer on the
precious metals sales form, a copy of which can be obtained from the
Borough Police Department.
The buyer of precious metals or gems shall issue to the seller
and keep for his own records for not less than two years, a serialized
receipt for each purchase of precious metals containing the following
information:
A.
The price being offered or paid by the buyer for precious metals
expressed as price per standard measure of weight and fineness as
prescribed by the New Jersey Superintendent of Weights and Measures.
B.
The weights of the items being purchased;
C.
A description of the items being purchased;
D.
The names of the precious metals or gems purchased;
E.
The fineness of the precious metal purchased;
F.
The name and address of the buyer;
G.
The date of the transaction;
H.
The name, address and signature of the seller of the precious metals;
I.
If the item purchased is a gem or piece of jewelry not bought on
the basis of weight, the price being paid for the item together with
a description of the item.
Persons regulated by this chapter shall maintain for each purchase, for at least two years, a copy of the information obtained pursuant to § 500-4 of this chapter and a copy of the serialized receipt per § 500-5 of this chapter, and shall allow inspection of all records by any law enforcement officer upon demand and without need for advance notice. All records shall be kept at the licensee's place of business.
Within 24 hours of the close of business each day, all persons
regulated under this chapter shall deliver to the Police Department
of the Borough of Red Bank, a copy of the precious metals sales form
for all precious metals and gems purchased by them. Said form shall
contain a description of each item, and identifying numbers, the date
of purchase and the name and address of the seller.
No person regulated by this chapter shall sell, melt down, change
the form of or otherwise dispose of any precious metals or gems purchased
by him until after the expiration of 72 hours from the close of business
on the date of purchase. All such items shall remain on the premises
where the purchase was made for that entire time period. No waiting
period shall be required if the merchandise is purchased from a person
regularly engaged in the business of buying and selling precious metals
and gems and licensed and regulated pursuant to a regulation of another
municipality similar to this chapter and requiring a similar waiting
period of not less than 72 hours.
No person regulated by this chapter shall purchase any precious
metals or gems from anyone under the age of 18 years.
All persons regulated by this chapter shall:
B.
Include his name and address in all advertisements concerning such
precious metals.
C.
Weigh the precious metals in plain view of the seller on state-certified
scales with the certificate of inspection clearly and prominently
displayed.
D.
Test the fineness of precious metals, if any test is so performed,
in plain view of the seller.
A transient buyer of precious metals or gems shall, in addition
to the information required of a buyer of precious metals, provide
the address at which he intends to do business in the Borough and
shall reregister if he changes his location of doing business in the
Borough or if he discontinues doing business for more than 20 days
in the Borough and subsequently wants to resume doing business therein.
Transient buyers shall also submit with their application to the Clerk,
a copy of the surety bond required by the State of New Jersey pursuant
to N.J.A.C. 13:47C-6.1.
The annual license application fee shall be $50, except that
any person not regularly engaged in the business of buying and selling
precious metals or gems in the Borough of Red Bank on the effective
date of this chapter shall pay an initial application fee of $200
for his first year license, which fee shall defray the cost of investigation
and processing of the application.
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall
be liable to a mandatory penalty of not less than $100 nor more than
$1,000, imprisonment up to 90 days, community service, or any combination
thereof. Every day that a violation of this chapter shall continue
shall be deemed a separate violation.