[Ord. 561, 11/14/2012]
As used in this part, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated in this section:
BUSINESS DAY
A day on which business is done.
DEALER
A pawnbroker, precious metals dealer, antique dealer, secondhand dealer and/or jeweler.
GOVERNMENT IDENTIFICATION
A valid identification document issued by a state or federal government, bearing a photograph, that gives identifying data, such as name, date of birth, gender, physical description and current address, of the person bearing the card.
ITEM
Personal property, precious metal, antique and/or secondhand/or used good.
MINOR
Any person under the age of 18.
PAWNBROKER
An individual, partnership, association, corporation or other business entity, including an itinerant merchant, doing business in the Township of Lower Southampton that lends money in exchange for personal property deposited by a pledger as security that can be sold if the loan is not repaid within a specified period and/or that engages in purchase and resale of any merchandise from a pledger or seller.
PLEDGE
An article and/or articles deposited with a pawnbroker as security for a loan or currency in the course of his/her business as defined in the preceding definition.
PLEDGER
The person who obtains the loan from a pawnbroker and delivers a pledge into the possession of a pawnbroker; unless such person discloses that he/she is or was acting for another, in which case a "pledger" means the disclosed principal.
PRECIOUS METAL DEALER
An individual, partnership, association, corporation or other business entity, including an itinerant merchant, doing business in the Township of Lower Southampton that purchases or makes appraisals of precious metals and their alloys for resale to refiners, brokers or the public.
PRECIOUS METAL
An item containing or being of 10 karat gold or greater fineness, silver, platinum, coins and bullion.
SECONDHAND DEALER or ANTIQUE DEALER
An individual, partnership, association, corporation or other business entity, including an itinerant merchant, doing business in the Township of Lower Southampton that purchases or makes appraisals of secondhand/or used goods for resale or refining, or an individual who acts as an agent for such individual, partnership, association, corporation or other business organization or entity.
SECONDHAND OR USED GOOD
Goods that are being purchased by or otherwise transferred to a second dealer or later end user, including but not limited to precious metals and electronic devices and electronic device accessories.
SELLER
The person who obtains payment from a dealer in return for the sale of any merchandise to the dealer.
TRANSACTION
A purchase, sale or loan by any dealer.
[Ord. 561, 11/14/2012]
1. 
License. No person shall act as a dealer unless he or she has obtained a license from the Lower Southampton Township Zoning and Code Enforcement Office for each location from which that person seeks to act as a pawnbroker.
2. 
Registration. No person shall act as a dealer unless he or she pays an annual registration license fee for each location from which the applicant intends to operate as set by Township resolution.
3. 
Pawnbroker's license. No license to act as a pawnbroker shall be issued by the Lower Southampton Township Zoning and Code Enforcement Office unless the applicant has been licensed first by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as required by the Act of April 6, 1937, P.L. 200, 63 P.S. § 281, as amended.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See the Pawnbrokers License Act, 63 P.S. § 281-1 et seq.
[Ord. 561, 11/14/2012]
All dealers in precious metals shall maintain records of each transaction in which they purchase precious metals from the public or give a statement of appraisal. These records shall be maintained for a period of two years from the transaction date. Such information will be kept in a bound book and shall include, at least, the following information:
A. 
The name, current address and telephone number of the person making the transaction, as evidenced by a document photograph identification, which will be photocopied and retained, one which must prove the individual is at least 18 years of age.
B. 
The date and time of transaction.
C. 
An accurate description of each, including any make, model and serial number or other identifying marks or symbols, such as engraving, types of gemstones and style of the property.
D. 
The source acquisition.
E. 
The name, current address and telephone number of the purchaser of such property.
F. 
A digital photo of each item.
G. 
Currency amount paid pledger or seller.
[Ord. 561, 11/14/2012]
1. 
All scales or other devices used by dealers to weigh precious metals must be of a type approved for commercial use in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and must be inspected and sealed by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Ride and Measurement Standards' Weight and Measures Division.
2. 
Dealers must notify the Pennsylvania Bureau of Ride and Measurement Standards' Weights and Measures Division whenever a weighing device referred to in Subsection 1 above is moved from one location to another.
[Ord. 561, 11/14/2012]
The dealer shall obtain the following information from the pledger and/or seller for the purposes of establishing identification of each pledger and/or seller:
A. 
A photocopy of verified government-issued identification;
B. 
An accurate physical description of the pledger and/or seller, including race, gender, eye and hair color and identifying marks, if any.
[Ord. 561, 11/14/2012]
Any item identified as stolen by the Lower Southampton Township Police Department shall be retained by the dealer for 30 days from the date of such identification.
[Ord. 561, 11/14/2012]
1. 
Responsibility of Township.
A. 
The Lower Southampton Township Police Department shall enter into an agreement with an online entity which operates an electronic database for law enforcement agencies for the purpose of identifying stolen merchandise and persons suspected of thefts.
B. 
The entity chosen by the Lower Southampton Police Department to administer the electronic inventory tracking system shall ensure that all data remains secure and confidential by providing to each dealer log-in security protocols which meet current industry standards and shall employ state-of-the-art technology to protect the data from all forms of unauthorized access and malicious intrusion.
2. 
Responsibility of dealer.
A. 
Each dealer doing business in the Township of Lower Southampton shall, within 30 days of the adoption of this part, maintain an electric inventory tracking system which is capable of securely and confidentially uploading all transactions via computer to the entity designated by the Lower Southampton Township Police Department.
B. 
Daily upload. No later than the conclusion of each business day, every dealer must upload, in the manner specified by the Police Department, the required tracking information for all transactions during the course of business on that day.
[Ord. 561, 11/14/2012]
1. 
All items shall be kept in unaltered condition, available for inspection by law enforcement officials in the course of their law enforcement duties, for 15 days following a transaction by a dealer or a data upload as specified in § 13-707 above.
2. 
Law enforcement officials shall not require a search warrant to inspect items, unless the inspection is made during hours other than regular business hours. No items may be seized without a search warrant.
3. 
During the holding period, any item subject to the holding period shall be segregated from other inventory to ensure that it is not placed in an area or section where personal property and/or precious metals are offered for sale. Where any item is held off the premises, the dealer shall make the item available for inspection within 24 hours after receiving a request for inspection by law enforcement officials.
4. 
Any law enforcement official who has reason to believe any item was not sold or exchanged by the lawful owner may direct the dealer to hold the item as set forth in § 13-706.
[Ord. 561, 11/14/2012]
Transactions, except game systems and accessories, between dealers and minors are prohibited.
[Ord. 561, 11/14/2012]
1. 
Fines. Any person and/or dealer who violates, fails, neglects or refuses to comply with any provision of this part shall pay a fine not exceeding $1,000 and costs and, in default of payment thereof, shall be subject to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 30 days. Each day that a violation of this part continues shall be considered a separate offense.
2. 
Dealer's license suspension. In addition to the fines specified in Subsection 1 above, a dealer who is convicted of a violation of any provisions of this section shall have his license(s) suspended.
A. 
The dealer's license shall be suspended for 90 days for the first offense.
B. 
The dealer's license shall be suspended for a period of one year upon each succeeding offense.
3. 
Cease operations.
A. 
During any period of license suspension, the dealer shall cease operation at each and every location of the dealer's business located in Lower Southampton Township.
B. 
Cease operations order:
(1) 
The Lower Southampton Township Zoning and Code Enforcement Office shall issue a cease operations order for each business location operated by the dealer who has been convicted of a violation of the provisions of this part.
(2) 
The cease operations order shall identify the prohibited operations and shall state the applicable license has been suspended for the conviction of violation(s) of the part.
(3) 
The cease operations order shall be in force for the full period of any license suspension and shall set forth this period in the order.
(4) 
The Lower Southampton Township Zoning and Code Enforcement Office shall not remove any posted cease operations order until the Lower Southampton Township Zoning and Code Enforcement Office is satisfied that all suspended licenses have been restored.
4. 
License at cease operation location. No person or dealer shall be issued a license for a business location that has been posted with a cease operation order as long as any person under a license suspension or revocation, or any member of that's person's family, or in the case of a corporation, the corporation or any affiliated business, retains a pecuniary interest in the real property at that location.