[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township
of Stowe 2-8-2011 by Ord. No. 944. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Township of Stowe hereby authorizes and approves the establishment
of a registration system for pawnbrokers, dealers in precious metals,
secondhand dealers and antique dealers for the purpose of establishing
a body of uniformly produced records that will allow and enable local
law enforcement authorities to track, monitor and disseminate information
regarding merchandise pawned, bought, sold, exchanged, or loaned by
pawnbrokers, dealers in precious metals, secondhand dealers and antique
dealers.
The fee for obtaining a license to engage in the business as
a pawnbroker, dealer in precious metals, secondhand dealer or antique
dealer shall be $250 per year, due on or before February 28 of the
current year.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any individual, partnership, association, corporation or
business entity who or which purchases precious metals from the general
public for resale or refining or any individual who acts as an agent
for such individual, partnership, association, corporation, or other
business organization or entity. Excluded from this definition are
financial institutions licensed under federal or state banking laws,
the manufacture of jewelry or of other items composed, in whole or
in part, of gold, silver or platinum and the purchaser of precious
metals for his, her, or its use or ownership and not for resale or
refining.
Any individual, partnership, association, corporation, or
other business organization or entity which lends money on the deposit
or pledge of physically delivered personal property or who deals in
the purchase of such property on the condition of selling the property
back again at a stipulated price. The business of pawnbroker does
not include the lending of money on deposit or pledge of title to
property.
Items containing or being gold, silver or platinum but not
limited to, jewelry and silver services, but not excluding coins,
ingots, bullion or photographic film or any article containing less
than 5% of gold, silver or platinum by weight.
Individual, partnership, association, corporation, or other
business organization or entity which is regularly engaged in the
business or purchasing or taking upon consignment precious metals,
secondhand or used goods for resale or refining or an individual who
acts as agent for such individual, partnership, association, corporation,
or other business organization or entity. Included, but not limited
to, secondhand or used goods are tools, electrical devices, appliances,
used automobiles, automobile accessories or tires, household goods,
firearms, and trading cards. If buying or selling a firearm, the individual
or business entity must have a federal firearms license and state
firearms license.
All pawnbrokers, dealers in precious metals, secondhand dealers
or antique dealers shall maintain adequate records of all business
transacted containing such information regarding the purchase to obtain
property, precious metals, secondhand or used goods, and of each transaction
in which they sell or loan such goods. Such records shall be kept
on standard forms provided by the Stowe Township Police Department
and written in the English language. The records of a pawnbroker shall
be retained for a period of two years after the date of the payment
of any loan, or, in case the loan is not paid, the records of a pawnbroker
shall be retained for a period of two years after the date of the
sale of the goods. Such records shall be available for inspection
by law enforcement authorities of the federal government, the commonwealth,
or its municipalities. These records shall, at a minimum, include
all of the following:
A.
The name, address and telephone number of the individual buying,
selling exchanging, and/or loaning the item;
B.
Proof of the individual's positive identification, such as a
Pennsylvania's driver's license or Pennsylvania non-driver's-license
identification number. In the event that the individual pawning, buying,
selling, exchanging, and/or loaning the item is under the age of 18
years, that individual shall be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
The parent or legal guardian must also provide proof of positive identification,
the same being recorded in the merchant's records;
C.
A complete and accurate description of the goods pawned, purchased,
sold, exchanged or loaned, including serial number where applicable;
D.
The price for which the item was pawned, purchased, sold, exchanged
or loaned.
A legible, accurate and complete copy of these records shall
be delivered to the Stowe Township Police Department made to the attention
of the Police Chief at his office every Tuesday before 4:00 p.m. of
all sales for the previous business week. Upon demand, inventory records
shall be open to the Stowe Township Police Department for its review.
A.
All precious metals must be retained for 15 days before pawnbrokers,
dealers in precious metals, secondhand dealers or antique dealers
can sell or dispose of in any way any precious metals. Each item purchased
by the dealer must be retained in an unaltered condition for the 15
days.
B.
If the law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe the
precious metal has been stolen, he must give written notification
to the dealer in precious metals. Upon receipt of such notice, the
dealer shall retain the precious metal in an unaltered condition for
an additional 15 days unless the law enforcement officer in writing
recalls such notice.
If any pawnbroker, dealer in precious metals, secondhand dealer
or antique dealer is convicted of robbery, burglary, larceny, receiving
stolen property or any other crime involving the unlawful obtaining
of personal property, the Stowe Township Police Department shall immediately
revoke the individual's license. The Stowe Township Police Department
shall first give notice of the license revocation by hand-delivering
or by United States certified mail. The termination shall take effect
30 days after receiving notice, and the individual may appeal the
action to the Stowe Township's Board of Commissioners.
Any individual, partnership, association, corporation or business
entity violating any provision of this chapter shall be fined not
more than $1,000 per occurrence or imprisoned not more than 30 days,
or both. In addition to these penalties, the individual, partnership,
association, corporation or business entity shall be ineligible to
apply for a dealer's license for a period of five years.
