[HISTORY: Adopted by the County Legislature
of the County of Ulster by L.L.
No. 4-1985. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Peddling, soliciting and vending — See Ch. 276.
This Legislature finds that incidents of burglary
and larceny are a continuing problem for the people of Ulster County
and that in many instances the proceeds of these crimes have been
sold to persons who are in the business of purchasing secondhand property.
Further, many of these dealers in secondhand property do not keep
records concerning the identity of the person from whom the property
was purchased and are not able to provide adequate assistance to law
enforcement personnel when property in their possession has been identified
as stolen. Also, it is in the public interest that persons who deal
in the purchase of secondhand property be licensed and be required
to keep certain records concerning the purchase of such property so
as to reduce the incidents of burglary and larceny being committed
within Ulster County.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any person, corporation, partnership, or other entity and
its employees that as a business and at its place(s) of business is
involved in the business of purchasing and selling the following secondhand
items or articles:
Items made of precious metals purchased with
intent to scrap;
Any articles made out of coin or sterling silver,
i.e., flatware, etc.;
Cameras and other optical equipment less than
30 years old;
Electronic business machines and computers;
Working audio, television and similar equipment
less than 15 years old; and
Gold, silver, platinum, iridium, ruthenium, osmium or any
alloys of any one or more of said metals. It does not apply to any
item which has a precious metal weight less than 5% of the total weight
of the object, i.e., gold-filled or silver-plated objects.
An article or object which:
Any shop, store, residence, place or premises including shows
and flea markets operating more than two days per year from which
a dealer in secondhand items or articles conducts his business. This
shall include any dealer in precious metals and coins even if his
residency in Ulster County is less than two days and his activity
is limited to buying only.
The requirements of this chapter shall not apply
to the following:
A.
Charitable organizations;
B.
Events sponsored by charitable organizations which
may include shows, flea markets and bazaars;
C.
Wholesale transactions between businesses and their
representatives, each of which hold a valid state sales tax or tax-exempt
license consistent with form ST-120; and
D.
Any transaction which takes place in the seller's
legal residence, except that the buyer shall make a record of the
date of sale, the place of the sale and the name of the seller.
A.
No person shall engage in any business as a dealer
in secondhand articles without obtaining a license therefor in accordance
with and subject to the provisions of this chapter.
B.
A licensee shall display the license obtained pursuant
to this chapter in the establishment. If a licensee shall maintain
more then one establishment within the County of Ulster, he shall
obtain duplicate licenses.
C.
All licenses under this chapter shall be issued by
the County Clerk of Ulster County. No license shall be issued until:
A.
An application fee of $25 shall accompany each application
for license as a dealer in secondhand articles.
B.
The fee for a dealer in secondhand articles license
or renewal thereof shall be $5.
C.
There shall be no fee for a duplicate license for
a second physical establishment.
D.
The license shall be valid for two years from the
date of issuance.
A.
Each licensee shall keep records legibly written in
English in a bound book. Each entry shall be made in ink at the time
of the transaction and shall be serially numbered and shall include:
(1)
A brief description of the object or thing which has
been purchased, including but not limited to the make, model, color
and serial number when purchased;
(2)
The amount paid for the article;
(3)
The date and time of the transaction;
(4)
The name, home address, date of birth, sex, race and
distinguishing features of the person selling the article; and
(5)
The type of identification produced by the person
selling the article, including, if appropriate, the social security
account number, driver's license number or the type of credit card
and account number.
B.
No alterations or erasures are to be made in said
book. Erroneous entries are to have a single line drawn through them
and the corrected entry made on the next line.
C.
The books and records shall be retained in the possession
of a licensee for at least three years.
All records and books required to be kept pursuant
to this chapter shall at all reasonable times, during regular business
hours, be open for inspection. An inspection must be authorized by
the District Attorney or an Assistant District Attorney of the Ulster
County District Attorney's office and after receiving authorization
may be conducted by the Sheriff of Ulster County or his authorized
agent, the Troop Commander of the New York State Police or his duly
authorized agent, or any police officer whose geographical area of
employment within Ulster County encompasses the physical location
of where the inspection is to be conducted.
A.
No article or item purchased by a dealer in secondhand
articles shall be sold or otherwise disposed of until the expiration
of at least three business days from the date of purchase.
B.
All articles subject to this holding shall be available
for inspection by the District Attorney of Ulster County or his authorized
agent, the Sheriff of Ulster County or his authorized agent, the Troop
Commander of the New York State Police within the County or his authorized
agent, or any police officer whose geographical area of employment
within Ulster County encompasses the physical location of the secondhand
articles establishment.
C.
No article shall be purchased from a person who is
unable to produce proper and authentic identification.
A failure to comply with any provisions of this
chapter shall constitute a violation and shall be punishable by a
fine not exceeding $500 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding
15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. The continuation of
an offense shall constitute a separate and distinct violation hereunder
for each offense.
