[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Borough of Bellevue 7-26-2016 by Ord. No. 16-03. Amendments noted where applicable.]
No person shall engage in the operation of a pawnshop or secondhand shop without first obtaining a license from the Borough of Bellevue.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
PAWNSHOP or SECONDHAND DEALER
A person who either wholly or partly engages in or operates in the trade or business of buying and selling used goods, including but not limited to precious stones, precious metals, jewelry, tools, electrical devices, fixtures, appliances, automobile accessories, tires, household goods, firearms, coins, trading cards and all other used items that are purchased, salvaged, traded or received from any person.
Every pawnshop operator or dealer or secondhand dealer shall keep a book legibly written in the English language at the time of acquiring articles in the course of business, which book shall contain the following information:
A. 
An accurate description and/or photograph of the article purchased.
B. 
The name and address of the person selling the article or leaving the article for a loan. The identity of the person selling the article shall be verified by the production of a Pennsylvania photo driver's license, Pennsylvania photo identification card or other similar photo identification card.
C. 
The name and address of the person buying the article.
D. 
The type of identification used to identify the individual in Subsection B.
E. 
No pawnshop operator or secondhand dealer shall accept for sale or hold for loan any item from any individual not possessing the type of photo identification as set forth in Subsection B.
F. 
Items purchased must be photographed and stored electronically in a format available for viewing (i.e., JPEG, GIF, PNG, TIF, etc.). The serial number of any item must be photographed and visible within the photograph.
G. 
Items suspected of being stolen or having an obliterated or obscured serial number must be reported immediately to the Bellevue Police Department.
The pawnshop operator, dealer or secondhand dealer shall provide copies of all sales transactions and loan transactions to the Bellevue Police Department Chief of Police. Copies of all sales transactions and loan transactions shall be provided to the Chief of Police or his/her designated officer on a weekly basis.
A. 
The Bellevue Police Department reserves the right to inspect items purchased by a dealer, inspect written and electronic log books and inspect storage areas of the business to inspect items during operational hours to ensure compliance with this chapter and/or recover stolen property.
No dealer under this chapter shall sell or dispose of, in any way, until five days after purchase, any of the following secondhand articles or goods: precious stones, coins, jewelry, watches, gold, silver, platinum or other precious metals or similar articles and firearms. No dealer shall sell or dispose of in any way any other secondhand articles or goods until 15 days after purchase of the same.
A. 
Computers and other electronic storage devices (including cellular phones) must be held for 30 days and may not be altered, deleted or wiped until the thirty-day time period has expired.
B. 
Precious metal dealers in Allegheny County are required to upload transactions to the http://www.papreciousmetals.com website. This includes jewelry stores or those operating as pawnshops, secondhand stores or anyone who makes a business of purchasing precious metals.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Pa Precious Metals licensee requirements are on file in the Borough offices.
C. 
Any dealer who is required to report to Pa Precious Metals shall not be required to report to Bellevue Borough or pay the fee for compliance with this chapter.
No dealer under this chapter shall purchase any article from any person under 18 years of age without a parent or guardian present and who authorizes the purchase by signature and provides photo identification.
If any dealer is convicted of robbery, burglary, larceny, receiving stolen property and any other crime involving the unlawful obtaining of personal property, the license mentioned herein shall be revoked.
The fee for issuance of a license under this chapter shall be $100 due on or before January 1 of each year.
A. 
This chapter shall in no way supersede any state or federal regulations governing these same items.
B. 
Any person, association, partnership or corporation who violates any provision of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction shall be subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or a jail sentence up to three days.
No exemptions exist for this chapter.
This chapter shall become effective five days from the enactment of this chapter.