[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council
of the Township of Mount Holly 6-1-1981 by Ord. No. 1981-7.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Township Council hereby finds that there
is a need to regulate and control the buying and selling of gold,
silver and precious or semiprecious gems in order to prevent the easy
disposal of items which have been unlawfully obtained as the result
of crime, while protecting and recognizing the legitimate businesses
which are engaged in the buying and selling of gold, silver and precious
or semiprecious gems.
The following definitions shall apply to terms
used within this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise:
Any person, partnership or corporation who, through any means,
buys gold, silver, precious or semiprecious metals or gems.
Any person, partnership or corporation who, through any means,
buys or sells gold, silver, precious or semiprecious metals or gems
and includes anyone advertising the purchase or sale of any of the
aforementioned items.
Any article or product with gold content, without regard
to the fineness thereof.
Any person under the age of 18 years.
Includes but is not limited to those categories known as
"diamonds," "rubies," "pearls" and "sapphires" and is commonly called
a "jewel."
Includes any exchange of gold, silver or any precious or
semiprecious gem for anything of value. A payment need not be made
by way of money in order to constitute a "purchase" for the purposes
of this chapter.
The purchase of any used item containing gold or silver or
any precious or semiprecious gem for subsequent resale purposes and
not for personal use.
Any person, partnership or corporation who, through any means,
sells gold, silver, precious or semiprecious metals or gems.
Any article or product with a silver content, without regard
to the fineness thereof.
Any item containing gold or silver previously sold or transferred
to a consumer for the personal use or enjoyment of such consumer.
No person shall engage in a regulated activity
as defined above without having first obtained a license therefor
from the Township Clerk, which license shall bear a number issued
by the Township Clerk and shall be prominently displayed within the
licensed premises. The requirement of a license shall apply to the
business entity and to any individual employee who engages in a regulated
activity on behalf of a business entity.
[Amended 12-22-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-29; 6-13-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-06]
At the time of filing the application for a
license, a license fee of $75 shall be paid for the initial license
for the premises where the activity is to be conducted, together with
a fee of $25 for each employee who is to be licensed. Thereafter,
the annual renewal fee for the license and for each employee who is
to be licensed shall be $55.
Each license shall expire on December 31 of
the year in which it is issued.
An application for license shall be in writing
on forms established by the Township Clerk and shall state the full
name and place of residence of the applicant or, if the applicant
is a partnership, of each member thereof or, if a corporation or association,
of each officer and stockholder thereof, together with the place or
places where the business is to be conducted. For any corporation
whose stock is publicly traded, the requirement for the information
on each officer and stockholder may be satisfied by attaching to the
application a copy of the most recent annual report of the corporation
listing the officers and directors of the corporation along with a
certification as to the total number of stockholders and the name
and address of any stockholder holding more than 10% of the outstanding
stock. The application shall include the fingerprints of each individual
applicant or licensed employee, each member of a partnership or each
stockholder holding more than 10% of the outstanding stock in a corporate
applicant.
Upon receipt of an application completed pursuant
to this chapter, the Clerk shall refer the application to the Chief
of Police who shall institute such investigation of the applicant's
moral character and business responsibility as he deems necessary
for the protection of the public welfare. Upon completion of the investigation,
which in no case shall take more than 30 days, the Chief of Police
shall return the application or a copy thereof to the Clerk, accompanied
by his recommendation as to whether the license should be issued or
denied. If the recommendation of the Chief of Police is to deny the
license, the grounds for the recommendation shall be stated. Grounds
for recommending denial of a license may include information indicating
that the applicant is not of good moral character or is of questionable
business responsibility, and a recommendation of denial shall be given
if the applicant has been convicted of a crime of the first or second
degree or of any crime involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.
Upon receipt of the recommendation of the Chief of Police, the Clerk
shall issue or deny the license accordingly. Any person aggrieved
by such denial may appeal to the Township Manager, who may confirm
or reverse the denial as deemed advisable.
Any license may be revoked for any violation
of this chapter, in addition to any other penalty imposed for any
violation. Upon any violation, the Township Manager may suspend a
license upon written notice to the license holder. Upon receipt of
the notice of suspension, the license holder may, within 10 days,
request a hearing on the suspension before the Township Manager. The
hearing shall be held within 30 days of the request, at which hearing
the license holder shall have the opportunity to be heard. At the
conclusion of the hearing, the Township Manager shall either revoke
the license or shall reinstate the license. In the event that the
license holder shall not request a hearing, the license shall be automatically
revoked upon the expiration of 10 days after the notice of suspension
has been given to the license holder.
[Amended 4-28-1986 by Ord. No. 1986-14[1]]
Each person licensed as a dealer shall maintain
on file with the Township Clerk a current list of all addresses at
which he regularly conducts a regulated activity. Any purchases of
used items containing gold or silver or precious or semiprecious gems
made from any unlisted source shall be reported to the Police Chief
within five days of the transaction.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance repealed former
Section 5-7.10 (original Section 10, Doing business at place not covered
by license), which immediately followed this section.
Every licensee shall issue to the seller and
keep for his records, for not less than one year, a serialized receipt
for each purchase of gold, silver or a precious or semiprecious gem
containing the following:
A.
The name and address of the buyer.
B.
The date of the transaction.
C.
The names of the precious metals purchased.
D.
The fineness of the precious metals purchased.
E.
The weights of the precious metals purchased.
F.
The prices paid for the precious metals at the standard
measures of weight and fineness.
G.
The name, address and signature of the seller.
H.
The driver's license number of the seller.
I.
A photographic record of each item to be sold. Such
photograph must be of sufficient quality to determine the discernible
features of the item to be sold.
All payments for regulated activities shall be made by check. All canceled checks shall be retained with the record of transactions in accordance with § 209-10.
A licensee shall not accept or buy any gold,
silver or precious or semiprecious gem from any person under the age
of 18 years, unless such minor is accompanied by a parent or guardian
and said parent or guardian gives specific written consent to the
transaction and acknowledges the receipt required by the buyer to
be given to the seller.
A.
No dealers shall sell any articles until the same
has been in the possession of the dealer at the licensed locations
for at least 10 days.
B.
This provision shall apply only to used items containing
gold, silver or precious or semiprecious gems and shall not apply
to items purchased from a recognized jewelry supplier with whom the
buyer deals on a regular basis.
[Amended 12-10-1984 by Ord. No. 1984-22; 12-22-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-29; 6-13-2011 by Ord. No.
2011-06]
Any person as defined above who violates any
provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished
by a fine not exceeding $2,000 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding
90 days, or both, within the discretion of the Municipal Judge. A
separate offense shall be deemed committed in each day during or on
which a violation occurs or continues.
