No person shall engage in the business of the purchase of precious
metals and gems and all forms of previously owned jewelry without
first obtaining a license from the Municipal Clerk. Licenses shall
be issued for a period of one year commencing May 1 and ending April
30 of the succeeding year.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, words
and their derivations shall have the meanings ascribed herein. Words
used in the present tense shall include the future, words in the plural
number shall include the singular number and words in the singular
number shall include the plural number. The word "shall" is always
mandatory and not merely directory.
ACCEPTABLE IDENTIFICATION
Acceptable forms of identification include a current valid
New Jersey driver's license or identification card, a current valid
photo driver's license issued by another U.S. state, a valid United
States passport, or other verifiable U.S. government-issued identification.
ARTICLE
Any article of merchandise, including any portion of such
article, whether a distinct part thereof, whether separable or not,
and also including material for manufacture, and as so defined in
N.J.S.A. 51:6-1.
CHIEF OF POLICE
The Chief of Police of the Township of Hamilton or his or
her designee/representative.
DATABASE
A computerized internet-capable database with hardware and
software compliant to that set by the Chief of Police.
DEALER
Any person, partnership, corporation, or other entity, whether
permanent or itinerant, who on one or more occasions (through any
means) buys or sells or otherwise exchanges or trades secondhand gold,
silver, precious metals, gems, or jewelry, and includes anyone advertising
the purchase or sale of any of the aforementioned items.
DESIGNATED VENDOR
A person or entity who is appointed or designated by the
Chief of Police who is authorized to collect and maintain precious
metal transaction information, or other purchase information as defined
herein, for the Township of Hamilton.
GIFT CARD
A restricted monetary equivalent or scrip that is issued
by retailers or banks to be used as an alternative to a nonmonetary
gift.
ITINERANT BUSINESS
Any business conducted intermittently within the Township
of Hamilton or at varying locations.
PERSON
Any individual natural person, partnership, joint venture,
business, society, associate, club, trustee, trust, corporation, or
unincorporated group, or an officer, agent, employee, servant, factor
or any form of personal representative of any thereof, in any capacity,
acting for self or on behalf of another.
PRECIOUS METALS
Comprised of gold, silver, sterling, platinum and/or their
alloys as defined in N.J.S.A. 51:5-1 et seq., N.J.S.A. 51:6-1 et seq.,
and/or N.J.S.A. 51:6A-1 et seq.; gems, gemstones, coins and all forms
of jewelry herein contained.
PUBLIC
Individuals and retail sellers, not to include wholesale
transactions or transactions between other merchants.
PURCHASE
The exchange of money and the exchange, deposit, pledge,
sale, conveyance or trade of any tangible or intangible article.
REPORTABLE TRANSACTION
Every transaction conducted by a dealer in which precious
metals, or other tangible property, are purchased or exchanged from
or with the public.
SECONDHAND GOODS
Any article previously sold, acquired, exchanged, conveyed,
traded, or otherwise formerly owned, including but not limited to
scrap gold, old gold, silver, jewelry, home electronics/audio and
visual equipment, musical instruments, telephones and telephonic equipment,
cell phones, scales, computers, computer hardware and software, typewriters,
word processors, coins, electronic tablets, cameras, scanners, sporting
goods of all kind, antiques, platinum, all other precious metals,
tools of all kind, televisions, DVRs, GPS, camcorders, car stereos,
gift cards, furniture, clothing or other valuable articles.
TRANSIENT BUYER
A dealer who has not been in any retail business continuously
for at least six months at any address in the municipality where the
dealer is required to register or who intends to close out or discontinue
all retail business in the Township of Hamilton within six months.
Or as so defined in N.J.S.A. 51:6A-5 and N.J.A.C. 13:47C-1.1. Vendors
doing business during a community event sponsored/sanctioned by the
Township of Hamilton shall not be considered a transient buyer.
[Amended 4-7-2020 by Ord.
No. 20-015]
A. Upon receipt of an application for a license under this chapter completed pursuant to Chapter
285, Licenses and Permits, of the Code of the Township of Hamilton, the Municipal Clerk shall refer such application to the Division of Police and the Department of Community and Economic Development for review and recommendation as to whether a license should be issued or denied. The review and recommendation shall take no more than 10 days. The Division of Police shall institute such investigation of the applicant's moral character and business responsibility as it deems necessary for the protection of the public welfare. The Department of Community and Economic Development shall cause to be investigated weight and measure devices. Upon completion of the investigation, the Division of Police and the Department of Community and Economic Development shall return the application or a copy thereof to the Municipal Clerk, accompanied by a recommendation as to whether the license should be issued or denied. If the recommendation of the Division of Police and the Department of Community and Economic Development is to deny the license, the grounds for such 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 any crime involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation. Upon receipt of the recommendation of the Division of Police and the Department of Community and Economic Development, the Municipal Clerk shall issue or deny the license accordingly. Any person aggrieved by such denial may appeal to the Township Council, who may confirm or reverse the denial as deemed advisable.
B. A dealer of precious metals, gems, gemstones or secondhand goods
shall, prior to buying, attempting to buy or offering to buy, register
with the Chief of Police, providing the following information on an
application prescribed by the Police Department:
(1) Name and address of the dealer.
(2) Address from which the dealer shall conduct business.
(3) Copy of valid zoning and/or construction permits from the Township
of Hamilton.
(4) Proof that the dealer has obtained computer equipment and software required in §
273-6 of this chapter, for purposes of reporting all transaction data in electronic format to the Hamilton Township Police Department.
All licensees under this chapter shall require of each person
offering an item for sale to produce identification and to sign a
receipt for the item.
Every dealer within the Township of Hamilton shall, upon the
purchase of any precious metals or secondhand goods from the public,
be required to do as follows:
A. Record on a numbered receipt the name, address and telephone number
of the purchaser; the name, address and telephone number of the seller
or sellers; the time and date of the transaction: the net weight in
terms of pounds (Troy), pennyweight (Troy) or kilograms/grams of the
precious metals; fineness in terms of karats for gold, and sterling
or coin for silver, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 51:5-1 et seq., and
N.J.S.A. 51:6-1 et seq. This information is to be documented through
use of an electronic database software system as designated by the
Chief of Police. These records shall be subject to the inspection
of any authorized police officer of the Township of Hamilton.
B. Through the use of applicably required computer equipment, and using the electronic format approved by the Chief of Police, enter all transactions into the electronic database within 48 hours from the date of purchase. The information entered will contain the information in §
273-6A above, plus the following:
(1) A physical description of the seller.
(3) A full description of the item or items purchased, including but
not limited to marks, numbers, dates, sizes, shapes, initials, monograms
and serial numbers.
(4) The price paid for the item.
(5) The form must be signed by the seller.
(6) The form must be legibly initialed by the clerk or the dealer who
made the transaction so as to readily identify that individual.
(7) A color photograph or color image of the seller's presented identification.
(8) A color photograph or color image of the seller.
(9) A color photograph or color image of all items sold. When photographing
or imaging all items must be positioned in a manner that makes them
readily and easily identifiable.
(10)
Items can be grouped together more than five at a time when
photographing or imaging.
C. In the event of a database failure, or dealer's computer equipment
malfunction, all transaction information is required to be submitted
on paper forms approved by the Chief of Police. In the event that
paper forms are used, the dealer is responsible to enter all transaction
information into the database as soon as possible upon the dealer's
equipment being repaired or replaced, or the database coming back
into service. Failure by the dealer to properly maintain computer
equipment in a reasonable fashion, or failure by the dealer to replace
faulty computer equipment, may result in the dealer being cited for
a violation of this chapter and subsequently being subject to the
penalties for doing so.
D. It shall be the requisite duty of every dealer, and of every person
in the dealer's employ, to admit to the premises during business hours
any member of the Hamilton Township Police Department to examine any
database, book, ledger, or any other record on the premises relating
to the purchase of precious metals from the public, as well as the
articles purchased or received, and to take possession of any article
known by the police officer or official to be missing or to have been
stolen, or where the police officer or official has probable cause
to believe the article is missing or stolen.
This chapter shall not apply to purchases made by jewelers or
other dealers from wholesalers or other suppliers, but shall only
apply to those purchases made from the public or other retail purchases.
No dealer within the Township of Hamilton shall purchase any
precious metals from any person under the age of 18 years.
Each licensee under this chapter shall deliver a bond to the
Municipal Clerk, executed by the applicant as principal, with a surety
company authorized to do business under the laws of the state as surety.
The bond, to be approved by the Township Attorney, shall be in the
penal sum of $10,000, conditioned for the due and proper observance
of and compliance with the provisions and requirements of all ordinances
of the Township in force or which may be adopted respecting the conduct
of this business, and conditioned also that the bond shall be and
remain for the benefit of any person who shall have received judgment
against any person licensed under this chapter by reason of any damage
sustained by any such person as a result of having made a sale to
such licensee, due to dishonesty, fraud or deceit practiced in effecting
purchase.
The fee for initial application for a license under this chapter shall be as set forth in Chapter
215, Fees, of the Township Code. Each annual renewal fee shall be as set forth in Chapter
215, Fees, of the Township Code. If on the effective date of this chapter a person has been in business pursuant to §
273-1 for a period not less than five years, the fee for initial application shall be as set forth in Chapter
215, Fees, of the Township Code, and investigation pursuant to §
273-4 may be waived by the Municipal Clerk.
Violation of any provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction
thereof, be punished by a minimum fine of $100 or a maximum fine of
$2,000 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days or by a
period of community service not exceeding 90 days and a ten-day suspension
of its license. Each and every violation shall be considered a separate
violation. Every day that a violation continues shall be a separate
violation. Each violation shall result in an additional ten-day suspension.
Any person who is convicted of violating the provisions of this chapter
within one year of the date of a previous violation and who was fined
for the previous violation may be sentenced by the Court to an additional
fine as a repeat offender. The additional fine imposed as a repeat
offender shall not be less than the minimum or exceed the maximum
fine provided herein, and same shall be calculated separately from
the fine imposed for the violation of this chapter.