City of Smithville, MO Pawn Shops

Any person engaged in the business of lending money on the security of pledged goods or engaged in the business of purchasing tangible personal property on condition that it may be redeemed or repurchased by the seller for a fixed price within a fixed period of time.

PAWNSHOP

The location at which or premises on which a pawnbroker regularly conducts business.

PERSON

An individual, partnership, corporation, joint venture, trust, association, or other legal entity, however organized.

PLEDGED GOODS

Tangible personal property other than choses in action, securities or printed evidences of indebtedness, which property is deposited with or otherwise actually delivered into the possession of a pawnbroker in the course of his/her business in connection with a pawn transaction.

SECURED PERSONAL CREDIT LOAN

Every loan of money made in this State, the payment of which is secured by a security interest in tangible personal property which is physically delivered in the hands of the lender at the time of the making of the loan and which is to be retained by the lender while the loan is a subsisting obligation.

Section 675.020 License Required.

[R.O. 1991 § 675.020; Ord. No. 1822-98 § 2, 11-17-1998]

It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or maintain a pawnshop within the City until the owner of such business has applied to the office of the City Administrator, or designated representative, for a license to operate such business and such license has been duly approved by the Board of Aldermen of the City, or to operate such establishment after such license has been suspended or revoked by the City, or has expired, as set forth in this Chapter.

[Ord. No. 2935-15, 10-20-2015]

Every license granted under this Chapter shall identify the specific location in which the pawnshop will be open for business, and each location shall have a separate license.

The annual fee for a license granted under this Chapter shall be two hundred dollars ($200.00).

No license issued hereunder is transferable among persons; however, a license holder may, upon payment of a one hundred dollar ($100.00) processing fee, obtain a license for a new location upon closure of the location for which the person currently holds a license.

Every license granted hereunder shall be valid for one (1) year from the date on which it is issued.

Every pawnshop within the City of Smithville shall post its license in a prominent place easily accessible for inspection by the public.

Section 675.030 Application Requirements.

[R.O. 1991 § 675.030; Ord. No. 1822-98 § 3, 11-17-1998]

To be eligible to operate a pawnshop in the City, each applicant shall file the following documents with the City Administrator, or designated representative:

[Ord. No. 2935-15, 10-20-2015]

An application containing the information set forth in Section 675.040 of this Chapter. The application shall be available at the office of the City Administrator, or designated representative.

Satisfactory evidence that the applicant has net assets of at least fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) readily available for use in conducting business as a pawnshop. In case the applicant seeks licenses for more than one (1) pawnshop, then the documents must evidence such net assets for each pawnshop sought to be licensed.

An affidavit stating that the applicant has not been convicted of any Federal, State or municipal offense involving murder, rape, arson, controlled substances, robbery, burglary, stealing, extortion, fraud, forgery, gambling, bribery, perjury, weapons offense, or any crime of violence within the last five (5) years. If the applicant is not an individual, then the affidavit must state that no officer, director, shareholder, member, partner, trustee or other principle of the applicant has been convicted of any offense identified above.

A non-refundable investigation fee, in such amount as is required by State law to be paid by applicants.

Satisfactory proof of commercial general liability insurance, in an aggregate amount of not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) for bodily injury or property damage arising out of a single occurrence.

An annual license fee of two hundred dollars ($200.00), refundable to the applicant if the application is denied.

A bond in such amount and under such terms as are required under the provisions of Sections 367.011 to 367.060, RSMo., as those Sections may be amended or transferred.

A copy of the form of pledgee's ticket to be used by the applicant.

Section 675.040 Application — Form And Contents.

[R.O. 1991 § 675.040; Ord. No. 1822-98 § 4, 11-17-1998]

An application shall state the following information:

The full name and place of residence and business address of the applicant, or if the applicant is not an individual, of every partner, member, officer, shareholder, director, trustee and other principal of the applicant.

The place where the business is to be conducted.

Whether the applicant, or any person who is a partner, member, officer, shareholder, director, trustee or other principal of the applicant, owns any other pawnshop, and if so, the location of each such other pawnshop.

Bank references, including an authorization for each such bank or other financial institution to release to the City copies of the applicant's two (2) most recent account statements.

Section 675.050 Application — Approval.

[R.O. 1991 § 675.050; Ord. No. 1822-98 § 5, 11-17-1998; Ord. No. 2935-15, 10-20-2015]

After confirming that the application facially complies with the requirements of Section 675.040, the City Administrator, or designated representative, shall forward the application to the Board of Aldermen. At or before the third regular Board of Aldermen meeting following the date of the application, the Board of Aldermen shall consider and act upon the application. If, prior to the third regularly scheduled meeting following the date of the application, the Board of Aldermen shall be unable to verify that the applicant meets the net assets requirement for a licensed pawnshop, the Board may require a finding, including the presentation of a current balance sheet, by an independent certified public accountant. The cost of such finding shall be borne by the applicant, and the Board of Aldermen shall then consider and act upon the application at or before the third regular Board meeting following the date of the finding.

Section 675.060 Receipt For Pledged Property; Reporting — Use Of Database; Loss Of Pawn Ticket.

At the time of making any secured personal credit loan, the lender shall execute and deliver to the borrower a receipt for and describing the tangible personal property subjected to the security interest to secure the payment of the loan. The receipt shall contain the following:

The name and address of the pawnshop;

The name and address of the pledgor, the pledgor's description, and the driver's license number, military identification number, identification certificate number, or other official number capable of identifying the pledgor;

The date of the transaction;

An identification and description of the pledged goods, including serial numbers if reasonably available;

The amount of cash advanced or credit extended to the pledgor;

The amount of the pawn service charge;

The total amount which must be paid to redeem the pledged goods on the maturity date;

The maturity date of the pawn transaction; and

A statement to the effect that the pledgor is not obligated to redeem the pledged goods, and that the pledged goods may be forfeited to the pawnbroker sixty (60) days after the specified maturity date.

The pawnbroker may be required, in accordance with local ordinances, to furnish appropriate law enforcement authorities with copies of information contained in Subsection (A)(1) to (4) of this Section and information contained in Subdivision (6) of Subsection 4 of Section 367.040, RSMo. The pawnbroker may satisfy such requirements by transmitting such information electronically to a database in accordance with this Section, except that paper copies shall be made available for an on-site inspection upon request of any appropriate law enforcement authority.

As used in this Section, the following terms mean:

DATABASE

A computer database established and maintained by a third party engaged in the business of establishing and maintaining one (1) or more databases.

PERMITTED USER

Persons authorized by law enforcement personnel to access the database.

REPORTABLE DATA

The information required to be recorded by pawnbrokers for pawn transactions pursuant to Subsection (A)(1) to (4) of this Section and the information required to be recorded by pawnbrokers for purchase transactions pursuant to Subdivision (6) of Subsection 4 of Section 367.040, RSMo.

REPORTING PAWNBROKER

A pawnbroker who chooses to transmit reportable data electronically to the database.

The accessing of a single database record.

The database shall provide appropriate law enforcement officials with the information contained in Subsection (A)(1) to (4) of this Section and other useful information to facilitate the investigation of alleged property crimes while protecting the privacy rights of pawnbrokers and pawnshop customers with regard to their transactions.

The database shall contain the pawn and purchase transaction information recorded by reporting pawnbrokers pursuant to this Section and Section 367.040, RSMo., and shall be updated as requested. The database shall also contain such security features and protections as may be necessary to ensure that the reportable data maintained in the database can only be accessed by permitted users in accordance with the provisions of this Section.

The third party's charge for the database shall be based on the number of permitted users. Law enforcement agencies shall be charged directly for access to the database, and the charge shall be reasonable in relation to the costs of the third party in establishing and maintaining the database. No reporting pawnbroker or customer of a reporting pawnbroker shall be charged any costs for the creation or utilization of the database.

Information Availability.

The information in the database shall only be accessible through the internet to permitted users who have provided a secure identification or access code to the database but shall allow such permitted users to access database information from any jurisdiction transmitting such information to that database. Such permitted users shall provide the database with an identifier number of a criminal action for which the identity of the pawn or purchase transaction customer is needed and a representation that the information is connected to an inquiry or to the investigation of a complaint or alleged crime involving goods delivered by that customer in that transaction. The database shall record, for each search, the identity of the permitted user, the pawn or purchase transaction involved in the search, and the identity of any customer accessed through the search. Each search record shall be made available to other permitted users regardless of their jurisdiction. The database shall enable reporting pawnbrokers to transmit to the database through the internet reportable data for each pawn and purchase transaction.

Any person who gains access to information in the database through fraud or false pretenses shall be guilty of a felony.

Any pawnbroker licensed under Section 367.043, RSMo., shall meet the following requirements:

Provide all reportable data to appropriate users by transmitting it through the internet to the database;

Transmit all reportable data for one (1) business day to the database prior to the end of the following business day;

Make available for on-site inspection to any appropriate law enforcement official, upon request, paper copies of any pawn or purchase transaction documents.

If a reporting pawnbroker or permitted user discovers any error in the reportable data, notice of such error shall be given to the database, which shall have a period of thirty (30) days in which to correct the error. Any reporting pawnbroker experiencing a computer malfunction preventing the transmission of reportable data or receipt of search requests shall be allowed a period of at least thirty (30) but no more than sixty (60) days to repair such malfunction, and during such period such pawnbroker shall not be deemed to be in violation of this Section if good faith efforts are made to correct the malfunction. During the periods specified in this Subsection, the reporting pawnbroker and permitted user shall arrange an alternative method or methods by which the reportable data shall be made available.

No reporting pawnbroker shall be obligated to incur any cost, other than internet service costs, in preparing, converting, or delivering its reportable data to the database.

If the pawn ticket is lost, destroyed, or stolen, the pledgor may so notify the pawnbroker in writing, and receipt of such notice shall invalidate such pawn ticket, if the pledged goods have not previously been redeemed. Before delivering the pledged goods or issuing a new pawn ticket, the pawnbroker shall require the pledgor to make a written affidavit of the loss, destruction or theft of the ticket. The pawnbroker shall record on the written statement the identifying information required, the date the statement is given, and the number of the pawn ticket lost, destroyed, or stolen. The affidavit shall be signed by a notary public appointed by the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 486.205, RSMo., to perform notarial acts in this State.

Section 675.070 Hours Of Operation.

[R.O. 1991 § 675.070; Ord. No. 1822-98 § 7, 11-17-1998]

No pawnshop shall be open for business between the hours of 9:00 P.M. and 7:00 A.M. No pawnshop shall be open for business on New Year's Day, birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., President's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran's Day, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day.

Section 675.080 Records.

[R.O. 1991 § 675.080; Ord. No. 1822-98 § 8, 11-17-1998]

Every pawnbroker shall keep, consistent with Missouri law and accepted accounting practices, adequate records and books relating to the licensee's pawn transactions. The books and records shall be preserved for a period of at least two (2) years from the date of the last transaction recorded therein, or as required by Missouri law, whichever is longer. The books and records of the pawnshop shall at all times be open to the inspection of the Chief of Police or his/her designee.

Section 675.090 Suspension And Revocation Of License.

[R.O. 1991 § 675.090; Ord. No. 1822-98 § 9, 11-17-1998]

The City Administrator, or designated representative, shall suspend the license of a pawnbroker in each of the following cases:

[Ord. No. 2935-15, 10-20-2015]

Upon conviction of any violation of the requirements of this Chapter or of Chapter 367, RSMo., as it now exists or as it may hereafter be amended, modified or transferred.

Upon conviction in Federal, State or Municipal Court of any information or indictment charging the applicant or any principal or manager of the applicant with any offense identified in Section 675.030(A)(3). Notwithstanding anything set forth below, any suspension imposed pursuant to this Subsection (A)(2) shall be lifted upon dismissal of the charges or acquittal in a court of law.

Except as set forth in Subsection (A)(2) of this Section, any suspension imposed pursuant to Subsection (A) of this Section shall become permanent, and shall become a revocation of the license, unless the suspension is appealed within twenty (20) days, pursuant to Section 675.100 of this Chapter.

Section 675.100 Process For Appeal.

[R.O. 1991 § 675.100; Ord. No. 1822-98 § 10, 11-17-1998]

Any person aggrieved by the denial or suspension of a license shall, within twenty (20) days after notice of the denial or suspension is mailed or delivered to the aggrieved person, serve upon the City Administrator a notice of appeal, setting forth the following information:

The name, business address and daytime phone number of the aggrieved person.

The action complained of.

The date of the action complained of.

The date of the notice of appeal.

The signature of the aggrieved person, or of a person authorized to act on behalf of the aggrieved person.

The notice of appeal shall be served by hand delivery to the City Administrator.

Within thirty (30) days after service, the City Administrator and/or the Board of Aldermen shall determine whether an evidentiary hearing is warranted, and shall notify the aggrieved party, by regular mail, postage prepaid to the address set forth in the notice of appeal, of the City's decision or of the grant of an evidentiary hearing.

If an evidentiary hearing is granted, then notice of the City's decision shall be sent, in the manner set forth above, within thirty (30) days after the date of the evidentiary hearing.

Section 675.110 Severability.

[R.O. 1991 § 675.110; Ord. No. 1822-98 § 11, 11-17-1998]

If any Section, Subsection or clause of this Chapter shall be deemed to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, the validity of the remaining Sections, Subsections and clauses shall not be affected thereby.

Section 675.120 Violations And Penalties.

[R.O. 1991 § 675.120; Ord. No. 1822-98 § 12, 11-17-1998]

It shall be unlawful for any person to violate any of the provisions of this Chapter. Upon conviction thereof, such person shall be punished by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00), or be punished by incarceration for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days, or by both such fine and incarceration. Each day's violation of, or failure, refusal or neglect to comply with any provision of this Section shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.