[HISTORY: Adopted by the Municipal Council of the Municipality
of Norristown 3-3-2015 by Ord.
No. 15-03.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Junkyards — See Ch. 194.
[1]
Editor's Note: This chapter was originally adopted as
Ch. 236 but was renumbered to fit the alphabetic sequence of the Code.
By establishment of this chapter, the Municipality of Norristown
desires to promote the safety, morals and general welfare of the inhabitants
of the Municipality of Norristown in their person and property by
holding pawnbrokers and dealers in precious metals, antiques and secondhand
goods accountable for the proper reporting procedures deemed necessary
by the Municipality and the Police Department to assist in recovering
the stolen property of its inhabitants.
In interpreting and applying the provisions of this chapter,
minimum requirements for the promotion of the public safety, comfort,
convenience, and general welfare shall be followed. Where the provisions
of this chapter impose greater restrictions than those of any statute,
other ordinance or regulations, the provisions of this chapter shall
be controlling. Where the provisions of any statute, other ordinance
or regulation impose greater restrictions than this chapter, the provisions
of such statute, other ordinance or regulation shall be controlling.
This chapter shall not affect persons and entities selling items
covered by this chapter which have been purchased from dealers, manufacturers
or wholesalers who are normally in the business of manufacturing and/or
selling said items. However, this chapter is applicable to those persons
or entities purchasing the aforesaid items from the general public
for resale or use. This chapter shall not apply to the sale of goods,
wares and merchandise, the proceeds of which are to be applied to
or on behalf of any entity organized for charitable, religious, educational
or philanthropic purposes or a civic service organization or its sponsoring
organization. This chapter shall not apply to persons selling or purchasing
items at garage sales or yard sales. This chapter shall not apply
to a wireless service provider, or agents or retailers whose business
involves the sale and activation of electronic devices on the wireless
network or conducting transactions involving the trade-in of an electronic
device when the trade-in value, if any, is applied as a credit on
the customer's account or in a form of credit or a gift card
that may only be redeemed with the wireless provider or its agent
or retailer.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A pawnbroker, precious metals dealer, antique dealer and/or
secondhand dealer.
A valid identification document issued by a state or federal
government, containing a photograph and identifying data, such as
name, date of birth, gender, physical description and current address
of the person bearing the card; a valid passport; or a valid alien
registration card containing a photograph.
An article that is individually identifiable by a serial
number; or other applied numbers, letters, characters or markings;
or other unique features that serve to distinguish it from any other
similar article and which can be used to establish ownership of the
article.
Manufactured articles or parts that have been discarded and
are useful only as material for reprocessing or recycling.
A motor vehicle used for the pick-up or transportation of
junk/scrap material.
The owner, operator, and all employees of a business licensed
under this chapter.
Any person under the age of 18.
An individual, partnership, association, corporation, or
other business entity, including an itinerant merchant, doing business
in the Municipality of Norristown that lends money in exchange for
personal property deposited by a pledger as security that can be sold
if the loan is not repaid within a specified period, and/or engages
in purchase and resale of any merchandise from a pledger or seller.
An article and/or articles deposited with a pawnbroker as
security for a loan or currency, in the course of his/her business
as defined in the definition of "pawnbroker."
The person who obtains the loan from a pawnbroker and delivers
a pledge into the possession of a pawnbroker, unless such person discloses
that he/she is or was acting for another, in which case a "pledger"
means the disclosed principal.
An item containing or being of ten-carat gold or greater
fineness, silver or platinum, including, but not limited to, jewelry
or silver services.
An individual, partnership, association, corporation or other
business entity, including an itinerant merchant, doing business in
the Municipality of Norristown that purchases or makes appraisals
of precious metals and their alloys for resale to refiners, brokers,
or the public.
An individual, partnership, association, corporation or other
business entity, including an itinerant merchant, doing business in
the Municipality of Norristown that purchases or makes appraisals
of secondhand or used goods for resale or refining, or an individual
who acts as an agent for such individual, partnership, association,
corporation or other business organization entity. However, persons
selling personal property belonging to them or family members on a
temporary basis from their own residential property in the form of
a "garage sale" or "yard sale" shall not be considered to be a secondhand
dealer under this chapter, shall not be required to obtain a secondhand
dealer's license to engage in such activity, and are exempt from
the reporting requirements otherwise required by this chapter.
An individually identifiable article that is being purchased
by or otherwise transferred to a second or later end user.
The person who obtains payment from a dealer in return for
the sale or pawn of any merchandise to the dealer.
A purchase, sale or loan made by any dealer.
A day on which business is done, exclusive of holidays.
A.
License. No person shall act as a dealer unless he or she has obtained
a license from the Municipality of Norristown for each location from
which that person seeks to act as a pawnbroker. Said license shall
be prominently displayed so that it is easily visible to members of
the public.
B.
Registration. No person shall act as a dealer unless he or she pays
an annual registration license fee, to be set from time to time by
resolution of the Municipal Council.
C.
Pawnbroker's license. No license to act as a pawnbroker shall
be issued by the Municipality of Norristown unless the applicant has
been licensed first by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as required
by the Act of April 6, 1937 (P.L. 200, No. 30), 63 P.S. §§ 281-1
— 281-32, as amended.
D.
Dealer in precious metals license. No license to act as a dealer
in precious metals shall be issued by the Municipality of Norristown
unless the applicant obtains a license from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
as required by the Act of February 24, 1984 (P.L. 92, No. 17), 73
P.S. §§ 1931-1942, as amended.
A.
Throughout the term of the license, every pawnbroker or dealer shall
report/upload to the Municipality's current electronic reporting
system the information listed below for each and every transaction
conducted during each day said pawnbroker or dealer is open for business,
no later than the end of that business day. All information shall
be recorded in the English language.
B.
A transaction shall consist of all articles brought into a pawnbroker or dealer for sale, barter, trade, pledge or pawn by an individual (pledger/seller) at the same time and date, and includes the sale of non-junk/scrap articles purchased by a pawnbroker or dealer to another person. Non-junk/scrap articles purchased by a pawnbroker or dealer from another business shall not be considered to be transactions for the purpose of this section, and are exempt from the reporting requirements of this section, and are also exempt from the holding period established under § 227-9 of this chapter. Articles presented to a pawnbroker or dealer by an individual (pledger/seller) for sale, barter, trade, pledge or pawn at different times on the same date by the same person shall be considered as separate transactions, regardless of how short the difference in time is between those transactions. Separate transactions, either from the same person or different persons, shall not be combined and reported collectively.
(1)
Non-junk/scrap articles other than coins and paper money.
(a)
Purchases/receipts by licensees.
[1]
All such articles sold, bartered, traded, pledged or pawned
to a pawnbroker or dealer by an individual (pledger/seller) during
a transaction shall be associated with the person (pledger/seller)
who brought the article(s) in. The licensee shall record/report the
following information for each transaction:
[a]
The name, current address and date of birth of
the pledger/seller.
[b]
A digital photographic or scanned image of a photo
ID card of the pledger/seller, sufficiently clear to allow the information
on the ID to be read. The photo ID must be a currently valid (not
expired) card issued by a government entity and must include the pledger/seller's
first and last name, current address, date of birth, and physical
descriptors.
[c]
The date and time of the transaction.
[2]
Descriptions/photographs of articles.
[a]
Individually identifiable articles:
[i]
Each individually identifiable non-junk/scrap article
presented to a pawnbroker or dealer by an individual (pledger/seller)
for sale, barter, trade, pledge or pawn during a single transaction
shall be itemized separately. Licensees shall not describe such articles
collectively (e.g., "five gold monogrammed rings"), but must provide
a complete and thorough description of each item, to include the following:
[ii]
A digital photograph(s) shall be taken of each
individually identifiable article, sufficiently detailed to allow
reasonable identification of the article. The digital photograph(s)
shall capture any identifying numbers, marks, writing, engraving,
etc., or any other distinguishing characteristics.
[b]
Non-individually-identifiable articles:
[i]
Articles that cannot be distinguished from any
other similar articles may be described in groups of similar types
of articles, but only within the same transaction made by the same
pledger/seller. Licensees shall provide reasonable descriptions of
the number and types of items within each group to enable the Police
Department to determine if they may have been stolen during a particular
crime. Example: An individual pledger/seller brings in a video game
controller, five video game discs, and numerous items of jewelry.
The licensee shall first individually itemize and photograph the video
game controller as outlined in "individually identifiable articles"
above, as it would be a serially numbered item. For the remaining
items, the licensee shall not list them as "miscellaneous video games
and jewelry." Instead, the licensee shall describe them as follows:
"five video game discs, to include the following titles. . ." and
"miscellaneous jewelry, to include two yellow gold necklaces, one
silver necklace, two pairs of silver earrings, one women's yellow
gold ring, one women's white gold diamond ring and two silver
bracelets."
[ii]
A digital photograph(s) shall be taken of each group of similar types of articles within each transaction made by the same pledger/seller. The articles may be photographed together as a group, but each individual article shall be visible in the photograph. For example, given the circumstances outlined in Subsection B(1)(a)[2][b][i] above, the five video game discs would be photographed together as a group side by side (not stacked on top of each other), and the jewelry items would be photographed together as a group with each item laid out so as to be individually viewable (not piled together).
(b)
Sales by licensees.
[1]
In order to facilitate the return of stolen items to their rightful
owners, individually identifiable non-junk/scrap articles sold by
a pawnbroker or dealer to an individual shall be reported to the Municipality's
current electronic reporting system. Licensees shall individually
itemize and describe each identifiable article sold.
[2]
Each individually identifiable non-junk/scrap article sold by
a pawnbroker or dealer shall be associated with the person to whom
it was sold. The licensee shall record/report the following information
for each such transaction:
(2)
Junk/scrap articles.
(a)
Purchases by licensees.
[1]
Junk/scrap articles may be recorded/reported in bulk but must
specify the weight, type (e.g., steel, copper, aluminum, etc.) and
form (e.g. sheet, pipe, wire, etc.) of the bulk material.
[2]
Each different type and form of junk/scrap bulk material brought
into a dealer by an individual for sale during a transaction shall
be associated with the person who brought the material in. Licensees
shall record/report the following information for each such transaction:
[a]
The name, current address and date of birth of
the pledger/seller.
[b]
A photographic or scanned image of a photo ID card
of the pledger/seller, sufficiently clear to allow the information
on the ID to be read. The photo ID must be a currently valid (not
expired) card issued by a government entity of the United States and
must include the pledger/seller's first and last name, current
address, date of birth, and physical descriptors.
[c]
If the pledger/seller is selling on behalf of a
company or business, the name, address, and telephone number of such
company or business shall also be recorded/reported.
[d]
If the junk/scrap is brought by motor vehicle to
a licensee for sale, the make, model, color, and license plate number
of that vehicle shall be recorded/reported.
[e]
The date and time of the transaction.
[f]
A digital photograph or, if the licensee has a
video system, video segment of each individual type and form of bulk
material purchased by the licensee shall be linked to the record of
that transaction.
(3)
Coins and paper money.
(a)
Purchases/receipts by licensees.
[1]
Coins have no distinguishing characteristics that separate them
from other coins of the same mintage; and although paper money is
serial-numbered, those serial numbers are so seldom known by their
last possessor that paper money is effectively indistinguishable from
other paper money of the same denomination. Furthermore, unlike coins
made of precious metals, paper money seldom carries any value significantly
beyond the face value of the bill, and when stolen is usually used
directly as cash and not sold to a currency dealer. Accordingly, coins
or paper money brought in by an individual (pledger/seller) for sale,
barter, trade, pledge or pawn during a single transaction do not need
to be itemized individually but rather may be recorded/reported in
bulk.
[2]
Coins or paper money brought into a pawnbroker or dealer by
an individual (pledger/seller) for sale, barter, trade, pledge or
pawn during a transaction shall be associated with the person (pledger/seller)
who brought the article in. The licensee shall record/report the following
information for each such transaction:
[a]
The name, current address and date of birth of
the pledger/seller.
[b]
A digital photo or scanned image of a current government
identification issued to the pledger/seller.
[c]
The date and time of the transaction.
[d]
The quantities and types of coins or paper money
presented. If coins are all of the same type, they shall be reported
by either quantity or weight, and type (e.g., five Morgan silver dollars,
25 buffalo nickels, five pounds of wheat pennies, etc.). If coins
are from a collection, a description of the theme of the collection
(e.g., Bicentennial coins, state quarters, etc.) along with the number
of coins shall be provided. If coins represent an accumulation of
disparate coins with no overall theme, a generic description of the
type and quantity of coins shall be provided (e.g., approximately
200 U.S. coins of miscellaneous dates and denominations, approximately
100 foreign coins from various countries, etc.). Paper money shall
be reported by quantity and type (e.g., 25 U.S. $5 silver certificates,
etc.). Photos of the coins and paper money shall be required.
C.
In the event the electronic reporting system malfunctions or is otherwise
not operational, the licensee shall, at all times during such malfunction
or nonoperation, be required to keep written records of any and all
transactions made during the period of malfunction or nonoperation,
to include all information required by this section. These written
records shall be reported/uploaded to LeadsOnline, or the Municipality's
current electronic reporting system, as soon as practicable after
the electronic reporting system is functional. No such written records
shall be erased, mutilated or changed. Written records shall be open
and available for review upon request by law enforcement agencies
during regular business hours.
A dealer may seize any item offered in a sale or pledge which
he/she has reason to believe is stolen property. The dealer shall
issue a seizure receipt to the person presenting such property in
pledge or sale. The seizure receipt shall include a photocopy of the
pledger/seller's government identification and an accurate physical
description of the pledger/seller. The dealer shall immediately deliver
such seized property, together with a copy of the seizure receipt,
to the Norristown Police Department.
A.
Responsibility of the municipality of Norristown.
(1)
The Norristown Police Department shall enter into an agreement with
an online entity which operates an electronic database for law enforcement
agencies for the purpose of identifying stolen merchandise and persons
suspected of thefts.
(2)
The entity chosen by the Norristown Police Department to administer
the electronic inventory tracking system shall ensure that all data
remain secure and confidential by providing to each dealer login security
protocols which meet current industry standards and shall employ state-of-the-art
technology to protect the data from all forms of unauthorized access
and malicious intrusion.
B.
Responsibility of dealer.
(1)
Each dealer doing business in the Municipality of Norristown shall,
within 30 days of the adoption of this chapter, maintain an electronic
inventory tracking system which is capable of securely and confidentially
uploading all transactions via computer to the entity designated by
the Norristown Police Department.
A.
All items shall be kept in unaltered condition, available for inspection by law enforcement officials in the course of their law enforcement duties, for 10 working days following a transaction by a dealer or a data upload as specified in § 227-6 above.
B.
Law enforcement officials shall not require a search warrant to inspect
the item, unless the inspection is made during hours other than regular
business hours.
C.
During the holding period, any item subject to the holding period
shall be segregated from other inventory to ensure that it is not
placed in an area or section where personal property and/or precious
metals are offered for sale. Where any item is held off the premises,
the dealer shall make the item available for inspection within 24
hours after receiving a request for inspection by law enforcement
officials.
D.
Any law enforcement official who has reason to believe any item was
not sold or exchanged by the lawful owner may direct the dealer to
hold the item for a reasonable length of time that the law enforcement
official considers necessary to identify it.
All business transactions between dealers and minors are prohibited.
A.
Fines. Any person and/or dealer who violates, fails, neglects or
refuses to comply with any provision of this chapter shall pay a fine
not exceeding $1,000 and costs and, in default of payment thereof,
shall be subject to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 30 days.
Each day that a violation of this chapter continues shall be considered
a separate offense.
B.
Dealer's license suspension. In addition to the fines specified in Subsection A above, a dealer who violates any provisions of this chapter shall have his license(s) suspended.
C.
Suspension of pawnbroker's license.
(1)
If a pawnbroker's license is suspended, the Municipality of
Norristown shall provide written notice of the suspension to the Secretary
of Banking for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Secretary of
Banking shall then conduct a hearing to ascertain if the pawnbroker's
license shall be revoked.
(2)
If the Secretary of Banking for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
revokes the pawnbroker's license, the pawnbroker shall be prohibited
from obtaining an operating license within the Municipality of Norristown
for a period of five years following revocation by the commonwealth.
(3)
No operating license shall be issued when any pawnbroker's license
has been revoked by the Secretary of Banking for the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, where the pawnbroker retains a property interest
in the location where the operating license was suspended or the pawnbroker
retains a pecuniary interest in the corporation or any affiliated
business entities therein.
D.
Cease operations.
(1)
During any period of license suspension, the dealer shall cease operation
at each and every location of the dealer's business.
(2)
Cease operations order.
(a)
The Municipality of Norristown shall issue a cease operations
order for each business location operated by the dealer whose license(s)
has/have been suspended in accordance with the Municipality of Norristown
Code of Ordinances.
(b)
The cease operations order shall identify the prohibited operations
and shall state that the applicable license has been suspended for
violation(s) of this chapter.
(c)
No posted cease operations order shall be removed until the
Norristown Police Department is satisfied that all suspended licenses
have been restored, or the property interest in the location has changed
so that neither the person or dealer under license suspension, nor
any members of his immediate family, or in the case of a corporation,
the corporation or any affiliated business entities, retains a pecuniary
interest therein.
E.
License at cease operations location.
(1)
No person or dealer shall be issued a license for a business location
that has been posted with a cease operatiors order, as long as any
person under a license suspension or revocation, or any member of
that person's immediate family, or in the case of a corporation,
the corporation or any affiliated business entities, retains a pecuniary
interest in the property.
