For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms, phrases,
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 discretionary.
ACCEPTABLE INDENTIFICATION
Acceptable forms of identification include a current valid
photo New Jersey driver's license or New Jersey identification
card, a current valid photo driver's license issued by another
US state, a valid United States passport, or other verifiable valid
United States Government-issued photo identification with address.
All of the above-listed acceptable identifications require the dealer
to capture/record evidence of the person's current address.
ARTICLE
Any article of merchandise, including any portion of such
article, whether a distinct part thereof or not, including every part
thereof whether separable or not, and also including material for
manufacture. This term shall also include the definition of "article"
as the same appears in N.J.S.A. 51:6-1, as that statute may be amended
from time to time.
BUYER
Any person, partnership, corporation, sole proprietorship,
association, or other entity who or which, through any means, buys,
transfers or obtains from consignment articles made or containing
gold, silver, precious or semiprecious metals or gems or jewelry,
other metals, or secondhand goods as defined in this chapter, and
includes anyone advertising the purchase or sale of any of the aforementioned
items.
CHIEF OF POLICE
The Chief of Police of the Township of Mansfield or his designee/representative.
DATABASE
A computerized Internet-capable database with hardware and
software compliant with standards set by the Chief of Police.
DEALER
Any person, partnership, corporation, sole proprietorship,
association, or other entity who or which, through any means, buys,
sells, transfers or obtains from consignment articles made of or containing
gold, silver, precious or semiprecious metals or gems or jewelry,
other metals, or secondhand goods as defined in this chapter and includes
anyone advertising or soliciting 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 Mansfield.
EMPLOYEE
Any person working for a buyer or dealer, whether or not
the person is in the direct employment of the buyer or dealer or works
full time or part time, who handles gold, silver, precious or semiprecious
metals or gems or jewelry, other metals, or secondhand goods for the
buyer or dealer. Employee shall not mean a person employed by a bank,
armored car company or other business entity acting in the sole capacity
of bailee-for-hire relationship with a buyer or dealer.
GEM
Any precious or semiprecious stone or item containing a precious
or semiprecious stone customarily used in jewelry or ornamentation.
GIFT CARD
A restricted monetary equivalent or script that is issued
by retailers or banks to be used as an alternative to a nonmonetary
gift.
GOLD
Any article or product with a gold content, without regard
to the fineness thereof.
ITINERANT BUSINESS
Any business conducted intermittently within the Township
of Mansfield or at varying locations.
MINOR
Any person under the age of 18 years.
OTHER METALS
Any item made of aluminum, copper, magnesium or other ferrous
metals.
PAWN
A bailment of personal property as security for any debt
or engagement redeemable upon certain terms and with the implied power
of sale or default.
PERSON
Any individual, natural person, partnership, joint venture,
business, society, associate, club, trustee, trust, corporation, or
unincorporated group, or any 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 OR SEMIPRECIOUS GEM
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. Not limited to those categories known
as "diamonds, rubies, pearls and sapphires: and commonly called a
"jewel."
PUBLIC
Individuals and retail sellers, not to include wholesale
transactions or transactions between other merchants.
PURCHASE
Includes any exchange of gold, silver, precious or semiprecious
metals or gems or jewelry, other metals, or secondhand goods as defined
in this chapter for anything of value. A purchase or payment need
not be made by way of money in order to constitute purchase for the
purpose of this chapter. For purposes of this chapter a purchase may
include any exchange, deposit, pledge, 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,
scales, computers, computer hardware and software, typewriters, word
processors, scanners, sporting goods of all kinds, antiques, platinum,
all other precious metals, tools of all kinds, televisions, DVRs,
GPS, camcorders, car stereos, gift cards, furniture, clothing, collectibles
(for example, stamps, coins, comic book, sport memorabilia) other
valuable articles or as listed in Appendix I.
SELLER
Any person, partnership or corporation who or which, through
any means, sells, transfers or offers by consignment gold, silver,
precious or semiprecious metals or gems or jewelry or other metals
as defined in this chapter.
SILVER
Any article or product with a silver content, without regard
to the fineness thereof.
TRANSIENT BUYER
A dealer who has not been in any retail business continuously
for at least six months at that 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 Mansfield within
six months. The term "transient buyer" will also include a dealer
who intends to close out or discontinue all retail business in the
Township of Mansfield 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 or sanctioned by the Township of Mansfield shall not
be considered a transient buyer for purposes of this chapter.
USED ITEM CONTAINING GOLD OR SILVER
Any item containing gold or silver previously sold, traded
or transferred to a consumer for the personal use or enjoyment of
such consumer.
No buyer or dealer 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 buyer and/or
dealer and to any individual employee who engages in a regulated activity
on behalf of a buyer or dealer. Hereinafter the term "licensee" shall
refer to a buyer, dealer, transient buyer, or to any individual employee
who engages in a regulated activity on behalf of a buyer or dealer.
At the time of filing the application for a license, a nonrefundable license fee of $100 shall be paid for the annual license for the premises where the activity is to be conducted, together with a fee of $50 for each person working under the premises license. Thereafter, the annual, nonrefundable renewal fee for the premises will be $100 and for each person working under the premises license $50. Said license fee shall be in addition to any fee or cost associated with dealers' obligation to comply with §
277-11 of this chapter mandating the electronic reporting of all transactions.
A licensed issued under the provisions of this chapter shall
not be transferable and shall terminate on December 31 of the year
in which said license is issued, unless it is renewed in accordance
with and pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
An application for a license shall be in writing on forms available
from the Township Clerk. The application form and pertinent information
required shall be developed by the Township of Mansfield through its
Police Department, and the application shall be amended from time
to time as necessary in order to provide the necessary information
required by the Police Department to comply with the intent of this
chapter. The application shall provide the following information on
said application:
A. Name and address of licensee;
B. Address from which licensee shall conduct business;
C. Copy of valid permit from the Township of Mansfield; and
D. Proof that the licensee has obtained computer equipment and software required in §
277-11B of this chapter, for purposes of reporting all transaction data in electronic format to the Mansfield Police Department.
No licensee shall, by virtue of one license, keep more than
one place of business for receiving or taking goods.
No licensee shall, at any time, do business at any place other
than the place of business for which the license was granted.
Every licensee with the Township of Mansfield shall, upon the purchase, receiving for pawn, or receiving for consignment, any property, precious metals, other metals, or secondhand goods as defined in §
277-1 or as described in Appendix I, from the public, shall be required to do as follows:
A. Record using a unique transaction number 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., and any property containing a serial number. This information is to be documented through use of an electronic database software system as designated by the Chief of Police the information listed in §
277-11B(1) through
(8). These records shall be subject to the inspection of any authorized police officer or any sworn law enforcement officer acting in the performance of his or her duty as set forth in Subsection
E below.
(1) The dealer shall be responsible for any and all costs associated
with purchasing, maintaining and updating the electronic database
software system, as well as any annual licensing or subscription fees.
Said licensing and/or subscription fees associated with the electronic
database software system shall be in addition to any other fees or
costs required under this chapter. The costs will be a nominal yearly
fee not to exceed $300 per year. Forms submitted under this chapter
shall be kept confidential and are not public records.
B. Through the use of applicably required computer equipment, and using the electronic format approved by the Chief of Police, every dealer shall enter all transactions into the electronic database by noon next business day from the date of purchase or receipt of property for pawn, or consignment. The Chief of Police may promulgate rules and regulations that allow for the completion and filing of electronic forms and information. The information entered will contain the information in Subsection
A above, plus the following:
(1) The name, address, date of birth, telephone number and acceptable
identification number of the seller.
(3) A full description of the item or items purchased, or pawned by the
seller, including but not limited to, marks, numbers, dates, sizes,
shapes, initials, monograms and serial numbers, face value and identifying
numbers of gift cards;
(4) The price paid for the item and the method of payment (such as, cash,
check, trade, etc.);
(5) The form must be signed by the seller;
(6) The form must be legible bearing the name of 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
acceptable identification; and
(8) 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.
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 within 24 hours from the date of purchase. In the event that paper forms are used, the dealer is responsible to enter all transaction information set forth in §
277-11B(1) through
(8) 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 a dealer being cited for a violation of this chapter and subsequently being subject to the penalties for doing so, including revocation of the dealer's license under §
277-8.
D. Dealer payment to sellers in cash shall be limited to two transactions
during a seven-day period for the same seller. The seven-day period
will commence on the day of the first transaction and end seven days
after the transaction, i.e., if transaction number one occurs on Monday,
the seven-day period ends on Sunday. Furthermore, no cash payments
shall be made to the same sellers who make more than five transactions
in any given thirty-day period. Sellers making transactions over the
number of proscribed weekly and monthly periods will be paid by the
dealer by means of a bank check drawn from the dealer's business
account.
E. 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 Mansfield Police Department or other sworn law enforcement officer acting in the performance of his or her duty to examine any database, book, ledger, or any other record on the premises relating to the purchase, receiving for pawn, or receiving for consignment, any property, precious metals, other metals, or secondhand goods as defined in §
277-2 or as described in Appendix I, from the public. Mansfield police officers or other law
enforcement officers acting in the performance of their duty are empowered
to take possession of any article known by the police officer or official
to be missing or to have been stolen, or where the officer or official
has reasonable suspicion to believe the article is missing or stolen.
A receipt will be provided to the dealer for any property seized by
the Mansfield Police Department or other law enforcement officer.
A licensee shall not engage in regulated activity with 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 licensee shall not engage in regulated
activity with an individual who is in an intoxicated state and/or
is under the influence of intoxicating liquor, narcotics or hallucinogenic
or habit-producing drugs.
All property purchased, received for pawn, or received for consignment precious metals, other metals, or secondhand goods as defined in §
277-2 or as described in Appendix I, from the public, are to be made available for inspection by the Chief of Police or any member of the Mansfield Police Department or other law enforcement officer acting in the performance of his or her duty for a period of 45 days from the date the transaction information is reported to the Chief of Police in accordance with §
277-11 above. All property, precious metals, other metals, secondhand goods as defined in §
277-2 or as described in Appendix I shall remain in the same condition as when purchased and shall not be sold or disposed of, changed, modified, or melted by the purchaser until the forty-five-day retention period has expired. During this forty-five-day retention period, all property, precious metals, other metals, secondhand goods as defined in §
277-2 or as described in Appendix I shall be placed in a public view at the licensed location where the transaction occurred between licensee and seller. Law enforcement officers may require that an item be held for an additional 30 days beyond the requirements of this chapter if they know or have reason to believe that the property is missing or stolen.
Any person, as defined above, who violates any provision of
this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to one or
more of the following: a fine not exceeding $1,250 or imprisonment
in the county jail for a term not exceeding 90 days, or a period of
community service not exceeding 90 days, 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.