[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Morrisville 11-17-2014 by Ord.
No. 1002. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter is enacted for the following purposes: to promote
the safety, morals and general welfare of the inhabitants of the Borough
of Morrisville in their person and property by holding pawnbrokers
and dealers in precious metals and secondhand goods accountable for
the proper reporting procedures deemed necessary by the Borough 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 regulation, 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 article 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,
philanthropic or civic service organization or its sponsoring organization.
This chapter shall not apply to persons selling or purchasing said
items at garage sales or yard sales.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A day on which business is done.
A pawnbroker, precious metals dealer, antique dealer, and/or
secondhand dealer. For purposes of this chapter only, "dealer" shall
not be defined to include a person or persons engaged in a "yard sale"
as that term is defined in the Code of Ordinances of Morrisville Borough.
A valid identification document issued by a state or federal
government, bearing a photograph that gives identifying data, such
as name, date of birth, gender, physical description, and current
address of the person bearing the card.
Personal property, precious metal, antique and/or secondhand
or used good.
Any person under the age of 18.
An individual, partnership, association, corporation, or
other business entity, including an itinerant and/or transient merchant,
doing business in the Borough of Morrisville 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 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 "pledger"
means the disclosed principal.
An individual, partnership, association, corporation, or
other business entity, including an itinerant and/or transient merchant,
doing business in the Borough of Morrisville that purchases or makes
appraisals of precious metals and their alloys for resale to refiners,
brokers, or the public.
An item containing or being of ten-karat gold or greater
fineness, silver, platinum, including, but not limited to, jewelry
and silver services.
An individual, partnership, association, corporation, or
other business entity, including an itinerant and/or transient merchant,
doing business in the Borough of Morrisville 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 or entity.
One 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 of any merchandise to the dealer.
A purchase, sale or loan by any dealer.
Monday through Sunday, including national holidays if the
dealer is open.
A.
License. No person shall act as a dealer unless he or she has obtained
a license from the designated Borough official 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 for each location from which the
applicant intends to operate. The registration fee shall be set by
resolution of Borough Council.
C.
Pawnbroker's license. No license to act as a pawnbroker shall
be issued by the Borough of Morrisville unless the applicant for said
license has obtained a license from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
as required by the Act of April 6, 1937 (P.L. 200, no. 30), 63 P.S.
§§ 281-1 through 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 Borough of Morrisville 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 through 1942, as amended.
A.
All dealers are required to maintain records of all transactions,
including but not limited to pledges, loans, purchases and sales.
Records shall be kept in the English language.
B.
All records shall include the following information:
(1)
Date of sale;
(2)
Time of sale;
(3)
Location of sale;
(4)
Make;
(5)
Model;
(6)
Serial number;
(7)
Model number;
(8)
Description;
(9)
Color;
(10)
Special markings of the pledge or sale item;
(11)
Currency amount paid to pledger and/or seller; and
(12)
Photocopy of the pledger or seller, to include a government
identification.
C.
A color photograph shall be produced for all items and/or for all
precious metals received. The color photograph shall be of sufficient
clarity to enable identification of the item(s).
D.
A copy of all pledge and/or sale transactions containing this information
shall be retained at the location of business for a period of two
years after the date of the transaction, payment, loan, or sale of
the pledge, whichever is later.
A.
All scales or other devices used by' dealers to weigh precious
metals must be of a type approved for commercial use in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania and must be inspected and sealed by the Pennsylvania
Bureau of Ride and Measurement Standards' Weights and Measures
Division.
The dealer shall obtain the following information from the pledger
and/or seller for the purposes of establishing identification of each
pledger and/or seller:
A.
A photocopy of verified government-issued identification;
B.
An accurate physical description of the pledger and/or seller, including
race, gender, eye and hair color and identifying marks, if any;
C.
A clearly visible thumbprint of the pledger and/or seller on a form
approved by the Borough of Morrisville Police Department; and
D.
A color photograph of the pledger and/or seller. The color photograph
shall be of the front of the pledger and/or seller's face, not
his or her profile. When possible, the individual's torso should
also be visible in the photograph.
A dealer may seize any item offered in a sale or pledge which
he or she has reason to believe is stolen property. The dealer shall
issue a seizure receipt to the person presenting such property in
pledge and shall immediately deliver such seized property, together
with a copy of the seizure receipt, to the Borough of Morrisville
Police Department. If property is identified as stolen either by the
Police Department or an individual claiming ownership of the subject
property, the dealer shall immediately notify the Police Department,
and such property shall be held until there is a final resolution
as to the ownership of the subject property.
A.
Responsibility of Borough.
(1)
The Borough of Morrisville 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 Borough of Morrisville Police Department
and/or the Chief of Police 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 Borough of Morrisville 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 Morrisville Borough Police Department pursuant to Subsection A herein.
(2)
Daily upload. No later than 24 hours after the completion of the
transaction, every dealer must upload, in the manner specified by
the Police Department, the required tracking information for all transactions.
This section shall apply regardless of whether the twenty-four-hour
time limit falls on a working day, a weekend day, or a national or
religious holiday. It shall not be a defense that a dealer did not
comply with this section because the day following the transaction
was not a working day.
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 § 306-10B(2) above, whichever occurs last.
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 insure 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 or fails, neglects,
or refuses to comply with any provision of this chapter shall pay
a fine not exceeding $600 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 section shall have his license(s) suspended, as follows:
C.
Suspension of pawnbroker's license.
(1)
Pursuant to the Act of April 6, 1937, P.L 200, 63 P.S. § 281-1
through 281-32, as amended, if a pawnbroker's license is suspended,
the Borough Manager 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)
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 Borough Manager or his designee 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 Borough of Morrisville
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 the Code.
(c)
The cease operations order shall be in force for the full period
of any license suspension and shall set forth this period in the order.
(d)
The Borough Manager or his designee shall not remove any posted
cease operations order until he is satisfied that all suspended licenses
have been restored or the property interests in the location have
changed so that neither the person or dealer under license suspension,
nor any member of his immediate family, or, in the case of a corporation,
the corporation or any affiliated business entities, retain a pecuniary
interest therein.
(e)
License at cease operations location. No person or dealer shall
be issued a license for a business location that has been posted with
a cease operation 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, retain a pecuniary interest in the property at
that location.
