[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the City of Perth Amboy 3-11-2015 as Ord. No. 1758-2015. Amendments noted where applicable. Prior ordinance history: Ordinance No. 415 and 1592-2011.]
PAWNBROKER
Any person, partnership, association or corporation lending money on deposit or pledge of personal property, other than choses in action, securities, or printed evidences of indebtedness; or purchasing personal property on condition of selling it back at a stipulated price; or doing business as furniture storage warehouseman and lending money on goods, wares or merchandise pledged or deposited as collateral security.
A. 
A person is engaged in the business of a pawnbroker if such person:
(1) 
Advertises, causes to be advertised, solicits, negotiates, offers to make or makes a loan on deposit or pledge of personal property;
(2) 
Does business as a furniture storage warehouseman and lends money on goods, wares or merchandise pledged or deposited as collateral security; or
(3) 
Purchases property on condition of selling it back at a stipulated price.
PLEDGE
An article or articles deposited with a pawnbroker in the course of his business.
It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the business of a pawnbroker in the City of Perth Amboy without first:
A. 
Providing the City Clerk with proof of a license obtained from the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance; and
B. 
Obtaining a pawnbroker permit from the City Clerk.
A. 
It shall be the duty of the City Clerk to issue pawnbroker permits.
B. 
A written application for an initial pawnbroker permit shall be filed with the City Clerk.
C. 
The fee for the initial permit application shall be two hundred dollars ($200) and shall be paid at the time of filing an application.
D. 
Proof of a license obtained from the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance shall be submitted with the initial permit application.
E. 
A satisfactory background check, including fingerprinting, shall be required for each individual and/or business entity applying for an initial permit and for any employee, partner, officer, shareholder of the business entity.
F. 
Each permit shall expire one (1) year from the date of issuance and may be renewed upon:
(1) 
Payment of the renewal permit fee in the amount of two hundred dollars ($200.);
(2) 
Completion of a satisfactory background check, including fingerprinting;
(3) 
Submission of proof of a current license from the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 45:22-34, all pawnbrokers, in addition to keeping a proper record of the deposit and redemption of all goods and pledges shall, each day, except Sunday, before eleven o'clock in the forenoon, deliver to the Chief of Police or the Chief of Police's designee, a legible and correct transcript, on blank forms to be furnished by the City of Perth Amboy Police Department, from the book or books in which said pawnbroker or dealer keeps his/her record of the deposit or redemption of goods and pledges, showing the description of each article or thing received by him/her during the business day immediately preceding the filing of the report, together with the amount of money loaned thereon, and a description of the person making the pledge. In the case of business done on Saturday such report shall be delivered to the Chief of Police or the Chief of Police's designee before eleven o'clock a.m. of the succeeding Monday. Any pawnbroker or dealer in secondhand goods who fails to comply with the provisions of this section shall forfeit his or her permit and pay to the City of Perth Amboy a fine of one hundred dollars ($100) for each and every offense.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 45:22-39, any person or persons, firm or firms, partnership or partnerships, association or associations, corporation or corporations, or any agent or servant thereof, who shall violate any of the provisions of the Pawnbroking Law, N.J.S.A. 45:22-1 et seq., shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed the sum of five hundred dollars ($500) or by imprisonment not to exceed one hundred (100) days, or both.