In this article:
Applicant.
A person who applies for a license under this article. If the applicant is not a natural person, the term includes: (1) in the case of a partnership, the names of individual members of the partnership; and (2) in the case of a corporation or other business association, the owners, directors and officers of the corporation or business association.
Automobile accessory.
A hubcap, wheel cover, radar detector, recorded music player, removable automobile top, or an item that is crafted or designed for use in or on an automobile as an accessory item.
Business day.
A day that a secondhand dealer transacts business with a member of the public or is open to the public for the transaction of business.
Chief of police.
The chief of police of the City of Lufkin, Texas, or his designated representative.
Crafted precious metal.
Jewelry, silverware, coins, bars, or any object crafted, in whole or in part, from gold, silver, platinum, palladium, iridium, rhodium, osmium, ruthenium, or their alloys.
Jewelry.
A gem, a jewel, or an object made of a precious metal that is worn for adornment, including, but not limited to, a gemstone removed from a mounting.
Motorcycle accessory.
An item that is crafted or designed for use in or on a motorcycle as an accessory item.
Pawnbroker.
A person as defined in the Texas Pawnshop Act, Tex. Fin. Code § 371.001, et seq., as amended.
Person.
An individual, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity, or any of their employees or agents.
Power tool.
A tool powered by electrical current, a battery, solar energy, or liquid or gaseous fuel, including, but not limited to, pneumatic and welding equipment.
Regulated merchandise.
Any of the following items of used merchandise:
(1) 
An item that bears or as originally manufactured bore a manufacturer's serial number;
(2) 
A video recording, including but not limited to a motion picture or a video game;
(3) 
An automobile accessory;
(4) 
A business machine;
(5) 
A crafted precious metal;
(6) 
An electronic device, including, but not limited to, a radio, a television, a telephone or mobile telephone, an audio or video recorder or player, a computer, a video camera, a mobile telephone with computing ability and connectivity, or a device that is used in playing a video or computer game;
(7) 
A household appliance;
(8) 
Jewelry;
(9) 
A motorcycle accessory;
(10) 
A musical instrument or an accessory used with a musical instrument, including, but not limited to, sound amplification equipment;
(11) 
Optical equipment, such as binoculars, a telescope, or a microscope;
(12) 
Photographic equipment;
(13) 
A power tool;
(14) 
A sporting good; or
(15) 
A weapon.
Secondhand dealer.
Any person buying, trading, selling, or accepting for sale on consignment regulated merchandise.
Used merchandise.
Personal property that has been previously sold or transferred to a person for his own use or the use of another.
(Ordinance 440 adopted 12/15/2020)
(a) 
This article does not apply to:
(1) 
A pawnshop licensed under chapter 371 (pawnshops) of the Texas Finance Code;
(2) 
Sales involving the transfer of a motor vehicle title;
(3) 
Garage sale;
(4) 
A nonprofit business that sells only donated items;
(5) 
Sales by, or on behalf of, a governmental entity;
(6) 
Except as provided by subsection (b), sales by a person whose only business transactions with regulated merchandise are a display space, booth, or table maintained for displaying or selling merchandise at a trade show, convention, festival, fair, circus, market, flea market, swap meet, or similar event for no more than a total of 14 days in a calendar year;
(7) 
A person who occasionally sells a personal item to another person and does not engage in buying regulated merchandise for resale as a business; or
(8) 
A transaction that does not involve a person buying, trading, selling, or accepting for sale on consignment regulated merchandise.
(b) 
The chief of police may adopt rules consistent with this article to regulate a business described by subsection (a)(6) above.
(c) 
The chief of police may by rule narrow or further define the term "regulated merchandise" in order to exclude from coverage by this article items or kinds of property if the chief finds that reporting and holding the items or kinds of property does not enhance the ability of the police department to reduce property crimes and recover stolen goods. The chief may not expand the definition of regulated merchandise. Any rule by the chief narrowing "regulated merchandise" must be made in writing and delivered to the office of city secretary.
(d) 
This article is cumulative of other law.
(Ordinance 440 adopted 12/15/2020)
A person may not do business as a secondhand dealer without a license.
(1) 
A secondhand dealer who conducts business at more than one location in the city must obtain a separate license for each business location.
(2) 
A secondhand dealer that does not have a permanent business location in the city must comply with section 4-6-27(E) [sic].
(3) 
To obtain a license as a secondhand dealer a person must make a written application to the city secretary. The application must provide:
(A) 
The applicant's name and the name the of the business;
(B) 
If the applicant is a partnership, corporation, or other business association, the names of individual members of the partnership, or owners, directors and officers of the corporation or business association;
(C) 
A registration certificate for the business from the Secretary of State, if registration is required by law, and a copy of the business's assumed name certificate, if any;
(D) 
The physical address or location of the business and, if different, the mailing address of the business;
(E) 
The regular days and hours of operation of the business;
(F) 
A statement that the applicant, and any employee of the applicant whose duties include the purchase of regulated merchandise, has not been convicted of a violation of this chapter in the immediately preceding two calendar years;
(G) 
A statement that the applicant, and any employee of the applicant whose duties include the purchase of regulated merchandise, has not been convicted of an offense involving theft, burglary, robbery, fraud, or tampering with or falsification of evidence or official records;
(H) 
A notarized statement that all information provided by the applicant on the applicant's application is correct.
(Ordinance 440 adopted 12/15/2020)
Before any license required by this article shall be issued, the license fee required therefor shall be paid to the city secretary and collector for the use and benefit of the general fund of the city. The annual fee required for the license shall be one hundred dollars ($100.00). Such fee shall be for a full year or fraction thereof.
(Ordinance 440 adopted 12/15/2020)
The license issued under this article shall terminate on December 31st of each year. No license shall be issued for a longer term than one year. Licenses shall be renewed annually on or before January 1st of each year, and each person owning a license issued under this article may, by written application filed with the city secretary not more than thirty (30) days prior January 1st, renew such license so held by him. The applicant shall be required to pay the license fee in advance.
(Ordinance 440 adopted 12/15/2020)
No person shall engage in business as a crafted precious metal dealer, or secondhand dealer, without first having given bond, with at least two sureties, in the sum of five hundred dollars ($500.00), payable to the city, and filed with the city secretary, conditioned that he will faithfully comply with each requirement of the law governing such business. A new bond shall be given in the same manner as the first every twelve (12) months during the continuance of such business. Such bond shall at all times be filed and safely kept in the office of the city secretary.
(Ordinance 440 adopted 12/15/2020)
(a) 
This article shall be enforced by the city's police department.
(b) 
Notice of the provisions of this article shall be given to all applicants for a business license in the city.
(c) 
Any person who fails to comply with the provisions of this article shall be, upon conviction in municipal court, guilty of a class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00).
(d) 
Upon conviction of a violation of this article, and after notice and hearing, the city's municipal court ("the court") may revoke or suspend the license of a crafted precious metal dealer, or secondhand dealer if the court finds that:
(1) 
The crafted precious metal dealer, or secondhand dealer has not paid a fee or charge imposed by this article;
(2) 
The crafted precious metal dealer, or secondhand dealer knowingly or without exercising due care to prevent the violation, has violated this article;
(3) 
A fact or condition exists that, if it had existed or had been known to exist at the time of the original license application, clearly would have justified refusal to issue the license;
(4) 
The crafted precious metal dealer, or secondhand dealer has established an association with an unlicensed person who, with the knowledge of the pawnbroker, has violated this article;
(5) 
The crafted precious metal dealer, or secondhand dealer has aided or conspired with a person to circumvent this article;
(6) 
The crafted precious metal dealer, or secondhand dealer has been convicted of a crime that the court finds directly relates to the duties and responsibilities of the occupation of a crafted precious metal dealer, or secondhand dealer or would otherwise make the person unfit for a license to operate as such;
(7) 
The financial responsibility, experience, character or general fitness of the crafted precious metal dealer, or secondhand dealer or its owners and managers do not command the confidence of the public or warrant the belief that the business will be operated lawfully, fairly, and within the purposes of the law.
(e) 
Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, any person injured by the failure of a crafted precious metal dealer, pawnbroker, or secondhand dealer to comply with the provisions of this article may sue upon the bond of such crafted precious metal dealer, pawnbroker, or secondhand dealer in a court a competent jurisdiction, and recover such damages as he may prove himself entitled to, not to exceed the amount of the bond.
(Ordinance 440 adopted 12/15/2020)