This section is adopted pursuant to Business and Professions Code Section 21638 and Section 21660 in supplementation of the state secondhand dealers law and the state swap meet law, Business and Professions Code Sections 21625 et seq. and 21660 et seq., respectively. This section is not intended to supersede the provisions of these statutes. Any conflict that may exist between this section and state laws shall be resolved in favor of the latter. Nothing contained herein shall relieve any person or legal entity of obligations contained in the Business and Professions Code or other provisions of state or local law.
(Ord. CS 110 §1, 1985)
For the purpose of this chapter, certain terms used herein are defined as follows:
A. 
"Secondhand merchant" means and includes any person, copartnership, firm, or corporation whose business involves buying, selling, trade, taking in pawn, or accepting for sale on consignment, secondhand tangible personal property. "Secondhand merchant" includes, but is not limited to, "secondhand dealers" as defined in Business and Professions Code Section 21626; persons and business organizations who transact their business at fixed locations; at garage sales, yard sales, block sales, moving sales, patio sales, flea markets, swap meets as defined in Business and Professions Code Section 21661; from motor vehicles; door-to-door; or in any other manner such as peddler or itinerant vendor.
B. 
"Secondhand tangible personal property" means and includes any personal property, whether in its original form or condition or not, which has been previously sold to or used by a person other than the secondhand merchant who acquires or receives such personal property.
(Prior code §7-90; Ord. CS 110 §2, 1985)
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to:
A. 
Used car dealers or used equipment dealers who are not engaged in the business of buying and selling used vehicle parts or accessories, or used machinery parts:
B. 
Persons, copartnerships, firms, or corporations dealing in or conducting transactions concerning used beds, sofas, chairs, tables, or rags, bottles, barrels, cans, or secondhand or castoff clothing or shoes;
C. 
Any secondhand personal property acquired as provided and set forth in Section 21629 of the Business and Professions Code;
D. 
Any person or business organization who trades exclusively in items which were acquired and used personally by the seller;
E. 
Any person or business organization engaged in sales by and for the benefit of a tax exempt charitable organization;
F. 
Any person or business organization who has all items of inventory marked as to price and whose aggregate inventory as marked totals less than five hundred dollars.
The sheriff shall prescribe appropriate forms providing a certification for charitable organizations and a personal use exemption as provided in subsection D of this section.
(Ord. CS 110 §3, 1985)
In addition to any "identifiable" secondhand tangible personal property, as such term is defined by Section 21627 of the Business and Professions Code, every secondhand merchant shall also report all other secondhand tangible personal property which he has purchased, taken in trade, taken in pawn, or accepted for sale on consignment, to the sheriff, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, daily, or on the first working day following the acquisition of such property, on state forms distributed by the sheriff, which report shall be postmarked not later than twelve noon of the day of the filing of the report, unless the report is personally delivered to the sheriff at the time set for said reporting. All such reports shall include the information required by Business and Professions Code Section 21628(a), (b), and (c).
(Prior code §7-91; Ord. CS 110 §4, 1985)
A. 
The sheriff shall distribute state of California forms required for the purposes set forth in this chapter to secondhand merchants, which forms shall conform with Business and Professions Code Section 21628(a), (b), and (c), and shall contain such information as is prescribed in this section and may be required by the Sheriff as shown on the forms.
B. 
The report forms shall provide appropriate space for identification information concerning the person from whom any articles of tangible personal property are acquired or obtained and a space for the signature of such person. Such identification information shall be taken from identification documents of the person concerned, including but not limited to an unexpired motor vehicle operator's license.
(Prior code §7-92; Ord. CS 110 §5, 1985)
At the time and place of the acquisition of any secondhand tangible personal property as set forth in this chapter, and pursuant to Section 21628 of the Business and Professions Code, the secondhand merchant shall write on the report forms furnished by the sheriff a brief description of the person so selling, giving in trade, giving in pawn, or otherwise transferring possession of the property and shall obtain the signature of the person thereon. The report form and information shall be made and kept available for inspection by any law enforcement officer.
(Prior code §7-93; Ord. CS 110 §6, 1985)
If any article of tangible personal property is delivered to or received by a secondhand merchant from a vehicle or a person operating a vehicle, the license number, state of registration, and the year, make, type and color of the vehicle shall also be obtained and placed on the report form.
(Prior code §7-94; Ord. CS 110 §14, 1985)
The description of any tangible personal property not within the definition of identifiable property as defined by Section 21627 of the Business and Professions Code shall include, but shall not be limited to:
A. 
The manufacturer's name or brand, if any;
B. 
The size, color and material of which made;
C. 
Any number, word, mark or initial found thereon; and
D. 
Any obvious defect which may assist in the identification of the property.
(Prior code §7-95)
Every secondhand merchant shall immediately notify the sheriff by telephone, or other means likely to reach the sheriff without delay, whenever the dealer has reason to believe from the circumstances of any offer to transfer possession of any article of tangible personal property by any transferor or intended transferor that the property so offered has been stolen.
(Prior code §7-96; Ord. CS 110 §7, 1985)
It is unlawful for any person to use a fictitious name as his own or to give a fictitious or incorrect address as his address in the preparation of any report to be prepared pursuant to any of the provisions of this chapter, or pursuant to Division 8, Chapter 9, Article 4 of the Business and Professions Code.
(Prior code §7-97)
Every secondhand merchant shall, in addition to compliance with the provisions of Section 21636 of the Business and Professions Code, retain in his possession for a period of at least thirty days all secondhand tangible personal property other than identifiable personal property as defined in Section 21627 of the Business and Professions Code. The thirty-day holding period, with respect to such secondhand tangible personal property, shall commence with the date the report of its acquisition is made to the sheriff by the secondhand merchant. The sheriff may, for good cause, authorize prior disposition of any such property described in a specific report, and in such case a secondhand dealer may then sell or dispose of the property prior to the expiration of the thirty-day period; provided he obtains the name, address and description of the buyer and retains this information for a period of three years as a matter of record which shall be made available for inspection by any law enforcement officer.
(Prior code §7-99; Ord. CS 110 §9, 1985)
It is unlawful for any secondhand merchant to purchase, or otherwise acquire, any secondhand tangible personal property offered to such a merchant by any person known, or who the merchant should reasonably have known, to be under the age of eighteen years.
(Prior code §7-100; Ord. CS 110 §10, 1985)
It is unlawful for any secondhand merchant to purchase, or otherwise acquire, secondhand tangible personal property within this county between the hours of nine p.m. of one day and seven a.m. of the next day.
(Prior code §7-101; Ord. CS 110 §11, 1985)
It is unlawful for any person, firm or corporation, as owner, manager, agent or employee of any establishment or place open to the patronage of the public, to invite, induce or knowingly allow any patron, guest, invitee or customer of said establishment or place to sell or offer to sell to any other patron, guest, invitee or customer of the establishment or place, or to exchange or offer to exchange with any other patron, guest, invitee or customer of the establishment or place, any article of personal property unless:
A. 
The owner, manager, or employee of the establishment or place keeps on the premises, when the establishment or place is open to the public, a bound record book with its pages consecutively numbered, which book shall be open to the inspection of the sheriff or his deputies or agents, and which book shall contain the following: A description and serial number, if any there be, of each article of personal property intended to be sold or exchanged, and the name, address, occupation and signature of the person selling or exchanging or intending to sell or exchange the article of personal property, together with the name and address of the transferee of the property and the day, month and year of the transfer.
B. 
At least two days prior to conducting any sale or exchange of personal property on the establishment or place of business, the owner, manager, agent or employee thereof shall notify the sheriff's office in writing of the time and place the sale or exchange will be conducted, unless the sales or exchanges are conducted at regular stated intervals, in which event the sheriff shall be so notified in writing by the owner, manager, agent or employee at least two days prior to conducting the first of the sales or exchanges, and the notice shall specify the times when the places where subsequent sales or exchanges are to be conducted.
(Prior code §7-102)
It is unlawful for any person to act as a secondhand merchant without first making an application for and receiving from the treasurer-tax collector a license to act as such secondhand merchant in the unincorporated areas of the county.
(Prior code §7-103; Ord. CS 110 §12, 1985)
Any person desiring a license hereunder shall make application to the treasurer-tax collector upon blanks furnished therefor. If the application is made by an individual, he shall make oath that the contents of the application are true, and the contents of the application shall include the name and age of applicant, his present address or addresses, and the name under which, and the place where, the applicant has conducted a similar business within twelve months immediately preceding the date of the application. If the business is to be engaged in by a partnership, association or corporation, the application for a license shall be made by the general manager thereof, or by one having the authority of a general manager. In such case, the application shall state the true name of the organization, the date of its organization, its type, the location of its principal place of business, the names and addresses of its officers, or, in the case of a copartnership, the names and addresses of all the partners.
(Prior code §7-104)
The applicant, at the request of the sheriff, shall accompany the application with photographs and fingerprints of all the individuals who are to be actually engaged in the management of the business or in buying or otherwise acquiring a secondhand tangible personal property for the business for which the license is requested. In the event any other person, after the license has been granted, is engaged in the management of the business or in buying or otherwise acquiring such secondhand tangible personal property, the license shall furnish to the sheriff on request the photograph and fingerprints of such person. No license shall be issued until any such demand has been complied with, and any license which has been issued shall be suspended or revoked if the license does not, within a reasonable time, comply with the provisions of this section.
(Prior code §7-105)
The license applied for shall not be issued to the applicant until the sheriff, after investigation, files a report upon the application designating whether or not the applicant is a proper person to be granted the license applied for. No applicant shall be reported as a proper person to be granted a license under this chapter and until it appears that the applicant's conduct or proposed conduct of the business of secondhand dealer does and will comply with all pertinent laws and ordinances, including but not limited to those relating to the public health and to zoning. The sheriff shall be allowed sixty days from the date of the application, if he desires, within which to file the report.
(Prior code §7-106)
The required annual fee for a secondhand merchant's license shall be as established by the board of supervisors by resolution.
(Prior code §7-107; Ord. NS 1097 §1, 1982; Ord. CS 110 §13, 1985)
In the event of adverse report by the sheriff on application for license under this chapter, the applicant may, within ten days after written notice of such adverse report, file with the board of supervisors a notice of intention to appear before the board to appeal from the action of the sheriff. Upon failure to file such notice within the ten-day period, the action of the sheriff in reporting adversely on an application shall be final and conclusive.
(Prior code §7-108)
The sheriff, upon receiving verified information of or having knowledge of violation by any licensee of any of the terms hereof, or of any statute of the state, shall serve upon the licensee, or his agent, a notice to appear before the board of supervisors to show cause why the license should not be suspended for a limited period, or revoked. Said notice must be served not less than two days before the time fixed by the sheriff for the hearing. The board of supervisors, upon such hearing, may take testimony and receive evidence in regard to the alleged violation and determine on the basis thereof whether or not the license shall be suspended for a limited period, or revoked.
(Prior code §7-109)
Whenever a license is suspended under the terms and provisions of this chapter, an application may be made for reinstatement of the license after, but not before, the expiration of a period of thirty days from the date of the suspension; whenever a license is revoked under the provisions of this chapter, an application may be made for a license after, but not before, the expiration of a period of ninety days from and after the date of the revocation.
(Prior code §7-110)
Every person violating or failing or neglecting or refusing to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter, shall be deemed guilty of an infraction, punishable in accordance with Section 1.36.020 of this code. Each such person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each day during any portion of which the violation of, or failure, neglect or refusal to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter is committed, continued or permitted by such person. Designated county officers and employees are authorized to enforce the requirements of this chapter pursuant to Section 1.24.040 of this code.
(Prior code §7-111; Ord. CS 459 §4, 1991)