City of Royal Oak, MI Pawnbrokers

The City of Royal Oak hereby adopts, by reference, Act 273 of the Public Acts of 1917, as amended, being MCLA §§ 446.201 through 446.219 (except MCLA § 446.218) of the Michigan Compiled Laws, and Act No. 231 of the Public Acts of 1945, as amended, being MCLA §§ 445.471 through 445.476 of the Michigan Compiled Laws.[1]

[1]

Editor's Note: MCLA §§ 445.471 through 445.476 were repealed by P.A.2006, No. 675, § 1, effective 3-30-2007.

§ 521-3 Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

PAWNBROKER

Any person, corporation or member or members of a copartnership or firm, who loans money on deposit, or pledge of personal property, or other valuable thing, other than securities or printed evidence of indebtedness, or who deals in the purchasing of personal property or other valuable thing on condition of selling the same back again at a stipulated price.

§ 521-4 License required; expiration.

No person, firm or corporation shall operate as a pawnbroker in the City of Royal Oak without having first obtained a license for that purpose. A license shall expire December 31 following the date of issuance unless sooner revoked.

§ 521-5 Application for license.

Every applicant for a pawnbroker's license shall file an application under oath with the City Clerk's office upon a form provided by the City of Royal Oak and pay a nonrefundable application investigation fee. Such fee shall be set by resolution of the City Commission and shall be renewed annually. The application shall contain the following information:

The name, residence address, and telephone number of each applicant.

(1)

If the applicant is a corporation, the names, residence addresses and telephone numbers of each of the officers and directors of said corporation and of each stockholder owning more than 10% of the stock of the corporation itself, and the name, address and telephone number of a resident agent in Oakland County, Michigan.

(2)

If the applicant is a partnership, the name, residence address and telephone number of each of the partners, and the partnership itself, and the name, address and telephone number of a resident agent in Oakland County, Michigan.

(3)

If the applicant owns stock or has a financial interest in any other jewelry store and/or pawnbroker business, the name, address and telephone number of the corporation and the name, address and telephone number of the business.

The applicant's social security number, driver's license number, if any, and date of birth.

Business, occupation or employment of the applicant for three years immediately preceding the date of application, including the name, address and telephone number of any and all employers.

All criminal convictions, including the date of convictions, nature of the crime, and place convicted.

Fingerprints of the applicant taken by the Police Department.

Authorization for the City of Royal Oak, its agents and employees to seek information and conduct an investigation into the truth of the statements set forth in the application. Applicant shall give such additional information as may be deemed necessary by the City of Royal Oak for the proper enforcement of this chapter.

A detailed written plan of operation outlining the proposed manner in which the business will be operated, including but not limited to hours of operation, type property to be taken in for loan and number of employees involved in the pawnbroker service. The City Commission can reasonably restrict the type of objects to be pawned.

§ 521-6 Investigation.

Upon receipt of such application, the City Clerk shall refer the same as follows:

To the Chief of Police or his or her designated representative, who shall investigate and determine if the applicant has been convicted of violating any federal, state or local laws which would tend to show the applicant is not a suitable person to conduct or maintain a pawnbroker business in the City of Royal Oak. The Chief of Police or his or her designated representative shall forward to the City Clerk the results of such investigation along with a recommendation concerning whether or not the license shall be granted.

Upon receiving a favorable recommendation from the Police Department, the City Clerk shall refer the application to the Chief Building Inspector, Fire Chief, or their designated representatives, who shall cause a thorough inspection of the premises to be made. If it is found that all pertinent provisions of state law and local ordinances have been complied with, such findings shall be endorsed upon the application and returned to the City Clerk, who shall then forward the application to the City Commission for its review and consideration.

§ 521-7 Refusal, suspension, revocation or nonrenewal of license.

A license requested under this chapter may be refused by the City Commission, and any license issued under the provisions of this chapter can be suspended, revoked or not renewed by the City Commission, for any of the following causes:

Fraud or misrepresentation in the application for license.

Fraud or misrepresentation in the operation of the licensed business.

Any violation of this chapter or of the regulations authorized therein.

Any violation of federal or state law or local ordinance.

A reasonable finding that the business would or does conduct itself in an unlawful manner or in such a manner as to constitute a maintenance of a nuisance upon or in connection with the licensed premises, including, but not limited to, the following:

(1)

Violations of building, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, zoning, health, fire or other applicable regulatory codes;

(2)

Patron conduct which is or would be in violation of the law and/or interferes with the health, safety and welfare of the residential or commercial properties in the area;

(3)

Failure to maintain the grounds and exterior of the licensed premises, including litter, debris or refuse blowing or being deposited upon adjoining properties.

Failure of the licensee to permit the inspection of the licensed premises by the City's agents and employees in connection with the enforcement of this chapter.

Failure of the licensee to provide and/or comply with provisions of a plan of operation submitted and approved at the time of application.

Failure of the licensee to pay personal property taxes, other bills and real property taxes by February 14 of each year arising from their use and occupancy of the property. A licensee who does not own the real property is not responsible for the payment of the real property taxes unless the lease requires such payment.

§ 521-8 Annual license review.

The City Commission or a hearing officer appointed by the City Commission may undertake a review of any license to determine whether or not the license should be renewed. The Commission or hearing officer shall consider whether a licensee has operated during the existing year in a manner consistent with the provisions of this chapter and all other applicable laws or regulations of the City of Royal Oak and State of Michigan.

§ 521-9 Revocation of license.

Each establishment licensed pursuant to this chapter shall be operated and maintained in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations of the City of Royal Oak and the State of Michigan. Upon any violation of this chapter pursuant to § 521-7, after notice and hearing before the City Commission or a hearing officer appointed by the City Commission, the City Commission may revoke such license.

§ 521-10 Record of transaction.

[Added 11-18-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-24[1]]

A pawnbroker shall maintain a permanent record of transaction provided for in Subsection F, legibly written in ink in the English language. Each record of transaction form shall be filled out in duplicate by the pawnbroker or agent or employee of the pawnbroker, with one copy going to the customer and one copy to be retained by the pawnbroker pursuant to Subsection E. An electronic copy of the form shall be sent to the Royal Oak Police Department pursuant to Subsection F. At the time a pawnbroker receives personal property or other valuable thing, the pawnbroker or agent or employee of the pawnbroker shall ensure that the following information is recorded accurately on a record of transaction form:

(1)

The pawnbroker certificate or registration number.

(2)

A general description of the property received or purchased. In the case of watches, the description shall contain the name of the maker and the number of both the works and the case. In the case of jewelry, all letters and marks inscribed on the jewelry shall be included in the description.

(3)

The date of the transaction.

(4)

The name of the person conducting the transaction.

(5)

The name, date of birth, driver's license number, or State of Michigan personal identification card number and street and house number of the person with whom the transaction is being made, together with a legible imprint of the right thumb of the person with whom the transaction is being made, or if that is not possible, then the left thumb or a finger of that person. However, the thumbprint or fingerprint shall only be required on the record of transaction form retained by the pawnbroker. The thumbprint or fingerprint shall be made available to the Police Department only during the course of an investigation involving personal property or items described on the record of transaction. After a period of one year from the date of the record of transaction, if a police investigation concerning the personal property or other valuable thing described on the record of transaction has not occurred, the pawnbroker and the Police Department shall destroy, and not keep a permanent record of, the record of transaction. A pawnbroker who goes out of business or changes his or her business address to another jurisdiction either within or out of this state shall transmit to the Police Department the records of all transactions made by the pawnbroker within one year before his or her closing or moving.

(6)

The price to be paid by the pawnbroker for the personal property or other valuable thing.

(7)

The form of payment made to the customer (check, money order or bank draft).

(8)

The customer's signature.

The record of each transaction shall be numbered consecutively, commencing with the number and the calendar year.

Within 48 hours after receiving or purchasing personal property or other valuable thing, the pawnbroker shall send a copy of the transaction record to the Police Department electronically pursuant to Subsection F, and, if the record of transaction form indicates that the customer resides outside of the City of Royal Oak, to the police agency of the city, village, or township in which the customer resides as set forth on the record of transaction, or if that city, village, or township does not have a police agency, to the sheriff's office of the county in which the customer resides as set forth on the record of transaction. The record of transaction forms received by a police agency shall not be open to inspection by the general public. Each police agency shall be responsible for ensuring the confidentiality of the record of transaction forms and ensuring that the forms are used only for the purposes for which they were received.

The record of transaction forms of a pawnbroker and each item of personal property received shall be open to an inspection by the Oakland County Prosecuting Attorney, the Royal Oak City Attorney, the Royal Oak Police Department, the Oakland County Sheriff's Department and the Michigan State Police at all times during the ordinary business hours of the pawnbroker. As a condition of doing business, a pawnbroker is deemed to have given consent to the inspection prescribed by this subsection. The record of transaction forms of a pawnbroker shall not be open to inspection by the general public.

Except as otherwise provided in this section, each record of a transaction shall be retained by the pawnbroker for not less than one year after the transaction to which the record pertains.

A pawnbroker shall submit a record of transaction to the Royal Oak Police Department electronically within 48 hours after receiving or purchasing personal property or other valuable thing. The electronic submission shall be by means of modem or a similar device, and in a format that allows the Department to enter the data into its computerized system. The Department shall notify all pawnbrokers of the name of the employee or agent who is responsible for establishing the computer system for electronic transmission and for providing information on the system to pawnbrokers. All pawnbrokers shall have the equipment, programs and/or electronic format installed at their place of business no later than July 1, 2014. No paper forms will be accepted after this date unless the Department requires a paper submittal.

A record of transaction shall be 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches and substantially in the following format:

Record of Transaction
Pawnbroker Certification # (printed on form)		Transaction # (printed on form)
(1)	Description of property:

(2)	(Date)	(3)	(Name of pawnbroker/employee)
(4)	(Name of customer)		(Date of birth of customer)
	(Customer's driver's license number or Michigan personal identification card number)		(Customer's street address) (City, state and zip code) (County of residence)
(5)	(Price paid)		(Name of police agency where customer resides)
(6)	(Form of payment)
	(Thumbprint or fingerprint)		(Signature of customer)

[1]

Editor's Note: This ordinance also redesignated former §§ 521-10 and 521-11 as §§ 521-11 and 521-12, respectively.

§ 521-11 Procedure for recommendation of nonrenewal or revocation.

[Amended 11-18-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-24]

Before taking any action concerning nonrenewal or revocation of a license, the City shall serve the licensee by first class mail, mailed at least 10 days prior to a hearing, with notice of hearing, which notice shall contain the following:

(1)

Date, time and place of hearing.

(2)

Notice of the proposed action.

(3)

Reasons for proposed action.

(4)

Names of witnesses known at the time who will testify.

(5)

A statement that the licensee may be represented by legal counsel, present evidence, testimony and confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses.

(6)

A statement requiring the licensee to notify the City Attorney’s office at least three days prior to the hearing date if the licensee intends to contest the proposed action, and to provide the names of witnesses known at that time who will testify on the licensee’s behalf.

Upon completion of the hearing, the City Commission or hearing officer shall submit to the licensee a written statement of its findings and determination.

§ 521-12 Violations and penalties.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in an amount not exceeding $500 or be imprisoned for a period not exceeding 90 days, or be both so fined and imprisoned, in the discretion of the court.