House Bill 4023
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 4023
By Representatives Bloom, Minton, Bronson, Brown, Casey,
Heyman, Cosgrove, Barreiro, Villalobos, Crist, Rojas,
Roberts-Burke and Meek
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to pawnbroking, secondhand
3 dealers, and stolen property; amending s.
4 539.001, F.S.; revising recordkeeping
5 requirements for pawnbrokers to provide that
6 the sheriff or the director of the department
7 of public safety is designated as the central
8 repository for copies of all pawnbroker
9 transaction forms collected by the appropriate
10 law enforcement official in the county;
11 providing for submission of pawnbroker
12 transaction forms to the sheriff or public
13 safety director upon request; amending s.
14 538.04, F.S.; providing for electronic transfer
15 of transactions of secondhand goods;
16 authorizing the appropriate law enforcement
17 agency to provide a secondhand dealer with a
18 computer and necessary equipment for the
19 electronic transfer of transactions of
20 secondhand goods; providing procedures with
21 respect to the electronic transfer of
22 transactions of secondhand goods; amending s.
23 812.022, F.S.; revising provisions relating to
24 evidence of theft or dealing in stolen
25 property; providing an effective date.
26
27 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
28
29 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (9) of section
30 539.001, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
31 539.001 The Florida Pawnbroking Act.--
1
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 4023
252-353-98
1 (9) RECORDKEEPING; REPORTING; HOLD PERIOD.--
2 (a) A pawnbroker must maintain a copy of each
3 completed pawnbroker transaction form on the pawnshop premises
4 for at least 1 year after the date of the transaction. On or
5 before the end of each business day, the pawnbroker must
6 deliver to the appropriate law enforcement official the
7 original pawnbroker transaction forms for each of the
8 transactions occurring during the previous business day,
9 unless other arrangements have been agreed upon between the
10 pawnbroker and the appropriate law enforcement official. The
11 sheriff, as chief law enforcement officer of the county, or
12 the director of the department of public safety when there is
13 no sheriff, is designated as the central repository for copies
14 of all pawnbroker transaction forms collected by the
15 appropriate law enforcement official in the county. Upon
16 request by the sheriff or public safety director, the
17 appropriate law enforcement official shall submit a copy of
18 each pawnbroker transaction form to the sheriff or public
19 safety director within a time and in such form as is
20 determined by the sheriff or public safety director after
21 consultation with the appropriate law enforcement official. If
22 the original transaction form is lost or destroyed by the
23 appropriate law enforcement official, a copy may be used by
24 the pawnbroker as evidence in court. When an electronic image
25 of a pledgor or seller identification is accepted for a
26 transaction, the pawnbroker must maintain the electronic image
27 in order to meet the same recordkeeping requirements as for
28 the original transaction form. If a criminal investigation
29 occurs, the pawnbroker shall, upon request, provide a clear
30 and legible copy of the image to the appropriate law
31 enforcement official.
2
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 4023
252-353-98
1 Section 2. Subsection (4) of section 538.04, Florida
2 Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (5) of said section, and
3 a new subsection (4) is added to said section to read:
4 538.04 Recordkeeping requirements; penalties.--
5 (4) If the appropriate law enforcement agency supplies
6 the appropriate software and the secondhand dealer presently
7 has computer capability, transactions of secondhand goods
8 shall be electronically transferred. If a secondhand dealer
9 does not presently have computer capability, the appropriate
10 law enforcement agency may provide the secondhand dealer with
11 a computer and all necessary equipment for the purpose of
12 electronically transferring transactions of secondhand goods.
13 The appropriate law enforcement agency shall retain ownership
14 of the computer, unless otherwise agreed upon. The secondhand
15 dealer shall maintain the computer in good working order,
16 ordinary wear and tear excepted. In the event the secondhand
17 dealer transfers transactions of secondhand goods
18 electronically, the secondhand dealer is not required to also
19 deliver to the appropriate law enforcement official the
20 original or copies of the secondhand goods transaction forms.
21 The appropriate law enforcement official may, for the purposes
22 of a criminal investigation, request that the secondhand
23 dealer produce an original of a transaction form that has been
24 electronically transferred. The secondhand dealer shall
25 deliver this form to the appropriate law enforcement official
26 within 24 hours of the request.
27 (5)(4) Any person who knowingly gives false
28 verification of ownership or who gives a false or altered
29 identification, and who receives money from a secondhand
30 dealer for goods sold or pledged commits:
31
3
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 4023
252-353-98
1 (a) If the value of the money received is less than
2 $300, a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as
3 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
4 (b) If the value of the money received is $300 or
5 more, a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in
6 s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
7 Section 3. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 812.022,
8 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
9 812.022 Evidence of theft or dealing in stolen
10 property.--
11 (2) Proof of possession of property recently stolen,
12 unless satisfactorily explained, gives rise to a presumption
13 an inference that the person in possession of the property
14 knew or should have known that the property had been stolen.
15 (3) Proof of the purchase or sale of stolen property
16 at a price substantially below the fair market value, unless
17 satisfactorily explained, gives rise to a presumption an
18 inference that the person buying or selling the property knew
19 or should have known that the property had been stolen.
20 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
21 law.
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
4
CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
Florida House of Representatives - 1998 HB 4023
252-353-98
1 *****************************************
2 HOUSE SUMMARY
3
With respect to ch. 539, F.S., the Florida Pawnbroking
4 Act, revises recordkeeping requirements for pawnbrokers
to provide that the sheriff, as the chief law enforcement
5 officer of the county, or the director of the department
of public safety when there is no sheriff, is designated
6 as the central repository for copies of all pawnbroker
transaction forms collected by the appropriate law
7 enforcement official in the county. Provides for
submission of pawnbroker transaction forms to the sheriff
8 or public safety director at their request.
9
Provides for the electronic transfer of transactions of
10 secondhand goods in the same manner currently provided
for pawn transactions.
11
12 Revises provisions relating to evidence of theft or
dealing in stolen property to provide that proof of
13 possession of property recently stolen, or proof of
purchase or sale of stolen property at a price
14 substantially below the fair market value, unless
satisfactorily explained, gives rise to a presumption,
15 rather than an inference, that the person in possession
of, buying, or selling the property knew or should have
16 known that the property had been stolen.
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
5