House Bill 1937
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 1937
By Representative Bense
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to misappropriated pawned and
3 secondhand property enforcement; requiring the
4 Department of Law Enforcement to establish a
5 statewide database for accessing records from
6 pawnshop transaction forms and secondhand goods
7 acquisition records; designating the Department
8 of Law Enforcement as administrator of the
9 system; providing authorized access to the
10 database; designating agencies responsible for
11 the transfer of information to the database in
12 a manner approved by the Department of Law
13 Enforcement; providing that the Department of
14 Law Enforcement must establish standards for
15 transmitting information into the statewide
16 system in consultation with the Florida
17 Sheriffs Association and the Florida Police
18 Chiefs Association; limiting the scope of
19 certain database searches; providing rulemaking
20 authority; amending s. 539.001, F.S.;
21 specifying a petition form for certain actions
22 to recover misappropriated property; deleting a
23 provision imposing claimant liability for
24 certain costs under certain circumstances;
25 authorizing the state to file a motion in a
26 pending criminal action relating to
27 misappropriated property; providing
28 requirements; requiring the Division of
29 Consumer Services of the Department of
30 Agriculture and Consumer Services to adopt by
31 rule a pamphlet explaining a claimant's right
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 1937
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1 to property recovery; providing pamphlet
2 requirements; requiring the division to
3 distribute the pamphlets to law enforcement
4 agencies and law enforcement agencies to
5 distribute the pamphlets to certain persons
6 under certain circumstances; specifying
7 procedures for a claimant to obtain possession
8 of misappropriated property; providing for
9 waiver of certain fees; specifying absence of a
10 claimant's liability for certain costs or fees;
11 requiring the division to adopt a disclosure
12 form specifying a claimant's rights and
13 responsibilities; requiring the division to
14 distribute the disclosure form to pawnbrokers;
15 requiring pawnbrokers to provide the disclosure
16 form to certain persons under certain
17 circumstances; providing an effective date.
18
19 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
20
21 Section 1. (1) The Department of Law Enforcement
22 shall establish and maintain a database of pawnshop and
23 secondhand goods transactions submitted to it from local law
24 enforcement agencies.
25 (2) Local law enforcement agencies that have collected
26 records of pawnshop transactions or secondhand goods
27 acquisitions under chapter 538 or chapter 539, Florida
28 Statutes, shall transfer, as soon as practicable, the
29 information contained in the records to the department in a
30 format and manner that are established by the department after
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 1937
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1 consultation with the Florida Sheriffs Association and the
2 Florida Police Chiefs Association.
3 (3) The database established by the department may be
4 accessed by a law enforcement agency for official
5 investigative purposes only. The department may not, without
6 legislative authority, sell or otherwise provide to private
7 entities the information supplied to it under this section.
8 (4) The department shall adopt rules pursuant to
9 chapter 120, Florida Statutes, to administer the provisions of
10 this act.
11 Section 2. Subsection (15) of section 539.001, Florida
12 Statutes, is amended, subsections (16)-(22) of said section
13 are renumbered as subsections (18)-(24), respectively, and new
14 subsections (16) and (17) are added to said section, to read:
15 539.001 The Florida Pawnbroking Act.--
16 (15) CLAIMS AGAINST PURCHASED GOODS OR PLEDGED GOODS
17 HELD BY PAWNBROKERS.--
18 (a) To obtain possession of purchased or pledged goods
19 held by a pawnbroker which a claimant claims to be
20 misappropriated, the claimant must notify the pawnbroker by
21 certified mail, return receipt requested, or in person
22 evidenced by signed receipt, of the claimant's claim to the
23 purchased or pledged goods. The notice must contain a complete
24 and accurate description of the purchased or pledged goods and
25 must be accompanied by a legible copy of the applicable law
26 enforcement agency's report on the misappropriation of such
27 property. If the claimant and the pawnbroker do not resolve
28 the matter within 10 days after the pawnbroker's receipt of
29 the notice, the claimant may petition the court to order the
30 return of the property, naming the pawnbroker as a defendant,
31 and must serve the pawnbroker with a copy of the petition. The
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 1937
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1 pawnbroker shall hold the property described in the petition
2 until the right to possession is resolved by the parties or by
3 a court of competent jurisdiction. The court shall waive any
4 filing fee for the petition to recover the property, and the
5 sheriff shall waive the service fees.
6 (b) The claimant may bring an action in a court of
7 competent jurisdiction by petition in substantially the
8 following form:
9 Plaintiff, (plaintiff's name), sues defendant,
10 (defendant's name), and alleges:
11 1. This is an action to recover possession of personal
12 property in (name of county) County, Florida.
13 2. The description of the property is: (list of the
14 property). To the best of the plaintiff's knowledge,
15 information, and belief, the value of the property is
16 $ (monetary value of the property).
17 3. Plaintiff is entitled to the possession of the
18 property.
19 4. To plaintiff's best knowledge, information, and
20 belief, the property is located at (street address) .
21 5. The property is wrongfully detained by defendant.
22 Defendant came into possession of the property by (description
23 of method of possession). To plaintiff's best knowledge,
24 information, and belief, defendant detains the property
25 because (reasons for detention).
26 6. The property has not been taken under an execution
27 or attachment against plaintiff's property.
28 (c)(b) If, after notice and a hearing, the court finds
29 that the property was misappropriated and orders the return of
30 the property to the claimant:
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1 1. The claimant may recover from the pawnbroker the
2 cost of the action, including the claimant's reasonable
3 attorney's fees; and
4 2. If the conveying customer is convicted of theft, a
5 violation of this section, or dealing in stolen property, the
6 court shall order the conveying customer to repay the
7 pawnbroker the full amount the conveying customer received
8 from the pawnbroker for the property, plus all applicable pawn
9 service charges. As used in this paragraph, the term
10 "convicted of" includes a plea of nolo contendere to the
11 charges or any agreement in which adjudication is withheld;
12 and
13 3. The conveying customer shall be responsible to pay
14 all attorney's fees and taxable costs incurred by the
15 pawnbroker in defending a replevin action or any other civil
16 matter wherein it is found that the conveying customer was in
17 violation of this paragraph.
18 (c) If the court finds that the claimant failed to
19 comply with the requirements in paragraph (a) or otherwise
20 finds against the claimant, the claimant is liable for the
21 defendants' costs, including reasonable attorney's fees.
22 (d) In addition to the remedy of a civil petition for
23 return, the state may file a motion as part of a pending
24 criminal case related to the property. The criminal court has
25 jurisdiction to determine ownership, to order return or other
26 disposition of the property, and to order any appropriate
27 restitution to any person. Such order shall be entered upon
28 hearing after proper notice has been given to the pawnbroker,
29 the victim, and the defendant in the criminal case.
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1 (e)(d) The sale, pledge, or delivery of tangible
2 personal property to a pawnbroker by any person in this state
3 is considered to be:
4 1. An agreement by the person who sells, pledges, or
5 delivers the tangible personal property that the person is
6 subject to the jurisdiction of the court in all civil actions
7 and proceedings arising out of the pledge or sale transaction
8 filed by either a resident or nonresident plaintiff;
9 2. An appointment of the Secretary of State by any
10 nonresident of this state as that person's lawful attorney and
11 agent upon whom may be served all process in suits pertaining
12 to the actions and proceedings arising out of the sale,
13 pledge, or delivery; and
14 3. An agreement by any nonresident that any process in
15 any suit so served has the same legal force and validity as if
16 personally served in this state.
17 (16)(a) The agency shall adopt by rule a pamphlet
18 which shall explain a claimant's rights to property recovery
19 under subsection (15) and specify that the claimant is not
20 obligated to reimburse or otherwise pay the pawnbroker to
21 recover misappropriated property. The pamphlet shall also
22 contain the a copy of the form provided in paragraph (15)(b).
23 In developing the pamphlet, the agency shall consult with the
24 Attorney General, Florida Department of Law Enforcement,
25 Florida Sheriffs Association, Florida Police Chiefs
26 Association, Florida Pawnbrokers Association, and any other
27 interested party.
28 (b) The agency shall distribute the pamphlets to law
29 enforcement agencies which shall in turn be responsible for
30 distributing the pamphlet to any victim of a crime who
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1 believes that misappropriated property belonging to the victim
2 is in a pawnbroker's possession.
3 (17)(a)1. To obtain possession of property claimed to
4 be misappropriated, a claimant shall provide notice of the
5 claim to the pawnbroker by certified mail, return receipt
6 requested, or in person, evidenced by a signed receipt. The
7 notice must contain a complete and accurate description of the
8 purchased or pledged goods and must be accompanied by a
9 legible copy of the applicable law enforcement agency's report
10 on the misappropriation of such property.
11 2. If the claimant and the pawnbroker do not resolve
12 the matter within 10 days after the pawnbroker's receipt of
13 the notice, the claimant may petition the court to order the
14 return of the property, naming the pawnbroker as a defendant,
15 and shall serve the pawnbroker with a copy of the petition.
16 3. The pawnbroker shall hold the property described in
17 the petition until the right to possession is resolved by the
18 parties or by a court.
19 4. The court shall waive any filing fee for the
20 petition to recover the property and the sheriff shall waive
21 any fee for service of process.
22 5. The claimant shall not be liable for the
23 pawnbroker's costs or attorney's fees.
24 (b) The agency shall adopt by rule a disclosure form
25 which shall contain the following provisions:
26
27 IF YOU BELIEVE THAT PROPERTY STOLEN FROM YOU
28 HAS BEEN PAWNED OR SOLD TO THIS PAWNSHOP, YOU
29 ARE UNDER NO LEGAL OBLIGATION TO REIMBURSE OR
30 OTHERWISE PAY THIS PAWNSHOP IN ORDER TO RECOVER
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 1937
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1 THE PROPERTY. FLORIDA LAW PROVIDES THAT YOU
2 HAVE THE FOLLOWING RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
3
4 To obtain possession of the property, you must
5 provide notice of your claim to the pawnbroker
6 by certified mail, return receipt requested, or
7 in person, evidenced by a signed receipt. The
8 notice must contain a complete and accurate
9 description of the purchased or pledged goods
10 and must be accompanied by a legible copy of
11 the applicable law enforcement agency's report
12 on the misappropriation of such property.
13
14 If you and the pawnbroker do not resolve the
15 matter within 10 days after the pawnbroker's
16 receipt of the notice, you may petition the
17 court to order the return of the property,
18 naming the pawnbroker as a defendant, and must
19 serve the pawnbroker with a copy of the
20 petition.
21
22 The pawnbroker is required to hold the property
23 described in the petition until the right to
24 possession is resolved by the parties or by a
25 court.
26
27 You will not be liable for any filing fee for
28 the petition to recover the property or any fee
29 for service of process by the sheriff.
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1 You will not be liable for the pawnbroker's
2 costs or attorney's fees.
3
4 (c) The agency shall distribute the disclosure forms
5 to all pawnbrokers. When a person demands that a pawnshop
6 return property which the person claims has been
7 misappropriated, the pawnbroker shall provide the person with
8 the disclosure form and the person and the pawnbroker shall
9 sign the form.
10 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.
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13 LEGISLATIVE SUMMARY
14
Requires the Department of Law Enforcement to establish
15 and maintain a database of pawnshop and secondhand goods
transaction information received from local law
16 enforcement agencies. Requires agencies that have
collected such information to transfer the information to
17 the department in a format established by the department
in consultation with the Florida Sheriffs Association and
18 the Florida Police Chiefs Association. Provides for
access to such information by a law enforcement officer
19 for official investigative purposes only. Prohibits the
department from selling or providing the information to
20 private entities without legislative authority. Specifies
a petition form for actions to recover misappropriated
21 property. Authorizes the state to file a motion in a
pending criminal action relating to misappropriated
22 property. Requires the Division of Consumer Services of
the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to
23 adopt a pamphlet explaining a claimant's right to
property recovery and requires the division to distribute
24 the pamphlets to law enforcement agencies and law
enforcement agencies to distribute the pamphlets to
25 property claimants. Specifies procedures for a claimant
to obtain possession of misappropriated property.
26 Requires the division to adopt a disclosure form
specifying a claimant's rights and responsibilities in
27 claiming misappropriated property and requires the
division to distribute the disclosure form to pawnbrokers
28 and requires pawnbrokers to provide the disclosure form
to persons claiming return of misappropriated property.
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