The Florida Senate

538.06  Holding period.--

(1)  A secondhand dealer shall not sell, barter, exchange, alter, adulterate, or in any way dispose of any secondhand goods within 15 calendar days of the date of acquisition of the goods. Such holding periods are not applicable when the person known by the secondhand dealer to be the person from whom the goods were acquired desires to redeem, repurchase, or recover the goods, provided the dealer can produce the record of the original transaction with verification that the customer is the person from whom the goods were originally acquired.

(2)  A secondhand dealer must maintain actual physical possession of all secondhand goods throughout a transaction. It is unlawful for a secondhand dealer to accept title or any other form of security in secondhand goods in lieu of actual physical possession. A secondhand dealer who accepts title or any other form of security in secondhand goods in lieu of actual physical possession commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083

(3)  Upon probable cause that goods held by a secondhand dealer are stolen, a law enforcement officer with jurisdiction may extend the holding period to a maximum of 60 days. However, the holding period may be extended beyond 60 days by a court of competent jurisdiction upon a finding of probable cause that the property is stolen and further holding is necessary for the purposes of trial or to safeguard such property. The dealer shall assume all responsibility, civil or criminal, relative to the property or evidence in question, including responsibility for the actions of any employee with respect thereto.

(4)  All dealers in secondhand property regulated by this chapter shall maintain transaction records for 5 years.

History.--s. 2, ch. 89-533; s. 1, ch. 90-192; s. 4, ch. 90-318; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 3, ch. 93-97; s. 2, ch. 95-287; s. 21, ch. 2000-138.