Chapter 5.60
SECONDHAND DEALERS

Sections:

5.60.010    Definitions.

5.60.020    License required--Fees.

5.60.030    License application.

5.60.040    License granted by director of administrative services.

5.60.050    Investigation of character of applicant –Issuance of license.

5.60.055    Issuance of pawnbroker license--Bond required.

5.60.060    Consent required to change business location.

5.60.070    Record keeping requirements.

5.60.080    Access to records and property for inspection.

5.60.090    Pawn tickets.

5.60.100    Daily report of transactions to chief of police.

5.60.110    Redemption of pawned goods.

5.60.120    Limitations on receiving property.

5.60.130    Applicability to used car dealers.

5.60.140    Written permission required for minor to sell.

5.60.160    Violations -- Misdemeanor -- Gross Misdemeanor -- Civil Infraction.

5.60.010 - Definitions

For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

A.    "Secondhand dealer" means any person, firm, corporation, partnership or association that, within the city, shall solicit for or, as a business, engage in the purchase, sale, trade, barter or exchange of secondhand goods, wares or merchandise; provided, however, that a duly licensed appliance, furniture, auto parts and accessory dealer, service station, auction, wrecking yard, recycling center and junk dealer shall be exempted from the provisions of this chapter as long as such business holds a valid business or other license for such activity in compliance with the laws of the city; and provided further, that this chapter shall not apply to dealers who occasionally accept a secondhand article in exchange for a new article of the same character.

B.    A "pawnbroker" includes any person engaged in the business of receiving property in pledge for loans.

(Ord. 4286 §1, 1981; Ord. 1508 §1, 1917).

5.60.020 - License required –Fees

No person, firm or corporation shall engage in any or the businesses defined in Section 5.60.010, without procuring a license therefor as follows:

A.    The license fee for a secondhand dealer shall be the sum of fifty dollars per year;

B.    The license fee for a pawnbroker shall be the sum of seventy-five dollars per year; provided, that no license shall be issued for a period less than one year; and provided further, that no license shall be transferred without the consent of the director of administrative services being first obtained.

In addition to the above, an additional twenty-five dollars shall be assessed for any new license issued under this chapter for the initial first year thereof. This assessment is necessary to defray the initial administrative costs in reviewing an initial application and issuance of a license therefor.

(Ord. 4997 §1, 1989; Ord. 4753 §7, 1987; Ord. 4286 §2, 1981; Ord. 1508 §2, 1917).

5.60.030 - License application

Before any license is granted as provided for in this chapter, the applicant shall file with the director of administrative services an application stating the name in full of the applicant, the location where the business is to be conducted, the nature of the business to be conducted, and a receipt from the director of administrative services for the sum of the license fee.

(Ord. 4997 §2, 1989; Ord. 1508 §3, 1917).

5.60.040 - License granted by director of administrative services

No license shall be granted until such application has been considered by the director of administrative services.

(Ord. 4997 §3, 1989; Ord. 1508 §5, 1917).

5.60.050 - Investigation of character of applicant –Issuance of license

The director of administrative services may inquire into and require proof of the good character of the applicant and shall not issue a license to any person who has, within five years previous to the application, been convicted of burglary, larceny, theft, receiving stolen goods or other like crimes. If the applicant qualifies for a license under the terms of this chapter, the director of administrative services shall thereupon issue the license to the applicant; which license shall permit such applicant to conduct the business for which such application is made, at the time and in the manner set forth in the application and this chapter, which license shall specify that the same was issued by the director of administrative services and give the date when the same expires. The license may be revoked by the Olympia municipal court, upon a petition brought therefore by the city attorney, upon finding that the application for same contained untrue or deceptive statements the licensee had been convicted of a crime listed in this section since the issuance of the license, licensee has engaged in or allowed unlawful conduct to take place in the location of the business, or the licensee is not complying with the terms of the license or this chapter.

(Ord. 4997 §4, 1989; Ord. 4286 §3, 1981; Ord. 1508 §5, 1917).

5.60.055 - Issuance of pawnbroker license –Bond required

As a condition to the issuance of a pawnbroker license provided in this chapter, the licensee shall post a bond with the city in the face amount of ten thousand dollars to cover any loss to the licensee’s customers occasioned by any failure of the pawnbroker to return in proper condition any pawned items to any customer when required by the terms of the loan contract.

(Ord. 4286 §8, 1981).

5.60.060 - Consent required to change business location

Any person having a license may change his place of business in the city by first obtaining the consent of the city commission and not otherwise.

(Ord. 1508 §6, 1917).

5.60.070 - Recordkeeping requirements

It shall be the duty of every pawnbroker and secondhand dealer to maintain in his place of business a book or other permanent record in which shall be legibly written in the English language, at the time of each loan, purchase or sale, a record thereof, containing:

A.    The date of the transaction;

B.    The name of the person or employee conducting the same;

C.    The name, signature, sex, age, street and house number, and a general description of the dress, complexion, color of hair, and facial appearance of the person with whom the transaction is had;

D.    The name and street and house number of the owner of the property bought or received in pledge;

E.    The street and house number of the place from which the property bought or received in pledge was last removed;

F.    A description of the property bought or received in pledge, which, in the case of watches, shall contain the name of the maker and the number of both the works and the case, and, in the case of jewelry, shall contain a description of all letters and marks inscribed thereon; provided, that when the article bought or received is furniture, or the contents of any house or room actually inspected on the premises, a general record of the transaction shall be sufficient;

G.    The price paid or the amount loaned;

H.    The name and street and house numbers of all persons witnessing the transaction; and

I.    The number of any pawn ticket issued therefor.

(Ord. 4286 §4, 1981; Ord. 2381, 1941; Ord. 1508 §7, 1917).

5.60.080 - Access to records and property for inspection

The record provided for by Section 5.60.070 and the property purchased, shall be open for inspection at all hours to the sheriff of Thurston County and to his deputies and to the police officers of this city.

(Ord. 1667 §1, 1921; Ord. 1508 §8, 1917).

5.60.090 - Pawn tickets

Every pawnbroker shall issue numbered pawn tickets for all goods or property received by him as pledges for loans, which tickets shall be considered receipts for such goods or property. Tags shall be attached to all such goods or property and upon each tag shall be written in legible figures a number which shall correspond to the number on the pawn ticket issued for such article or articles.

(Ord. 2381, 1941; Ord. 1508 §8-A, 1917).

5.60.100 - Daily report of transactions to chief of police

Every pawnbroker and secondhand dealer in the city shall, before noon of each day, furnish to the chief of police, at his office, on such forms as he may provide therefor, a full, true and correct transcript of the record of all transactions had on the previous day; and if such pawnbroker or secondhand dealer shall have reason or cause to believe that any property in his possession has been previously lost or stolen, he shall forthwith report such fact to the chief of police, together with the name of the owner, if known, and the date when, and the name of the person from whom, the same was received by him. The daily report provided for in this section may be made by mailing at the close of the business day. Such record and all articles received shall at all times be open to the inspection of the chief of police or any police officer of the city, and no entry made in the record shall be erased or in any manner obliterated.

(Ord. 4286 §5, 1981; Ord. 2381, 1941; Ord. 1508 §8, 1917).

5.60.110 - Redemption of pawned goods

No pawnbroker shall sell any property held by him for redemption within ninety days after the period of redemption shall have expired; nor shall any pawnbroker or secondhand dealer, except in the case of a pawnbroker upon redemption thereof by the owner, remove or permit to be removed from his place of business any property received by him within seven working days after the receipt thereof shall have been reported to the chief of police, unless the property has, within the time period, been inspected and approved for release by the police department. Likewise, for good cause shown, and while any investigation is pending, the police department may require the licensee to hold the item for more than the seven-day period but not to exceed thirty days.

(Ord. 4286 §6, 1981; Ord. 2381, 1941; Ord. 1508 §8-C, 1917).

5.60.120 - Limitations on receiving property

No pawnbroker or secondhand dealer shall receive any goods, merchandise or property from any person under eighteen years of age, any person under the influence of intoxicating liquor or from any person who has been convicted of larceny, burglary, or receiving stolen goods if the dealer has previously been advised by the police department of the conviction.

(Ord. 4286 §7, 1981; Ord. 2381, 1941; Ord. 1508 §8-D, 1917).

5.60.130 - Applicability to used car dealers

The provisions of this chapter shall apply to dealers in secondhand automobiles but shall not be construed to apply to dealers taking in exchange for a new car a secondhand automobile from a person who is a resident of this county and with whom they are personally acquainted.

(Ord. 2381, 1941; Ord. 1508 §8-E, 1917).

5.60.140 - Written permission required for minor to sell

It is unlawful for any person to purchase from any minor under the age of eighteen years within the city any bottles, junk, rags, sacks, rubber or other secondhand goods or materials unless such minor at the time of offering such bottles, junk, rags, sacks, rubber or other secondhand goods or materials for sale presents a permit and statement in writing from his parent or guardian, said permit and statement containing a general description of the goods in the possession of the minor, and stating that the parent or guardian has knowledge of the ownership by the minor of the goods in his possession, and that the parent or guardian consents to his selling the same.

(Ord. 1508 §9, 1917).

5.60.160 - Violations -- Misdemeanor -- Gross Misdemeanor -- Civil Infraction.

A.    Any person, firm, or corporation who knowingly violates or fails to comply with any term or provision of this chapter shall be deemed to have committed a misdemeanor, and if found guilty, shall be subject to a fine not to exceed One Thousand Dollars ($1,000), and/or to imprisonment not to exceed ninety (90) days or to both such fine and imprisonment. Each day shall be a separate offense. In the event of a continuing violation or failure to comply, the second and subsequent days shall constitute a gross misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000) and/or imprisonment not to exceed three hundred and sixty-five (365) days or both such time and imprisonment. Continuing violation shall mean the same type of violation which is committed within a year of the initial violation.

B.    As an additional concurrent penalty, it shall be a civil infraction for a person, firm, or corporation to violate or fail to comply with any term or provision of this chapter. Each day shall be a separate infraction. A person, firm, or corporation found to have committed a civil infraction shall be assessed a monetary penalty as follows:

1.    First offense: Class 3 ($50), not including statutory assessments.

2.    Second offense arising out of the same facts as the first offense: Class 2 ($125), not including statutory assessments.

3.    Third offense arising out of the same facts as the first offense: Class 1 ($250), not including statutory assessments.

See also OMC Chapter 4.44, Uniform Code Enforcement.

C.    The Director of Finance and Budget may revoke the license of any person, firm, or corporation violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter after written notice and an opportunity to be heard.

(Ord. 6081 §15, 2001; Ord. 1508 §11, 1917).