HOUSE BILL 160
51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013
INTRODUCED BY
William "Bill" R. Rehm
AN ACT
ENACTING THE PRECIOUS METAL BUYERS ACT; REQUIRING A PERMIT AND BOND; REQUIRING REPORTS OF ITEMS PURCHASED AND DISPOSED; PROVIDING FOR SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF A PERMIT; PROHIBITING CERTAIN PRACTICES; IMPOSING A PENALTY.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Precious Metal Buyers Act".
SECTION 2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Precious Metal Buyers Act:
A. "local government" means a county or municipality;
B. "local government authority" means the agency of a local government charged with issuing precious metal buyer permits;
C. "local law enforcement agency" means the chief of police, the chief's designee or the police department if applicable to a municipality, or the county sheriff, the sheriff's designee or the county sheriff's department if applicable to a county;
D. "place of business" means the location or premises where a precious metal buyer regularly conducts or will conduct business in New Mexico;
E. "precious metal" means gold, silver, platinum, palladium or rhodium; and
F. "precious metal buyer" means a person engaged in the business of purchasing items of precious metal for the purpose of resale, smelting, melting down or otherwise altering the items, except "precious metal buyer" does not include a pawnbroker who holds a permit pursuant to the Pawnbrokers Act or a business that derives ninety percent or more of its annual gross receipts from the retail sale of jewelry or the making and selling of jewelry.
SECTION 3. PERMIT REQUIRED--APPLICATION--FEE.--
A. A precious metal buyer shall obtain a precious metal buyer permit from the local government where the precious metal buyer's place of business is located. The permit shall be conspicuously displayed in the precious metal buyer's place of business and shall expire on July 1 of each year and be renewed by that date. Upon obtaining the permit, every precious metal buyer shall register with the local law enforcement agency. A person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be eligible for a permit.
B. An application for an original or a renewal permit shall be submitted to the local government and shall contain all information required by the local government. A local government may impose a precious metal buyer permit fee to cover the expense of administration of the Precious Metal Buyers Act.
C. An application for a permit shall require the name, address, social security number and date of birth of each employee and agent of the applicant engaged in the business of purchasing precious metals. A permit holder shall notify the local government authority of any change to the list of employees or agents within fifteen days of the change.
SECTION 4. BOND REQUIRED.--
A. A person shall not engage in business as a precious metal buyer without having executed and delivered a bond to the local government where the buyer's place of business is located in the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000). The bond shall be in a form approved by the local government and shall be conditioned upon the conduct of the precious metal buyer's business according to the provisions of the Precious Metal Buyers Act. The bond shall be for the benefit of each and every person damaged by a breach of any condition set forth in the bond. A precious metal buyer shall provide the local government with a thirty-day advance notice, in writing, of the cancellation of the bond.
B. A precious metal buyer shall submit proof of execution and delivery of the bond to the local government with each application for an original or renewal permit.
SECTION 5. SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF PERMIT--NOTICE--HEARING.--
A. A local government authority may institute proceedings for the suspension or revocation of a permit issued pursuant to the Precious Metal Buyers Act upon the filing of a written complaint by a local law enforcement agency, a district attorney or the attorney general charging a precious metal buyer or the buyer's agent or employee with a violation of a provision of the Precious Metal Buyers Act.
B. A local government authority shall serve written notice upon the precious metal buyer that sets forth the alleged violation and the date, time and place of the hearing. The notice shall be served no more than ten days and no less than five days before the scheduled hearing. The notice shall be served personally upon the precious metal buyer or be posted in a conspicuous place in the buyer's place of business.
C. The precious metal buyer and any other interested person shall have the right to appear at the hearing and to produce evidence. The rules of evidence shall not apply. If, after the hearing, the local government authority determines that the precious metal buyer is in violation of a provision of the Precious Metal Buyers Act, the local government authority shall issue a written order. The order may suspend the permit for a stated period of time or permanently revoke the permit. The order shall be served upon the precious metal buyer within five business days after the hearing in the manner specified in Subsection B of this section. The official serving the order may remove the permit from the premises, if appropriate, and deliver it to the local government authority.
SECTION 6. LOCAL ORDINANCES AND RULES.--
A. A local government shall enact ordinances and adopt rules as necessary for the equitable administration of the Precious Metal Buyers Act.
B. Nothing in the Precious Metal Buyers Act shall be construed to prohibit a local government from enacting additional requirements governing precious metal buyers not inconsistent with that act.
SECTION 7. DAILY REPORTS--DELIVERY--VIOLATIONS.--
A. A precious metal buyer shall each day accurately complete a report for each item of precious metal received or purchased during the preceding business day on a form approved by the local law enforcement agency. Each item received shall be listed on a separate report. The report shall include the following:
(1) the name and a description of the item;
(2) a photograph of the item;
(3) the serial number and other identifying marks, if any;
(4) the date, time and type of transaction;
(5) the name and address of the person offering the item;
(6) a description of the person offering the item, including sex, complexion, hair color, approximate height and weight and date of birth; and
(7) the type of identification document used by the person offering the item, including the identifying number of the document and the state or other governmental entity that issued the document.
B. All reports required by this section shall be completed accurately and made available by noon of the day following the day of the transaction and shall be delivered or mailed to the local law enforcement agency within three days of the transaction.
C. A driver's license or other government-issued photo identification card shall be required of each person entering into a precious metal transaction with a precious metal buyer.
D. Property purchased directly from a permit holder regulated by the Precious Metal Buyers Act who has already reported the item pursuant to this section is exempt from the requirements of this section.
E. Persistent or frequent erroneous or incomplete entries in or delays in the submitting of the required reports shall constitute a violation of this section.
F. The reports required pursuant to this section, as well as every item received, shall be available for inspection by the local government authority, the district attorney and the local law enforcement agency at all reasonable times.
G. Each item of precious metal received or purchased by the precious metal buyer for which a report is required shall have attached to it a tag with an alphabetic or numerical identification system matching that item with its corresponding report.
SECTION 8. DISPOSITION OF ITEMS OF PRECIOUS METAL--WAITING PERIOD--RECORD OF ITEM.--
A. A precious metal buyer shall not sell, smelt, melt down, alter or otherwise dispose of an item of precious metal until at least fifteen days after the buyer has received or purchased the item.
B. A precious metal buyer shall keep a permanent record, fully itemized, of the disposition of all items of precious metal. The record shall include:
(1) the report of the item as required pursuant to Section 7 of the Precious Metal Buyers Act, except that a photograph of an item may be destroyed one year after the purchase or receipt of the item;
(2) the date and place of disposition;
(3) the manner in which the item was disposed, whether by resale, smelting, melting, alteration or another method of disposition; and
(4) for resale items, the name and address of the person or business that purchased the item.
SECTION 9. PROHIBITED PRACTICES.--A precious metal buyer shall not:
A. knowingly enter into a precious metal transaction with a person under the age of eighteen years or under the influence of alcohol or any narcotic, drug, stimulant or depressant;
B. purchase or otherwise receive any item of property from which the manufacturer's name plate, serial number or identification mark has been obviously defaced, altered, covered or destroyed;
C. purchase or otherwise receive any item of precious metal that the buyer knows is not lawfully owned by the person offering it; or
D. require that any of the proceeds of the purchase be spent at the precious metal buyer's place of business or in any other manner directed by the precious metal buyer.
SECTION 10. PENALTIES.--
A. A precious metal buyer who violates a provision of the Precious Metal Buyers Act is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978.
B. A precious metal buyer who violates a provision of the Precious Metal Buyers Act shall be subject to having the buyer's permit revoked or suspended by the local government authority pursuant to the provisions of Section 5 of the Precious Metal Buyers Act.
C. Revocation or suspension of a permit does not bar prosecution of the precious metal buyer pursuant to Subsection A of this section, and criminal prosecution does not bar proceedings to revoke or suspend the buyer's permit.
SECTION 11. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2013.
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