HOUSE BILL 234
53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017
INTRODUCED BY
Patricio Ruiloba
AN ACT
RELATING TO COMMERCE; ENACTING THE PRECIOUS METAL TRANSACTIONS ACT; EXPANDING THE REQUIREMENTS THAT APPLY TO COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING PRECIOUS METAL ITEMS; PROVIDING PENALTIES; REPEALING SECTIONS OF THE NMSA 1978.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--Sections 1 through 7 of this act may be cited as the "Precious Metal Transactions Act".
SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Precious Metal Transactions Act:
A. "dealer" means an owner or employee of a commercial establishment that conducts transactions involving precious metal items;
B. "precious metal" means gold, silver or platinum; and
C. "transaction" means a purchase, sale, appraisal or loan.
SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] WEIGHING PRECIOUS METAL.--In conducting a transaction involving a precious metal item, a dealer weighing the item shall use as a scale only one that a weights and measures officer of New Mexico, within twelve months before the date of the measurement, has inspected and approved for use.
SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] PRECIOUS METAL TRANSACTION--PATRON IDENTIFICATION--RECEIPT--RECEIPT RETENTION.--
A. For each purchase or appraisal of a precious metal item by a dealer, the dealer shall require the patron involved in the transaction to present a valid, government-issued photo identification card.
B. For each purchase or appraisal of a precious metal item by a dealer, the dealer shall issue to the patron involved in the transaction a serialized receipt or statement of appraisal, as appropriate, that shows:
(1) the legal name and address of the commercial establishment;
(2) if the transaction is a purchase, the name and address of the seller;
(3) the date of the transaction;
(4) the net weight in terms of pounds troy or avoirdupois, ounces troy or avoirdupois, pennyweight troy or avoirdupois or kilograms or grams; and
(5) the fineness of the precious metal in terms of karat for gold and sterling or coin for silver.
C. A dealer shall retain for at least one year a copy of every receipt and statement of appraisal that Subsection B of this section requires the dealer to issue.
SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] RECORD--REPORT.--
A. Except for a direct purchase from a permit holder regulated by the Pawnbrokers Act who has already reported the item in accordance with this section, a dealer shall accurately record each transaction involving a precious metal item that occurs at the dealer's commercial establishment:
(1) on a form approved by a local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which the transaction occurred; and
(2) no later than noon on the day after the transaction.
B. The dealer shall complete a form for each item transacted. The record shall include:
(1) identification and a description of the item;
(2) the serial number and identifying marks of the item, if any;
(3) the time and date of the transaction;
(4) the name and address of the patron involved in the transaction;
(5) a description, including the sex, complexion, hair color, approximate height, approximate weight and date of birth, of the patron;
(6) the type of identification, as required by Subsection A of Section 4 of the Precious Metal Transactions Act, that the patron presented; and
(7) the identifying number of that identification and the state and date of issuance, if any.
C. A dealer shall deliver or mail the record required by this section to the local law enforcement agency within three days after the transaction.
SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] ITEM TAG--ITEM HOLD--RECORD AND ITEM INSPECTION.--
A. A precious metal dealer shall attach a tag to every item for which a record is required by Section 5 of the Precious Metal Transactions Act. The tag shall display alphabetic or numeric symbols that match the item to the record to which it corresponds.
B. A dealer who purchases a precious metal item from a seller other than a licensed pawnbroker, a second-hand store or another dealer shall, for at least fifteen days, retain the precious metal in the form that the dealer purchased it.
C. A dealer shall make available for inspection by the local government authority, the attorney general, a local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which the transaction occurred or a sworn member of the law enforcement agency:
(1) the record required by Section 5 of the Precious Metal Transactions Act; and
(2) the items required by this section to be held.
SECTION 7. [NEW MATERIAL] PENALTY.--
A. A person who violates the Precious Metal Transactions Act is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced in accordance with Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978.
B. Upon a person's second or subsequent conviction for a violation of the Precious Metal Transactions Act, the person is guilty of a fourth degree felony and shall be sentenced in accordance with Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978.
SECTION 8. Section 57-9-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 155, Section 1) is amended to read:
"57-9-1. SHORT TITLE.--[This act] Chapter 57, Article 9 NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Used Merchandise Act"."
SECTION 9. Section 57-9-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 155, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:
"57-9-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Used Merchandise Act:
A. "store" means [any] a pawnshop, second-hand store, junkshop, automobile salvage establishment or automobile wreckage establishment [or any place of operation for dealing in or purchasing gold, silver or platinum, but]; "store" does not include [any] a shop or establishment insofar as it purchases or deals in paper products or used beverage containers [other than those made of gold, silver or platinum]; and
B. "identification" means a valid New Mexico driver's license, a federal social security card, a valid armed forces identification card, a federal census number, a valid medicare identification card, a valid passport or any valid juvenile identification card issued by a municipality of this state."
SECTION 10. Section 57-9-3.2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 323, Section 4) is amended to read:
"57-9-3.2. RECORDS.--An owner of a store shall [A.] keep a record [in which he shall note] noting, for each of the store's transactions, the date and time of [each] the transaction, a description of the goods purchased and the name and address of the person selling the goods [and the date and hour the goods were received; and
B. retain all gold, silver and platinum in the form in which purchased in his possession for a period of not less than five days]."
SECTION 11. REPEAL.--Sections 57-9-3.1 and 57-9-3.3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 323, Sections 3 and 5) are repealed.
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