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H. B. No. 192 As IntroducedAs Introduced
130th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2013-2014 |
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Representatives McGregor, Slesnick
Cosponsors:
Representatives Hackett, Blair, Ruhl
A BILL
To amend sections 4505.102, 4727.03, 4727.06,
4727.07, 4727.08, 4727.09, 4727.11, 4727.12,
4727.13, 4727.20, and 4727.99 and to enact
sections 4727.061 and 4727.23 of the Revised Code
to revise the law governing pawnbrokers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 4505.102, 4727.03, 4727.06,
4727.07, 4727.08, 4727.09, 4727.11, 4727.12, 4727.13, 4727.20, and
4727.99 be amended and sections 4727.061 and 4727.23 of the
Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 4505.102. (A) If a pawnbroker licensed under Chapter
4727. of the Revised Code makes a loan that is secured by a motor
vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor and has taken possession of
the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor and the
certificate of title to the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard
motor, and the owner of the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard
motor fails to redeem or pay interest on the loan for which the
motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor was pledged within
two months from the date of the loan or the date on which the last
interest payment is due, and the pawnbroker notifies the owner by
mail, with proof of mailing, as required by division (A) of
section 4727.11 of the Revised Code, or electronically, as
permitted by that division, of the possible forfeiture of the
motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor, and the owner fails
to redeem the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor within
the thirty-day period required by that division to be specified in
the notice, the pawnbroker shall proceed to obtain a certificate
of title to the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor in
the pawnbroker's name in the manner provided in this section.
(B) The pawnbroker shall execute an affidavit stating all of
the following:
(1) That the pawnbroker is a pawnbroker licensed under
Chapter 4727. of the Revised Code;
(2) That the pawnbroker has made a loan to the owner of a
motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor, and the security for
the loan is the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor;
(3) That both the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard
motor and the certificate of title to the motor vehicle,
watercraft, or outboard motor are in the possession of the
pawnbroker;
(4) That the owner of the motor vehicle, watercraft, or
outboard motor has failed to redeem the pledged motor vehicle,
watercraft, or outboard motor or pay interest on the loan for
which the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor was pledged
within two months from the date of the loan or the date on which
the last interest payment was due;
(5) That the pawnbroker has notified the owner of the motor
vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor by mail, with proof of
mailing, as required by division (A) of section 4727.11 of the
Revised Code, or electronically, as permitted by that division,
and the owner has failed to redeem the motor vehicle, watercraft,
or outboard motor within the thirty-day period required by that
division to be specified in the notice.
Upon presentation by the pawnbroker of a copy of the
affidavit, a copy of the pawn form, a copy of the proof of mailing
or that the electronic mail was sent, and the certificate of title
to the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor, a clerk of a
court of common pleas shall issue, if the record shows no lien or
encumbrances exist, a certificate of title, free and clear of all
liens and encumbrances, to the pawnbroker.
(C) No person shall execute or present the affidavit required
by this section, knowing any entry on the affidavit to be false.
(D) Whoever violates this section shall be fined not more
than two hundred dollars, imprisoned not more than ninety days, or
both.
Sec. 4727.03. (A) As used in this section, "experience and
fitness in the capacity involved" means that the applicant for a
pawnbroker's license demonstrates sufficient financial
responsibility, reputation, and experience in the pawnbroker
business, or in a related business, to act as a pawnbroker in
compliance with this chapter. "Experience and fitness in the
capacity involved" shall be determined by all of the following:
(1) Prior or current ownership or management of, or
employment in, a pawnshop;
(2) Demonstration to the satisfaction of the superintendent
of financial institutions of a thorough working knowledge of all
pawnbroker laws and rules as they relate to the actual operation
of a pawnshop.
A demonstration shall include a demonstration of an ability
to properly complete forms, knowledge of how to properly calculate
interest and storage charges, and knowledge of legal notice and
forfeiture procedures. The final determination of whether an
applicant's demonstration is adequate rests with the
superintendent.
(3) A submission by the applicant and any stockholders,
owners, managers, directors, or officers of the pawnshop, and
employees of the applicant to a police record check; and
(4) Liquid assets in a minimum amount of one hundred thousand
dollars at the time of applying for initial licensure and
demonstration of the ability to maintain the liquid assets at a
minimum amount of fifty one hundred thousand dollars for the
duration of holding a valid pawnbroker's license.
(B) The superintendent may grant a license to act as a
pawnbroker to any person of good character and having experience
and fitness in the capacity involved to engage in the business of
pawnbroking upon the payment to the superintendent of a license
fee determined by the superintendent pursuant to section 1321.20
of the Revised Code. A license is not transferable or assignable.
(C) The superintendent may consider an application withdrawn
and may retain the investigation fee required under division (D)
of this section if both of the following are true:
(1) An application for a license does not contain all of the
information required under division (B) of this section.
(2) The information is not submitted to the superintendent
within ninety days after the superintendent requests the
information from the applicant in writing.
(D) The superintendent shall require an applicant for a
pawnbroker's license to pay to the superintendent a nonrefundable
initial investigation fee of
two three hundred dollars, which is
for the exclusive use of the state.
(E)(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (E)(2) of
this section, a pawnbroker's license issued by the superintendent
expires on the thirtieth day of June next following the date of
its issuance, and may be renewed annually by the thirtieth day of
June in accordance with the standard renewal procedure set forth
in Chapter 4745. of the Revised Code. Fifty per cent of the annual
license fee shall be for the use of the state, and fifty per cent
shall be paid by the state to the municipal corporation, or if
outside the limits of any municipal corporation, to the county, in
which the office of the licensee is located. All such fees payable
to municipal corporations or counties shall be paid annually.
(2) A pawnbroker's license issued or renewed by the
superintendent on or after January 1, 2006, expires on the
thirtieth day of June in the even-numbered year next following the
date of its issuance or renewal, as applicable, and may be renewed
biennially by the thirtieth day of June in accordance with the
standard renewal procedure set forth in Chapter 4745. of the
Revised Code. Fifty per cent of the biennial license fee shall be
for the use of the state, and fifty per cent shall be paid by the
state to the municipal corporation, or if outside the limits of
any municipal corporation, to the county, in which the office of
the licensee is located. All such fees payable to municipal
corporations or counties shall be paid biennially.
(F) The fee for renewal of a license shall be equivalent to
the fee for an initial license established by the superintendent
pursuant to section 1321.20 of the Revised Code. Any licensee who
wishes to renew the pawnbroker's license but who fails to do so on
or before the date the license expires shall reapply for licensure
in the same manner and pursuant to the same requirements as for
initial licensure, unless the licensee pays to the superintendent
on or before the thirty-first day of August of the year the
license expires, a late renewal penalty of one hundred dollars in
addition to the regular renewal fee. Any licensee who fails to
renew the license on or before the date the license expires is
prohibited from acting as a pawnbroker until the license is
renewed or a new license is issued under this section. Any
licensee who renews a license between the first day of July and
the thirty-first day of August of the year the license expires is
not relieved from complying with this division. The superintendent
may refuse to issue to or renew the license of any licensee who
violates this division.
(G) No license shall be granted to any person not a resident
of or the principal office of which is not located in the
municipal corporation or county designated in such license unless
that applicant, in writing and in due form approved by and filed
with the superintendent, first appoints an agent, a resident of
the state, and city or county where the office is to be located,
upon whom all judicial and other process, or legal notice,
directed to the applicant may be served. In case of the death,
removal from the state, or any legal disability or any
disqualification of any such agent, service of such process or
notice may be made upon the superintendent.
The superintendent may, upon notice to the licensee and
reasonable opportunity to be heard, suspend or revoke any license
or assess a penalty against the licensee if the licensee, or the
licensee's officers, agents, or employees, has violated this
chapter. Any penalty shall be appropriate to the violation but in
no case shall the penalty be less than two hundred nor more than
two thousand dollars. Whenever, for any cause, a license is
suspended or revoked, the superintendent shall not issue another
license to the licensee nor to the legal spouse of the licensee,
nor to any business entity of which the licensee is an officer or
member or partner, nor to any person employed by the licensee,
until the expiration of at least two years from the date of
revocation or suspension of the license. The superintendent shall
deposit all penalties allocated pursuant to this section into the
state treasury to the credit of the consumer finance fund.
Any proceedings for the revocation or suspension of a license
or to assess a penalty against a licensee are subject to Chapter
119. of the Revised Code.
(H) If a licensee surrenders or chooses not to renew the
pawnbroker's license, the licensee shall notify the superintendent
thirty days prior to the date on which the licensee intends to
close the licensee's business as a pawnbroker. Prior to the date,
the licensee shall do either of the following with respect to all
active loans:
(1) Dispose of an active loan by selling the loan to another
person holding a valid pawnbroker's license issued under this
section;
(2) Reduce the rate of interest on pledged articles held as
security for a loan to eight per cent per annum or less effective
on the date that the pawnbroker's license is no longer valid.
Sec. 4727.06. (A) No pawnbroker shall charge, receive, or
demand interest for any loan in excess of five three per cent per
month or fraction of a month on the unpaid principal. Interest
shall be computed on a monthly basis on the amount of the
principal remaining unpaid on the first day of the month and shall
not be compounded.
(B) In addition to the rate of interest limitation imposed
pursuant to division (A) of this section, the a licensee may
charge
no more than:
(1) Four dollars per month or fraction of a month for all
pledged articles held as security or stored for a loan, to be
agreed to in writing at the time the loan is made;
(2) Four dollars plus the actual cost of shipping, when the
licensee is to deliver or forward the pledged article by express
or parcel post to the pledgor;
(3) Two dollars for the loss of the original statement issued
to the pledgor by the licensee pursuant to section 4727.07 of the
Revised Code upon redemption of the pledged articles;
(4) Two dollars for the cost of notifying a pledgor by mail
that the pledged articles may be forfeited to the licensee
pursuant to section 4727.11 of the Revised Code, contract for, or
receive a reasonable fee, not to exceed one-tenth of the value of
the loan per month for investigating a title, appraising pledged
or purchased items, storing and insuring property, closing a loan,
and other expenses, losses, and incidental costs associated with
servicing loans. Such a fee when made and collected shall not be
considered interest for any purpose.
(C) A licensee who complies with the requirements or
procedures of this state pursuant to the application of the "Brady
Handgun Violence Protection Act," 107 Stat. 1536 (1993), 18
U.S.C.A. 922, as amended, may charge any fee the licensee is
required by law to pay in order to comply with such requirements
or procedures. The licensee may charge no more than two dollars
for providing services in compliance with such requirements or
procedures.
(D) No licensee shall directly or indirectly charge, receive,
or contract for any interest or fees greater than that allowed by
divisions (A), (B), and (C) of this section.
(E) A pledgor may pay a portion of the outstanding principal
loan balance at any time. A pledgor may redeem a pawn loan at any
time after seventy-two hours have passed since the pledge was
made. A pledgor may not prepay interest or storage charges, except
when the pledgor redeems the pledged property.
Sec. 4727.061. A person licensed as a pawnbroker shall waive
any unpaid interest charges imposed under section 4727.06 of the
Revised Code and hold, except as provided in section 4727.12 of
the Revised Code, pledged property that is the subject of a pawn
transaction on the licensee's business premises until sixty days
after the pledgor or the pledgor's spouse or dependent returns to
the United States if the licensee receives a copy of military
orders indicating that the pledgor, or pledgor's spouse or
dependent, is a member of the United States armed forces or in the
military service of a state and, after the pawn transaction was
entered into, the person was or is to be deployed for service
relating to a military conflict.
Sec. 4727.07. Every pawnbroker shall give to the pledgor or
seller a statement upon which shall be legibly written in ink,
printed, or typed, the name and address of the licensee making the
loan or purchase, the amount of the loan or purchase price, the
rate of interest, the time and date when the loan is made, or
goods sold, and the date when payable; and also shall give the
pledgor a receipt for each payment of principal, storage charge,
or interest. All moneys received for any loan shall first be
applied to any interest and storage charge on a loan, and any
remaining moneys shall then be applied to the amount of unpaid
principal of the loan existing on the date on which the moneys are
received. The statement also shall contain a full and accurate
description of the articles pledged or sold, including any serial
and model numbers or identifying marks thereon. In the case of
pawn loans, the statement shall contain a full disclosure of all
charges for storage, and on the back of the receipt shall be
printed in type a copy of section 4727.06 of the Revised Code. The
licensee shall retain a copy of the statement for two years from
the date of the last entry of the loan or purchase account. Every
statement shall be numbered and maintained consecutively,
commencing with the number "one," but the licensee may maintain
statements in an active and inactive file separate files.
Sec. 4727.08. (A) Every person licensed as a pawnbroker
shall keep and use separate pawn forms and purchase forms to be
approved by the superintendent of financial institutions.
(B)(1) The licensee shall record on the appropriate form for
each pawn or purchase all of the following information:
(1)(a) The date and time of the pledging or purchasing;
(2)(b) The amount of the loan or the purchase price;
(3)(c) The rate of interest and the charges to be paid on the
loan;
(4)(d) The time within which the pledgor is to redeem the
pledged property;
(5)(e) The name, age, and address of the pledgor or seller;
(6)(f) A driver's license number, military identification
number, or other personal identification number;
(7)(g) A physical description of the pledgor or seller;
(8)(h) An accurate description of the pledged or purchased
property, including the name of the manufacturer, any serial and
model numbers, any identifying features, and any identifying
letters or marks;
(9)(i) Any other disclosures required by federal law;
(j) The name of the licensee, and if applicable, the employee
identification number of the employee involved in the transaction.
(2) A licensee shall include with or attach to the
appropriate form a photocopy or scanned image of the pledgor's or
seller's personal identification card. As used in division (B)(2)
of this section, "personal identification card" means a current
and valid driver's license, military identification card, state
identification card issued under sections 4507.50 to 4507.52 of
the Revised Code, or a state identification card issued by another
state on the condition that that card contains information
substantially similar to the information contained on a state
identification card issued under sections 4507.50 to 4507.52 of
the Revised Code and also contains a photograph of the person to
whom the card is issued.
(C) The licensee may record information on forms specific to
the following circumstances:
(4) Partial payments on loans;
(6) Merchandise purchase receipts;
(7) Merchandise sales receipts;
(8) Lost ticket affidavits;
(9) Requested police copies not picked up by the appropriate
law enforcement agency;
(10) Other circumstances the licensee encounters.
(D) A copy of each form used in a pawn or purchase, including
statements retained pursuant to section 4727.07 of the Revised
Code, and all forms recorded and maintained in accordance with
this section, shall be kept at all times in numerical order by
transaction number in an active or inactive file separate files,
as appropriate, and the licensee shall account for all form
numbers.
(D)(E) The records and forms, at all times, shall be kept at
the licensed location and available for inspection by the
superintendent and by the chief of police of the municipal
corporation or township in which the licensee's place of business
is located or, if the place of business is not located within a
municipal corporation or a township that has a chief of police, by
the sheriff of the county in which the place of business is
located. Upon demand of any of them, the licensee shall produce
and show any records, forms, pledges, or purchases which are in
the licensee's possession.
(E)(F) Except in the case of a pledged motor vehicle,
watercraft, or outboard motor, the licensee shall keep all pledges
and purchases at the licensee's place of business unless a
pledgor, in writing, agrees otherwise at the time the pledge is
made. If the item pledged for the pawn loan is a motor vehicle,
watercraft, or outboard motor, the licensee shall take possession
of both the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor and the
certificate of title to the motor vehicle, watercraft, or outboard
motor and shall keep the certificate at the licensee's place of
business but, upon notification to the pledgor, may keep the motor
vehicle, watercraft, or outboard motor at a location other than
the licensee's place of business. No pledge shall be removed from
the place of business for the licensee's personal use or gain.
(F)(G) Every person licensed as a pawnbroker under this
chapter shall keep and use an intelligible set of books and
records in the English language in complying with this chapter
with respect to recording the details of each purchase or loan.
Except as provided in division (J)(K) of this section, all
information required to be recorded by this chapter shall be
entered in a bound book or on loose-leaf, permanent forms used
exclusively for that purpose. Forms shall be identical and
consecutively numbered, and each shall contain two or more pages.
One part of each form shall be detachable and, when completed,
shall serve as the statement to be given by the licensee to the
pledgor or seller as provided by section 4727.07 of the Revised
Code, the. The remaining part of the form shall be retained in the
licensee's permanent records. All forms shall be accounted for.
(G)(H) No licensee shall require a borrower to affix the
borrower's signature to a blank or partially filled out pawn form
or other record.
(H)(I) Every licensee shall preserve the licensee's books,
forms, accounts, and records for at least two years after making
the final entry regarding any purchase or pledge of property
recorded therein.
(I)(J) All pawn and purchase forms, legal notices, and
payment receipt forms shall reflect the name under which the
licensee is registered with the superintendent and the complete
address of the place of business.
(J)(K) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a
licensee may use other methods of recording data, keeping records,
and keeping books, such as electronic or computerized methods, in
lieu of the methods described in this section, provided written
printouts or hard copies of the required data are readily
available in a form approved, in advance, by the superintendent.
Sec. 4727.09. (A) A person licensed as a pawnbroker shall,
every day, furnish the following information to the chief of
police of the municipal corporation or township in which the
licensee's place of business is located or, if the place of
business is not located within a municipal corporation or a
township that has a chief of police, to the sheriff of the county
in which the place of business is located:
(1) A description of all property pledged with or purchased
by the licensee;
(2) The number of the pawn or purchase form the licensee used
to document the pledge or purchase;
(3) The name of the licensee, and if applicable, the employee
identification number of the employee involved in the transaction.
(B) A licensee shall provide the property description and
form number required by division (A) of this section on the a form
furnished by the law enforcement officer requesting the
information approved by the superintendent of financial
institutions for the database reporting system described in
division (C) of this section. The completed form may shall be
communicated by electronic transfer or be in a magnetic digital
media format, unless the chief of police or sheriff requests a
paper copy of the approved form.
(1) No fee shall be assessed to a licensee, a pledgor, or a
seller for compliance with this division.
(2) If the form is communicated electronically pursuant to
this division, a licensee may notify a pledgor regarding
redemption of property as described in division (E) of section
4727.11 of the Revised Code.
(C) The superintendent shall approve a secure law enforcement
database reporting system for use by a licensee to make records
available to law enforcement officers as required under division
(B) of this section. All information submitted to the database
shall be purged two years from the date of the transaction.
(D) Except for the information collected pursuant to
divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section, information furnished to
law enforcement officers by a licensee pursuant to division (B) of
this section is confidential and is not a public record under
section 149.43 of the Revised Code.
(C)(E) For the purposes of this section, a licensee need
provide only the information required by division (A) of this
section.
Sec. 4727.11. (A) If Except as provided in division (E) of
this section, if a pledgor fails to pay interest to a person
licensed as a pawnbroker on a pawn loan for two months from the
date of the loan or the date on which the last interest payment is
due, the licensee shall notify the pledgor by mail, with proof of
mailing, to the last place of address given by the pledgor, or by
electronic communication, if the pledgor agrees to such
communication at the time the loan is made, to the electronic mail
address given by the pledgor, that unless the pledgor redeems the
pledged property or pays all interest and fees due and storage
charges within thirty days from the date the notice is mailed or
electronically mailed, the pledged property shall be forfeited to
the licensee. If the pledgor fails to redeem or pay all interest
and fees due and storage charges within the period specified in
the notice, the licensee becomes the owner of the pledged
property.
(B) In the event that any article or property is redeemed by
a person other than the pledgor, the pledgor shall sign the
pledgor's copy of the statement required under section 4727.07 of
the Revised Code, which copy shall be presented by the person to
the licensee. The licensee shall verify the name of the person
redeeming the article or property, and shall record the person's
name and driver's license number, or other personal identification
number, on the licensee's copy of the statement, and shall require
the person to sign this copy.
(C) In the event that any articles or property pledged are
lost or rendered inoperable due to negligence of the licensee, the
licensee shall replace the articles or property with identical
articles or property, except that if the licensee cannot
reasonably obtain identical articles or property, the licensee
shall replace the articles or property with like articles or
property.
(D) When an account is paid in full, the licensee shall
return the pledged article immediately to the pledgor. In the
event the pledgor sells, transfers, or assigns the pledge, the
licensee shall verify the name of the person redeeming the pledge
and record that person's name, driver's license number, and
signature on the permanent copy of the statement of pledge
required pursuant to section 4727.07 of the Revised Code. The
licensee also shall obtain the signature of the pledgor, or other
person redeeming the pledge, upon a separate record of the
transaction, that acknowledges the total dollar amount paid for
redemption and the date of redemption. All records shall be kept
in the licensee's place of business.
(E) If a licensee electronically files the information
required by division (A) of section 4727.09 of the Revised Code
pursuant to division (B) of that section, the licensee may notify,
in accordance with division (A) of this section, a pledgor who
fails to pay interest on a pawn loan for one month from the date
of the loan or the date on which the last interest payment is due.
Sec. 4727.12. (A) A person licensed as a pawnbroker shall
retain any and all goods or articles pledged with the licensee
until the expiration of seventy-two hours after the pledge is
made, and shall retain any goods or articles purchased by the
licensee until the expiration of
fifteen thirty days after the
purchase is made. The licensee may dispose of such goods or
articles sooner with the written permission of the chief of police
of the municipal corporation or township in which the licensee's
place of business is located or, if the place of business is not
located within a municipal corporation or township that has a
chief of police, with the written permission of the sheriff of the
county in which the business is located.
(B) If the chief of police or sheriff to whom the licensee
makes available the information required by section 4727.09 of the
Revised Code has probable cause to believe that the article
described therein is stolen property, the chief or sheriff shall
notify the licensee in writing. Upon receipt of such a notice, the
licensee shall retain the article until the expiration of thirty
sixty days after the day on which the licensee is first required
to make available the information required by section 4727.09 of
the Revised Code, unless the chief or sheriff notifies the
licensee in writing that the licensee is not required to retain
the article until such expiration.
(C) If the chief or sheriff receives a report that property
has been stolen and determines the identity of the true owner of
the allegedly stolen property that has been purchased or pawned
and is held by a licensee, and informs the licensee of the true
owner's identity, and if the true owner fully cooperates with the
prosecution of an action against the pledgor or seller, the
licensee may shall restore the allegedly stolen property to the
true owner directly. If the true owner does not wish to cooperate
with the prosecution of the pledgor or seller, the licensee shall
be required to restore the allegedly stolen property to the true
owner only upon receipt from the true owner of an amount equal to
the amount the licensee paid for or loaned on the allegedly stolen
property plus interest and fees provided in section 4727.06 of the
Revised Code.
If a licensee fails to restore the allegedly stolen property,
the true owner may recover the property from the licensee in an
action at law.
(D) If the licensee returns the allegedly stolen property to
the true owner, and if the licensee does not receive payment from
the true owner as described in division (C) of this section, the
licensee may charge the person who pledged or sold the allegedly
stolen property to the licensee, and any person who acted in
consort with the pledgor or the seller to defraud the licensee,
the amount the licensee paid or loaned for the allegedly stolen
property, plus interest and storage charges provided for in
section 4727.06 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4727.13. (A)(1) The superintendent of financial
institutions shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of
the Revised Code for the administration and enforcement of this
chapter.
(2) The superintendent may adopt rules that allow for remote
examinations of electronic data held by a person licensed as a
pawnbroker under this chapter.
(3) The superintendent may adopt rules describing the data to
be used in a secure law enforcement database reporting system for
use by a licensee to make records available to law enforcement
officers as required under division (B) of section 4727.09 of the
Revised Code.
(B) The superintendent shall enforce this chapter, make all
reasonable effort to discover alleged violators, notify the proper
prosecuting officer whenever the superintendent has reasonable
grounds to believe that a violation has occurred, act as
complainant in the prosecution thereof, and aid such officers to
the best of the superintendent's ability in such prosecutions. The
superintendent shall employ such deputies as may be necessary to
make the investigations and inspections, and otherwise perform the
duties imposed by such sections.
(C) The superintendent may issue a cease and desist order
against any person the superintendent reasonably suspects has
violated, is currently violating, or is about to violate this
chapter. The superintendent may apply to a court of common pleas
for an order compelling a person to comply with any cease and
desist order or any subpoena issued by the superintendent.
(D) The superintendent may obtain from the court of common
pleas any form of injunctive relief against any person that has
violated, is currently violating, or is about to violate this
chapter.
(E) To enforce this chapter, the superintendent may issue a
subpoena to any person to compel the production of any item,
record, or writing, including an electronic writing, and may issue
a subpoena to any person to compel the appearance and rendering of
testimony.
(F) The superintendent may examine and investigate the
business, including the business location and any books, records,
writings, including electronic writings, safes, files, or storage
areas located in or utilized by the business location, of any
person the superintendent reasonably suspects to be advertising,
transacting, or soliciting business as a pawnbroker. The
superintendent may request the attendance and assistance of the
appropriate chief of police of a municipal corporation or
township, the county sheriff, or the state highway patrol during
the examination and investigation of the business.
(G) The superintendent may adopt rules that require a
licensee to file a biennial report with the superintendent before
the first day of March of the filing year disclosing all relevant
pawn transaction activity occurring during the previous two
calendar years.
(1) If the superintendent requires a licensee to file a
biennial report, the biennial report must provide all of the
following:
(a) The number of pawn transactions made by the licensee
during the previous calendar year and the aggregate amount
financed on the pawn transactions;
(b) The number of pledged property items redeemed during the
previous calendar year and the amount financed on the redeemed
property;
(c) The number of items surrendered to law enforcement;
(d) The total dollar amount of pawn loans surrendered to law
enforcement;
(e) The number of pawn loans that were not redeemed;
(f) The total dollar amount of pawn loans not redeemed;
(g) The total number of full-time equivalent employees at the
pawnshop as of the last day of December of the preceding year.
(2) Information furnished to the superintendent by a licensee
pursuant to this section is confidential and is not a public
record under section 149.43 of the Revised Code, except that the
superintendent may furnish a report containing aggregate numbers
from all licensees. The aggregate report shall be a public record.
Sec. 4727.20. (A) No person licensed as a pawnbroker under
this chapter shall conduct business in this state, unless the
licensee does either of the following:
(1) Maintains liquid assets in a minimum amount of fifty one
hundred thousand dollars;
(2) Obtains a surety bond issued by a bonding company or
insurance company authorized to do business in this state. The
bond shall be in favor of the superintendent of financial
institutions and in the penal sum of at least twenty-five one
hundred thousand dollars. The licensee shall file a copy of the
bond with the superintendent. The bond shall be for the exclusive
benefit of any person injured by a licensee's violation of this
chapter. The aggregate liability of the surety for any and all
breaches of the conditions of the bond shall not exceed the penal
sum of the bond.
(B) The licensee shall give notice to the superintendent by
certified mail, return receipt requested, of any action that is
brought against the licensee and of any judgment that is entered
against the licensee by a person injured by a violation of this
chapter. The notice shall provide details sufficient to identify
the action or judgment and shall be filed with the superintendent
within ten days after the commencement of the action or notice to
the licensee of entry of a judgment. The surety, within ten days
after it pays any claim or judgment, shall give notice to the
superintendent by certified mail, return receipt requested, of the
payment, with details sufficient to identify the person and the
claim or judgment paid.
(C) Whenever the penal sum of the surety bond is reduced by
one or more recoveries or payments, the licensee shall furnish a
new or additional bond under this section, so that the total or
aggregate penal sum of the bond or bonds equals the sum required
by this section, or shall furnish an endorsement executed by the
surety reinstating the bond to the required penal sum of the bond.
(D) The liability of the surety on the bond to the
superintendent and to any person injured by a violation of this
chapter is not affected in any way by any misrepresentation,
breach of warranty, or failure to pay the premium, by any act or
omission upon the part of the licensee, by the insolvency or
bankruptcy of the licensee, or by the insolvency of the licensee's
estate. The liability for any act or omission that occurs during
the term of the surety bond shall be maintained and in effect for
at least two years after the date on which the surety bond is
terminated or canceled.
(E) The licensee shall not cancel the surety bond except upon
notice to the superintendent by certified mail, return receipt
requested. The cancellation is not effective prior to thirty days
after the superintendent receives the notice.
(F) No licensee shall fail to comply with this section.
Sec. 4727.23. (A) If property in the possession of a person
licensed as a pawnbroker was leased from a lessor to a pledgor or
seller when the pledgor or seller pledged or sold the property to
the licensee, but the property did not have a permanent label or
other conspicuous mark identifying it as the lessor's property,
the licensee shall return the property to the lessor if the lessor
does both of the following:
(1) Provides the licensee with evidence that the property is
the lessor's property and was leased to the pledgor or seller at
the time the property was pledged or sold to the licensee;
(2) Pays the licensee either of the following:
(a) The amount financed and the finance fee for the pawn
transaction, if the property was pledged to the licensee;
(b) The amount that the licensee paid the seller if the
property was sold to the licensee.
(B) A licensee is not liable to the pledgor or seller of
property that is recovered by a lessor under division (A) of this
section for returning the property to a lessor.
Sec. 4727.99. (A) Whoever violates sections 4727.03 to
4727.21 4727.23 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of
the third degree on a first offense and a misdemeanor of the
second degree on each subsequent offense.
(B) Whoever violates section 4727.02 of the Revised Code is
guilty of a felony of the fifth degree.
Section 2. That existing sections 4505.102, 4727.03,
4727.06, 4727.07, 4727.08, 4727.09, 4727.11, 4727.12, 4727.13,
4727.20, and 4727.99 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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