SECTIONS 21300-21307 - California Statutes

FINANCIAL CODE

SECTION 21300-21307

21300. (a) The chief of police, the sheriff, or, where appropriate,
the police commission, shall accept an application for and grant a
license permitting the licensee to engage in the business of
pawnbroker, as defined in Section 21000, at the address indicated on
the application, to an applicant who has complied with the
requirements of Sections 21303, 21304, and 21305 and has not been
convicted of an attempt to receive stolen property or any other
offense involving stolen property. Prior to the granting of a
license, the licensing authority shall submit the application to the
Department of Justice. If the Department of Justice does not comment
on the application within 30 days thereafter, the licensing authority
shall grant the applicant a license. All forms for application and
licensure, and license renewal, shall be prescribed and provided by
the Department of Justice. A fee not to exceed the actual processing
costs to the Department of Justice and the chief of police, the
sheriff, or where appropriate, the police commission may be charged
to the applicant for processing the initial license application.
(b) For the purposes of this section, "convicted" means a plea or
verdict of guilty or a conviction following a plea of nolo
contendere.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), no person shall be
denied a pawnbroker's license solely on the grounds that he or she
violated any provision contained in Chapter 1 (commencing with
Section 21000) or Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 21200) of this
division or Article 4 (commencing with Section 21625) or Article 5
(commencing with Section 21650) of Chapter 9 of Division 8 of the
Business and Professions Code unless the violation demonstrates a
pattern of conduct.

21300.1. It is unlawful for any person who is not duly licensed
under this section to act as a pawnbroker or represent himself,
herself, or a business entity to be a pawnbroker or a pawnbrokerage
business entity.

21301. (a) A license granted pursuant to Section 21300 shall be
renewable the second year from the date of issue, and every other
year thereafter, upon the filing of a renewal application and
compliance with the requirements of Section 21303. The Department of
Justice and the chief of police, the sheriff, or, where appropriate,
the police commission may charge a fee for the license renewal not to
exceed the actual processing costs. The licensing authority shall
collect the fee and transmit the fee and a copy of the renewed
license to the Department of Justice.
(b) The license shall be subject to forfeiture by the licensing
authority, and the licensee's activities as a pawnbroker shall be
subject to being enjoined pursuant to Section 21302, for breach of
any of the following conditions:
(1) The business shall be carried on only at the location
designated on the license. The license shall designate all locations
where property belonging to the business is stored. Property of the
business may be stored at locations not designated on the license
only with the written consent of the local licensing authority.
(2) The license or a copy thereof, certified by the licensing
authority, shall be displayed on the premises in plain view of the
public.
(3) The licensee shall not engage in any act that the licensee
knows to be in violation of this article.
(4) The licensee shall not be convicted of an attempt to receive
stolen property or other offense involving stolen property. For the
purposes of this paragraph, "convicted" means a plea or verdict of
guilty or a conviction following a plea of nolo contendere. Any
action that the chief of police, the sheriff, or, where appropriate,
the police commission, is permitted to take following that conviction
may be taken when the time for appeal has elapsed, the judgment of
conviction has been affirmed on appeal, or an order granting
probation is made suspending the imposition of sentence, irrespective
of a subsequent order under Section 1203.4 of the Penal Code.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), no renewal
application for a pawnbroker's license may be denied, nor may his or
her pawnbroker's license be forfeited, solely on the grounds that the
applicant violated any provision contained in Chapter 1 (commencing
with Section 21000), Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 21200) of
this division, or Article 4 (commencing with Section 21625) or
Article 5 (commencing with Section 21650) of Chapter 9 of Division 8,
of the Business and Professions Code unless the violation
demonstrates a pattern of conduct.

21301.1. It is unlawful for any person to advertise his or her
services as a pawnbroker, or to use any words or parts of words in
any advertisements that connote a transaction involving the taking of
tangible personal property as security for a loan unless the
pawnbroker's license number is clearly displayed in the
advertisement.

21302. The district attorney or the Attorney General, in the name
of the people of the State of California, may bring an action to
enjoin the violation or the threatened violation of any regulation
made pertaining to the provisions contained in Chapter 1 (commencing
with Section 21000) or Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 21200) of
this division or Article 4 (commencing with Section 21625) or Article
5 (commencing with Section 21650) of Chapter 9 of Division 8 of the
Business and Professions Code. Any proceeding brought hereunder shall
be governed in all respects by the provisions of Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 525) of Title 7 of Part 2 of the Code of
Civil Procedure.

21303. (a) As a condition precedent to the issuance or renewal of a
pawnbroker's license the applicant shall file a pawnbroker's
two-year nonrevokable surety bond with the issuing authority, in the
sum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000). The pawnbroker's bond
required by this article shall be executed by an admitted surety in
favor of the State of California and shall be filed by the applicant
with the licensing authority.
(b) The bond shall be for the benefit of pledgors of pledged
property when the property is not available for redemption, due to
the criminal negligence, criminal malfeasance, or other criminal
conduct of the pawnbroker, and the pledgor has complied with the
conditions precedent to redemption under the terms of the loan
contract. The pledgor has the burden of establishing by clear and
convincing evidence that all conditions precedent to redemption under
the terms of the loan contract have been performed.

21304. (a) As a condition precedent to the issuing of a pawnbroker'
s license, the applicant shall file with the issuing authority a
financial statement confirming that the applicant has at least one
hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) in the form of liquid assets
readily available for use in each licensed business for which the
application is made, not including real property, or, in the absence
of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), an applicant may post a
nonrevocable surety bond in the amount of one hundred thousand
dollars ($100,000) or the applicant may, in lieu of posting a surety
bond, deposit money, certificates, accounts, bonds, or notes, as
provided in Section 995.710 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The
financial statement shall be filed by the applicant under penalty of
perjury and signed by a California certified public accountant
verifying that he or she has reviewed the financial statement.
(b) This section does not apply to any person holding a secondhand
dealer's license pursuant to Section 21641 or 21642 of the Business
and Professions Code who is actively engaged as a pawnbroker on the
effective date of this section.

21305. A license issued pursuant to this chapter shall not be
transferred or assigned.

21306. A pawnbroker licensed under Section 21300 is exempt from the
licensing requirements under Sections 21641 and 21642 of the
Business and Professions Code and may engage in any transaction
involving tangible personal property for which a secondhand dealers
license is required under Sections 21641 and 21642 of the Business
and Professions Code. Pawnbrokers operating under this license
exemption are required to conform to all other requirements of
secondhand dealers for which a license is required under Sections
21641 and 21642 of the Business and Professions Code.

21307. Except as otherwise specifically provided, the violation of
any provision of this chapter under circumstances where a person
knows or should have known that a violation was being committed is a
misdemeanor.