By Hochberg H.B. No. 116
74R174 DWS-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to a thumbprint record for certain pawn and sales
1-3 transactions.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 31.03(c), Penal Code, is amended to read
1-6 as follows:
1-7 (c) For purposes of Subsection (b):
1-8 (1) evidence that the actor has previously
1-9 participated in recent transactions other than, but similar to,
1-10 that which the prosecution is based is admissible for the purpose
1-11 of showing knowledge or intent and the issues of knowledge or
1-12 intent are raised by the actor's plea of not guilty;
1-13 (2) the testimony of an accomplice shall be
1-14 corroborated by proof that tends to connect the actor to the crime,
1-15 but the actor's knowledge or intent may be established by the
1-16 uncorroborated testimony of the accomplice;
1-17 (3) an actor engaged in the business of buying and
1-18 selling used or secondhand personal property, or lending money on
1-19 the security of personal property deposited with him, is presumed
1-20 to know upon receipt by the actor of stolen property (other than a
1-21 motor vehicle subject to Article 6687-1, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-22 Statutes) that the property has been previously stolen from another
1-23 if the actor pays for or loans against the property $25 or more (or
1-24 consideration of equivalent value) and the actor knowingly or
2-1 recklessly:
2-2 (A) fails to record the name, address, and
2-3 physical description or identification number of the seller or
2-4 pledgor;
2-5 (B) fails to record a complete description of
2-6 the property, including the serial number, if reasonably available,
2-7 or other identifying characteristics; <or>
2-8 (C) fails to obtain and legibly record the
2-9 seller's or pledgor's thumbprint; or
2-10 (D) fails to obtain a signed warranty from the
2-11 seller or pledgor that the seller or pledgor has the right to
2-12 possess the property. It is the express intent of this provision
2-13 that the presumption arises unless the actor complies with each of
2-14 the numbered requirements;
2-15 (4) for the purposes of Subdivision (3)(A),
2-16 "identification number" means driver's license number, military
2-17 identification number, identification certificate, or other
2-18 official number capable of identifying an individual;
2-19 (5) stolen property does not lose its character as
2-20 stolen when recovered by any law enforcement agency;
2-21 (6) an actor engaged in the business of obtaining
2-22 abandoned or wrecked motor vehicles or parts of an abandoned or
2-23 wrecked motor vehicle for resale, disposal, scrap, repair,
2-24 rebuilding, demolition, or other form of salvage is presumed to
2-25 know on receipt by the actor of stolen property that the property
2-26 has been previously stolen from another if the actor knowingly or
2-27 recklessly:
3-1 (A) fails to maintain an accurate and legible
3-2 inventory of each motor vehicle component part purchased by or
3-3 delivered to the actor, including the date of purchase or delivery,
3-4 the name, age, address, sex, and driver's license number of the
3-5 seller or person making the delivery, the license plate number of
3-6 the motor vehicle in which the part was delivered, a complete
3-7 description of the part, and the vehicle identification number of
3-8 the motor vehicle from which the part was removed, or in lieu of
3-9 maintaining an inventory, fails to record the name and certificate
3-10 of inventory number of the person who dismantled the motor vehicle
3-11 from which the part was obtained;
3-12 (B) fails on receipt of a motor vehicle to
3-13 obtain a certificate of authority, sales receipt, or transfer
3-14 document as required by Article V, Section 1, Chapter 741, Acts of
3-15 the 67th Legislature, Regular Session, 1981 (Article 4477-9a,
3-16 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), or a certificate of title showing
3-17 that the motor vehicle is not subject to a lien or that all
3-18 recorded liens on the motor vehicle have been released; or
3-19 (C) fails on receipt of a motor vehicle to
3-20 immediately remove an unexpired license plate from the motor
3-21 vehicle, to keep the plate in a secure and locked place, or to
3-22 maintain an inventory, on forms provided by the Texas Department of
3-23 Transportation, of license plates kept under this paragraph,
3-24 including for each plate or set of plates the license plate number
3-25 and the make, motor number, and vehicle identification number of
3-26 the motor vehicle from which the plate was removed; and
3-27 (7) an actor who purchases or receives a used or
4-1 secondhand motor vehicle is presumed to know on receipt by the
4-2 actor of the motor vehicle that the motor vehicle has been
4-3 previously stolen from another if the actor knowingly or
4-4 recklessly:
4-5 (A) fails to report to the Texas Department of
4-6 Transportation the failure of the person who sold or delivered the
4-7 motor vehicle to the actor to deliver to the actor a properly
4-8 executed certificate of title to the motor vehicle at the time the
4-9 motor vehicle was delivered; or
4-10 (B) fails to file with the county tax
4-11 assessor-collector of the county in which the actor received the
4-12 motor vehicle, not later than the 20th day after the date the actor
4-13 received the motor vehicle, the registration license receipt and
4-14 certificate of title or evidence of title delivered to the actor in
4-15 accordance with Section 2, Chapter 364, Acts of the 50th
4-16 Legislature, Regular Session, 1947 (Article 6687-6, Vernon's Texas
4-17 Civil Statutes), at the time the motor vehicle was delivered.
4-18 SECTION 2. The Texas Pawnshop Act (Article 5069-51.01 et
4-19 seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) is amended by adding Section
4-20 10A to read as follows:
4-21 Sec. 10A. THUMBPRINT RECORD. For each pawn transaction the
4-22 pawnbroker shall obtain and keep a legible record of the pledgor's
4-23 thumbprint.
4-24 SECTION 3. Section 16(a), Texas Pawnshop Act (Article
4-25 5069-51.16, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as
4-26 follows:
4-27 (a) A pawnbroker shall not:
5-1 (1) Accept a pledge or purchase property from a person
5-2 under the age of eighteen years.
5-3 (2) Make any agreement requiring the personal
5-4 liability of a pledgor in connection with a pawn transaction.
5-5 (3) Accept any waiver, in writing or otherwise, of any
5-6 right or protection accorded a pledgor under this Act.
5-7 (4) Fail to exercise reasonable care to protect
5-8 pledged goods from loss or damage.
5-9 (5) Fail to return pledged goods to a pledgor upon
5-10 payment of the full amount due the pawnbroker on the pawn
5-11 transaction. In the event such pledged goods are lost or damaged
5-12 while in the possession of the pawnbroker it shall be the
5-13 responsibility of the pawnbroker to replace the lost or damaged
5-14 goods with like kind(s) of merchandise. All such replacements are
5-15 subject to the approval or rejection of the Commissioner. For the
5-16 purposes of this subdivision, "lost" includes destroyed or having
5-17 disappeared because of any cause, whether known or unknown, that
5-18 results in the pledged goods being unavailable for return to the
5-19 pledgor.
5-20 (6) Make any charge for insurance in connection with a
5-21 pawn transaction, except for the actual cost to insure pledged
5-22 goods being shipped to a pledgor who redeemed the goods by mail.
5-23 (7) Enter any pawn transaction which has a maturity
5-24 date more than one month after the date of the transaction.
5-25 (8) Display for sale in storefront windows or sidewalk
5-26 display case so that same may be viewed from the street, any
5-27 pistol, dirk, dagger, blackjack, hand chain, sword cane, knuckles
6-1 made of any metal or any hard substance, switchblade knife,
6-2 springblade knife, or throwblade knife, or depict same on any sign
6-3 or advertisement which may be viewed from the street.
6-4 (9) Purchase used or secondhand personal property from
6-5 a person other than a pawnbroker unless a record is established
6-6 that contains:
6-7 (A) the name, address, physical description, and
6-8 the driver's license number, military identification number,
6-9 identification certificate number, or other official number capable
6-10 of identifying the seller;
6-11 (B) a complete description of the property,
6-12 including the serial number, if reasonably available, or other
6-13 identifying characteristics; <and>
6-14 (C) a signed document from the seller providing
6-15 that the seller has the right to sell the property; and
6-16 (D) the seller's thumbprint legibly recorded.
6-17 (10) Accept as pledged goods in a pawn transaction
6-18 building construction materials, including copper pipes, tubing,
6-19 and wiring, aluminum wire, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies,
6-20 window glass, lumber, and other similar materials, unless a record
6-21 is established that contains the information required under
6-22 Subsection (9) of this section for the purchase of used or
6-23 secondhand personal property.
6-24 SECTION 4. This Act applies only to a pawn or sales
6-25 transaction that is entered into on or after the effective date of
6-26 this Act. A pawn or sales transaction entered into before the
6-27 effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when
7-1 the transaction was entered into, and that law is continued in
7-2 effect for that purpose.
7-3 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
7-4 SECTION 6. The importance of this legislation and the
7-5 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-6 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-7 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-8 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.