By: West S.B. No. 132
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to public notification of an application for a pawnshop
1-2 license.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. The Texas Pawnshop Act (Article 5069-51.01 et
1-5 seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) is amended by adding Sections
1-6 4A, 4B, and 4C to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 4A. APPLICANT TO PUBLISH NOTICE. (a) Every applicant
1-8 for a pawnshop license shall give notice of the application by
1-9 publication at his own expense in two consecutive issues of a
1-10 newspaper of general circulation published in the city or town in
1-11 which his place of business is located. If no newspaper is
1-12 published in the city or town, the notice shall be published in a
1-13 newspaper of general circulation published in the county where the
1-14 applicant's business is located. If no newspaper is published in
1-15 the county, the notice shall be published in a qualified newspaper
1-16 published in the closest neighboring county and circulated in the
1-17 county of the applicant's residence.
1-18 (b) The notice shall be printed in 10-point boldface type
1-19 and shall include:
1-20 (1) the exact location of the place of business for
1-21 which the pawnshop license is sought;
1-22 (2) the full name of the applicant and, if the
1-23 applicant is a partnership, the full name of each member; and
2-1 (3) if the applicant is a corporation, the full name
2-2 and title of each officer.
2-3 (c) An applicant to renew an expired license is not required
2-4 to publish notice.
2-5 Sec. 4B. NOTICE BY SIGN. (a) An applicant for a pawnshop
2-6 license for a location not previously licensed shall, on the dates
2-7 notice is required to be published under Section 4A of this Act,
2-8 prominently post an outdoor sign at the location stating that a
2-9 pawnshop is intended to be operated on the premises and the name
2-10 and business address of the applicant.
2-11 (b) The sign shall be written in a manner and of a size the
2-12 Commissioner considers adequate to inform the general public of the
2-13 intended use of the property. The Commissioner may require the
2-14 sign to be both in English and a language other than English if it
2-15 is likely that a substantial number of the residents in the area
2-16 speak a language other than English as their familiar language.
2-17 The Commissioner shall provide such sign and may charge a fee
2-18 therefor.
2-19 (c) An application may not be denied for failing to post the
2-20 notice required by this section if the Commissioner determines that
2-21 the general public in the area in which the premises to be licensed
2-22 are located is adequately aware of the nature of the application.
2-23 Sec. 4C. NOTICE TO PUBLIC OFFICIALS. The Commissioner shall
2-24 give notice of all pawnshop license applications to:
2-25 (1) the county judge of the county in which the
3-1 applicant's place of business is located;
3-2 (2) the mayor or other presiding officer of the
3-3 governing body of the municipality in which the applicant's place
3-4 of business is located if located in a municipality;
3-5 (3) the state representative in whose district the
3-6 applicant's place of business is located; and
3-7 (4) the state senator in whose district the
3-8 applicant's place of business is located.
3-9 SECTION 2. Subsections (a) and (b), Section 5, Texas
3-10 Pawnshop Act (Article 5069-51.05, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes),
3-11 are amended to read as follows:
3-12 (a) When an application and the required fees are received,
3-13 the Commissioner shall investigate the facts and shall notify the
3-14 Department of Public Safety and all local law enforcement agencies
3-15 in the county in which the business is to be conducted that the
3-16 application has been filed. In the notice, the Commissioner shall
3-17 state the names and addresses of the persons that are required to
3-18 be listed on the license application under Subsection (a) of
3-19 Section 4 of this Act. The Commissioner shall give those law
3-20 enforcement agencies a reasonable time to respond with information
3-21 concerning those persons or with any other relevant information.
3-22 The Commissioner shall give notice of the application to each
3-23 pawnshop licensee in the county in which the pawnshop is to be
3-24 located. The Commissioner <and> shall give any person receiving
3-25 notice under Section 4A or 4B of this Act who would be affected by
4-1 the granting of the proposed application and any pawnshop licensee
4-2 that would be affected by the granting of the proposed application
4-3 an opportunity to appear, present evidence, and be heard for or
4-4 against the application at a public hearing held in accordance with
4-5 Subsection (b) of this section.
4-6 (b) The Commissioner shall, on request, conduct a public
4-7 hearing in the county in which the pawnshop is to be located before
4-8 issuing a pawnshop license and shall approve an application and
4-9 issue to the applicant a license that will evidence the authority
4-10 to do business under the provisions of this Act if the
4-11 Commissioner:
4-12 (1) finds that the eligibility requirements for the
4-13 license are satisfied;
4-14 (2) finds that the financial responsibility,
4-15 experience, character, and general fitness of the applicant or of
4-16 its owners and managers are such as to warrant belief that the
4-17 business will be operated lawfully and fairly within the purposes
4-18 of this Act; and
4-19 (3) for an application for a new license in or
4-20 relocation of an existing license to a county with a population of
4-21 250,000 or more according to the most recent federal decennial
4-22 census, finds that there is a public need for the proposed pawnshop
4-23 and the volume of business in the community in which the pawnshop
4-24 will conduct its business indicates a profitable operation is
4-25 probable.
5-1 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
5-2 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
5-3 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-4 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-5 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-6 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.