By West S.B. No. 869
75R3800 PB-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the granting of pawnshop licenses and to public
1-3 notification of an application for a pawnshop license in certain
1-4 counties.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. The Texas Pawnshop Act (Article 5069-51.01 et
1-7 seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) is amended by adding Sections
1-8 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D to read as follows:
1-9 Sec. 4A. APPLICANT TO PUBLISH NOTICE. (a) Each applicant
1-10 for a pawnshop license for a location in a county with a
1-11 population of 1.5 million or more shall give notice of the
1-12 application by publication at the applicant's own expense in two
1-13 consecutive issues of a newspaper of general circulation published
1-14 in the municipality in which the applicant's business is to be
1-15 conducted. If a newspaper is not published in the municipality or
1-16 if the business is to be conducted in an unincorporated area of the
1-17 county, the applicant shall publish the notice in a newspaper of
1-18 general circulation published in the county in which the
1-19 applicant's business is to be conducted. If a newspaper is not
1-20 published in that county, the applicant shall publish the notice in
1-21 a newspaper of general circulation published in an adjacent county
1-22 and circulated in the county in which the applicant's business is
1-23 to be conducted.
1-24 (b) The notice must be printed in 10-point bold-faced type
2-1 and must include:
2-2 (1) the address of the place of business for which the
2-3 pawnshop license is sought; and
2-4 (2) the full name of the applicant and, if the
2-5 applicant is a partnership, the full name of each partner or, if
2-6 the applicant is a corporation, the full name and title of each
2-7 officer of the corporation.
2-8 Sec. 4B. NOTICE BY SIGN. (a) An applicant for a pawnshop
2-9 license for a location not previously licensed that is located in
2-10 a county with a population of 1.5 million or more shall, at the
2-11 applicant's own expense, prominently post an outdoor sign at the
2-12 proposed location that:
2-13 (1) states that an application for a pawnshop license
2-14 has been made for those premises; and
2-15 (2) lists the name and business address of the
2-16 applicant.
2-17 (b) The sign must be written in a manner and be of a size
2-18 that the commissioner considers adequate to inform the public of
2-19 the intended use of the property as a pawnshop. The commissioner
2-20 may require the sign to be both in English and a language other
2-21 than English if it is likely that a substantial number of the
2-22 residents in the area speak a language other than English as their
2-23 primary language.
2-24 (c) The commissioner may not deny a license application for
2-25 failure to post the notice required by this section if the
2-26 commissioner determines that the public residing in the area in
2-27 which the business is to be conducted is adequately aware of the
3-1 nature of the application.
3-2 Sec. 4C. NOTICE TO PUBLIC OFFICIALS. The commissioner shall
3-3 give notice of each pawnshop license application made for a
3-4 location in a county with a population of 1.5 million or more to:
3-5 (1) the county judge of the county in which the
3-6 applicant's business is to be conducted;
3-7 (2) the mayor or other presiding officer of the
3-8 governing body of the municipality in which the applicant's
3-9 business is to be conducted, if the business is located in a
3-10 municipality;
3-11 (3) the state representative in whose district the
3-12 applicant's business is to be conducted; and
3-13 (4) the state senator in whose district the
3-14 applicant's business is to be conducted.
3-15 Sec. 4D. RULES. The commissioner may adopt rules as
3-16 necessary to enforce Sections 4A and 4B of this Act.
3-17 SECTION 2. Section 5, Texas Pawnshop Act (Article
3-18 5069-51.05, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by amending
3-19 Subsection (a) and by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
3-20 (a) When an application and the required fees are received,
3-21 the Commissioner shall investigate the facts and shall notify the
3-22 Department of Public Safety and all local law enforcement agencies
3-23 in the county in which the business is to be conducted that the
3-24 application has been filed. In the notice, the Commissioner shall
3-25 state the names and addresses of the persons that are required to
3-26 be listed on the license application under Subsection (a) of
3-27 Section 4 of this Act. The Commissioner shall give those law
4-1 enforcement agencies a reasonable time to respond with information
4-2 concerning those persons or with any other relevant information.
4-3 The Commissioner shall give notice of the application to each
4-4 pawnshop licensee in the county in which the pawnshop is to be
4-5 located. The Commissioner [and] shall give any person, including a
4-6 pawnshop licensee, who [that] would be affected by the granting of
4-7 the proposed application an opportunity to appear, present
4-8 evidence, and be heard for or against the application at a public
4-9 hearing held in accordance with Subsection (b) of this section.
4-10 (h) In determining whether to grant an application for a
4-11 pawnshop license, the Commissioner shall consider the public
4-12 safety, health, and welfare of the community that would be affected
4-13 by the granting of the license.
4-14 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and
4-15 applies only to an application for a pawnshop license that is filed
4-16 with the consumer credit commissioner on or after that date. An
4-17 application filed before that date is governed by the law in effect
4-18 on the date that the application was filed, and the former law is
4-19 continued in effect for that purpose.
4-20 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
4-21 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-22 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-23 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-24 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.