HBA-NLM, C.S.H.B. 814 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 814 By: Jones, Jesse Financial Institutions 4/15/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, the consumer credit commissioner (commissioner) is required by statute to conduct a public hearing before issuing a pawnshop license. The Texas Pawnshop Act (TPA), which provides for the regulation and licensing of pawnshops, does not provide for public notification of pawnshop license applications and consequently, community residents are often aware of their opportunity to participate in the public hearing process. C.S.H.B. 814 requires the commissioner to give notice of each pawnshop license application to the state representative and the state senator in whose district the applicant's business is to be conducted. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 371, Finance Code, by adding Section 371.0571, as follows: Sec. 371.0571. APPLICATION NOTICE TO PUBLIC OFFICIALS IN COUNTIES OF 1.5 MILLION OR MORE. Requires the consumer credit commissioner to give notice of each pawnshop license application to the state representative and the state senator in whose district the applicant's business is to be conducted. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 814 modifies the original in the caption by deleting " the granting of pawnshop license and ...in certain counties." C.S.H.B. 814 redesignates SECTION 2 (proposed Section 371.0571, Finance Code) of the original as SECTION 1 in the substitute. The substitute requires the consumer credit commissioner (commissioner) to give notice of each pawnshop license application to the state representative and the state senator in whose district the applicant's business is to be conducted. The substitute deletes text requiring the commissioner to give notice of each pawnshop license application in a county with a population of 1.5 million or more to the county judge of the county or the mayor or other presiding officer of the governing body of the municipality in which the applicant's business is to be conducted. C.S.H.B. 814 modifies the original by deleting SECTION 1 (proposed Sections 371.0541, 371.0542, and 371.0543, Finance Code). Proposed Section 371.0541 required each applicant for a pawnshop license for a location in a county with a population of 1.5 million or more to publish notice of the application, at the applicant's own expense, in two consecutive issues of a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality in which the applicant's business is to be conducted; providing that if a newspaper is not published in the municipality or if the business is to be conducted in an unincorporated area of the county, the applicant is required to publish the notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, or in an adjacent county if a newspaper is not published in that county, and circulated in the county in which the applicant's business is to be conducted; and providing that the notice must be printed in 10-point bold-faced type and include the address of the place of business for which the pawnshop license is sought, and the full name of the applicant or each partner if the applicant is a partnership, or the full name and title of each officer of the corporation if the applicant is a corporation. Proposed Section 371.0542, required an applicant for a pawnshop license under this section at the applicant's expense to post an outdoor sign at the proposed location that states that an application for a pawnshop license has been made for those premises and lists the applicant's name and business address; providing that the sign must be written and sized in a manner in which the commissioner determines adequate to inform the public of the intended use of the property as a pawnshop; authorizing the commissioner to require the sign to be both in English and another language that is likely to be spoken by a substantial number of residents in the area; and prohibiting the commissioner from denying a license application for failure to post the notice required by this section if the commissioner determines that the area's residents are adequately aware of the nature of the application. C.S.H.B. 814 modifies the original by removing SECTION 1 (proposed Section 371.0543, Finance Code) which authorized the commissioner to adopt rules as necessary to enforce Sections 371.0541 and 371.0542. C.S.H.B. 814 modifies the original by deleting SECTION 3 (Section 371.058(b), Finance Code), which required the commissioner to allow any person, rather than only a pawnbroker, that would be affected by the granting of a pawnshop license, to appear and be heard concerning the application. C.S.H.B. 814 modifies the original by deleting SECTION 4 (Section 371.059, Finance Code), which specified that the commissioner consider the public safety, health, and welfare of the community that would be affected, in addition to making certain enumerated findings, before being required to approve an application and issue a license. C.S.H.B. 814 redesignates SECTIONS 5 and 6 (effective date, emergency clause) of the original to SECTIONS 2 and 3 in the substitute.