By Jones of Dallas H.B. No. 814
76R2038 WP-D
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. Subchapter B, Chapter 371, Finance Code, is
1-7 amended by adding Sections 371.0541, 371.0542, and 371.0543 to read
1-8 as follows:
1-9 Sec. 371.0541. PUBLICATION OF APPLICATION NOTICE IN COUNTIES
1-10 OF 1.5 MILLION OR MORE. (a) Each applicant for a pawnshop license
1-11 for a location in a county with a population of 1.5 million or
1-12 more shall give notice of the application by publication at the
1-13 applicant's own expense in two consecutive issues of a newspaper of
1-14 general circulation published in the municipality in which the
1-15 applicant's business is to be conducted. If a newspaper is not
1-16 published in the municipality or if the business is to be conducted
1-17 in an unincorporated area of the county, the applicant shall
1-18 publish the notice in a newspaper of general circulation published
1-19 in the county in which the applicant's business is to be conducted.
1-20 If a newspaper is not published in that county, the applicant shall
1-21 publish the notice in a newspaper of general circulation published
1-22 in an adjacent county and circulated in the county in which the
1-23 applicant's business is 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. 371.0542. NOTICE BY SIGN IN COUNTIES OF 1.5 MILLION OR
2-9 MORE. (a) An applicant for a pawnshop license for a location not
2-10 previously licensed that is located in a county with a population
2-11 of 1.5 million or more shall, at the applicant's own expense,
2-12 prominently post an outdoor sign at the 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. 371.0543. RULES. The commissioner may adopt rules as
3-3 necessary to enforce Sections 371.0541 and 371.0542.
3-4 SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 371, Finance Code, is
3-5 amended by adding Section 371.0571 to read as follows:
3-6 Sec. 371.0571. APPLICATION NOTICE TO PUBLIC OFFICIALS IN
3-7 COUNTIES OF 1.5 MILLION OR MORE. The commissioner shall give
3-8 notice of each pawnshop license application made for a location in
3-9 a county with a population of 1.5 million or more to:
3-10 (1) the county judge of the county in which the
3-11 applicant's business is to be conducted;
3-12 (2) the mayor or other presiding officer of the
3-13 governing body of the municipality in which the applicant's
3-14 business is to be conducted, if the business is located in a
3-15 municipality;
3-16 (3) the state representative in whose district the
3-17 applicant's business is to be conducted; and
3-18 (4) the state senator in whose district the
3-19 applicant's business is to be conducted.
3-20 SECTION 3. Section 371.058(b), Finance Code, is amended to
3-21 read as follows:
3-22 (b) The commissioner shall give any person, including a
3-23 pawnbroker that would be affected by the granting of an application
3-24 for a pawnshop license, an opportunity to appear, present evidence,
3-25 and be heard for or against the application.
3-26 SECTION 4. Section 371.059, Finance Code, is amended to read
3-27 as follows:
4-1 Sec. 371.059. APPROVAL; ISSUANCE OF LICENSE. The
4-2 commissioner shall approve the application and issue a license if,
4-3 after considering the public safety, health, and welfare of the
4-4 community that would be affected, the commissioner finds that:
4-5 (1) the applicant is eligible for the license; and
4-6 (2) for an application for an original license in or
4-7 the relocation of a pawnshop to a county with a population of at
4-8 least 250,000:
4-9 (A) there is a public need for the proposed
4-10 pawnshop; and
4-11 (B) the volume of business in the community in
4-12 which the pawnshop will conduct its business indicates a profitable
4-13 operation is probable.
4-14 SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999, 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 6. 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.