SRC-LBB, AMY S.B. 965 78(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research CenterS.B. 965
By: Averitt
Business & Commerce
8/11/2003
Enrolled


DIGEST AND PURPOSE 

Currently, certain provisions of Texas law do not correspond with the new
time period a pawnbroker is required to hold pledged goods that was set
forth in the Texas sunset review of the Office of Consumer Credit
Commissioner.  On the issue of identification acceptable to a pawnbroker,
the border crossing card does not have a readily recognizable unique
number, but the Mexican Consulate has begun issuing the matricula, which
does. Additionally, the law does not reflect the federal government's
restructuring of the previous Immigration and Naturalization Service.   

S.B. 965 decreases the time period a pawnbroker is required to hold
pledged goods from the 61st day after the maturity date to the 31st day.
This bill also replaces the nonresident alien crossing card with the
certificado de matricula consular or an identification issued by the U.S.
agency responsible for citizenship and immigration as acceptable forms of
identification for a pledgor to a pawnbroker, and deletes the U.S.
Immigration and Naturalization Service identification from that list. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to
a state officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 371.157, Finance Code, to require a pawnbroker,
at the time a pawn transaction is entered, to deliver to the pledgor a
pawn ticket or other memorandum that clearly shows the authorization for
the pledged goods to be forfeited to the pawnbroker on the 31st, rather
than the 61st, day after the maturity date. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 371.174(b), Finance Code, to include in the
list of acceptable identification an identification certificate from the
Mexican Consulate, certificado de matricula consular, rather than a
nonresident alien border crossing card, or identification issued by the
agency of the United States responsible for citizenship and immigration,
rather than a resident alien border crossing card. Deletes from the list a
United States Immigration and Naturalization Service identification.   

SECTION 3.  Effective date:  September 1, 2003.