By:  Solomons                                                     H.B. No. 1839



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to submission of certain information to a law enforcement 
agency by a pawnbroker.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter E, Chapter 371, Finance Code, is 
amended by adding Section 371.209 to read as follows:
	Sec. 371.209  LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTING.  (a)  Within 24 
hours of a request from a law enforcement agency, a pawnshop shall 
make available information on a pawn ticket as described in Section 
371.157 electronically, unless the law enforcement agency 
specifically requests a paper format.
	(b)  Information reported electronically under subsection 
(a) shall be transmitted by a method acceptable to both the pawnshop 
and the law enforcement agency, but should meet the following 
minimum standards:
		(1)  the transmission be made using a 3.5 inch reusable 
diskette, CD-ROM, remote access to secure sites maintained by law 
enforcement, or remote access to secure bulletin boards or web 
sites;
		(2)  the information be provided in comma-delimited 
ASCII text with field titles as the first records of the 
transmission;
		(3)  the information be sent in batches no smaller than 
the daily activity;
		(4)  the information include all purchase and pawn 
transactions in a single transmission; and
		(5)  the law enforcement agency not be given direct 
access to a pawnshop's computer system.
	(c)  A Law Enforcement Agency who receives information under 
Subsection (a) may only use the information for the purposes of 
investigating goods which have been stolen, embezzled, converted, 
or otherwise wrongfully appropriated or pledged against the will of 
the owner of the goods or a person holding a perfected security 
interest in the goods.
	(d)  Information received by a law enforcement agency under 
subsection (a) that does not relate directly to an investigation 
described in subsection (c) must be disposed of or destroyed within 
seven days of receipt.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2004.