HOUSE BILL 198
51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2014
INTRODUCED BY
William "Bill" R. Rehm
AN ACT
RELATING TO TRADE PRACTICES; ENACTING THE PRECIOUS METAL BUYERS ACT; REQUIRING A PERMIT AND BOND; REQUIRING REPORTS OF ITEMS PURCHASED AND DISPOSED; PROVIDING FOR SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF A PERMIT; PROHIBITING CERTAIN PRACTICES; IMPOSING A PENALTY.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Precious Metal Buyers Act".
SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Precious Metal Buyers Act:
A. "local government" means a county or municipality;
B. "local government authority" means the agency of a local government charged with issuing precious metal buyer permits;
C. "local law enforcement agency" means the chief of police, the chief's designee or the police department if applicable to a municipality, or the county sheriff, the sheriff's designee or the county sheriff's department if applicable to a county;
D. "place of business" means the location or premises where a precious metal buyer regularly conducts or will conduct business in New Mexico;
E. "precious metal" means gold, silver, platinum, palladium or rhodium; and
F. "precious metal buyer" means a person engaged in the business of purchasing or trading items of precious metal for the purpose of resale, smelting, melting down or otherwise altering the items, except "precious metal buyer" does not include a pawnbroker who holds a permit pursuant to the Pawnbrokers Act.
SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] PERMIT REQUIRED--APPLICATION--FEE.--
A. A precious metal buyer shall obtain a precious metal buyer permit from the local government authority where the precious metal buyer's place of business is located. The permit shall be conspicuously displayed in the precious metal buyer's place of business and shall expire on July 1 of each year and be renewed by that date. Upon obtaining the permit, every precious metal buyer shall register with the local law enforcement agency.
B. An application for an original or a renewal permit shall be submitted to the local government authority and shall contain all information required by the authority. A local government authority may impose a precious metal buyer permit fee to cover the expense of administration of the Precious Metal Buyers Act.
C. An application for a permit shall require the name, address, social security number and date of birth of each precious metal buyer. A permit holder shall notify the local government authority of any change to the list of agents within fifteen days of the change.
SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] BOND REQUIRED.--
A. A person shall not engage in business as a precious metal buyer without having executed and delivered a bond to the local government authority of the county or municipality where the buyer's place of business is located in the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000). The bond shall be in a form approved by the local government authority and shall be conditioned upon the conduct of the precious metal buyer's business according to the provisions of the Precious Metal Buyers Act. The bond shall be for the benefit of each and every person damaged by a breach of any condition set forth in the bond. A precious metal buyer shall provide the local government authority with a thirty-day advance notice, in writing, of the cancellation of the bond.
B. A precious metal buyer shall submit proof of execution and delivery of the bond to the local government authority with each application for an original or renewal permit.
SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF PERMIT--NOTICE--HEARING.--
A. A local government authority may institute proceedings for the suspension or revocation of a permit issued pursuant to the Precious Metal Buyers Act upon the filing of a written complaint by a local law enforcement agency, a district attorney or the attorney general charging a precious metal buyer or the buyer's agent with a violation of a provision of the Precious Metal Buyers Act.
B. A local government authority shall serve written notice upon the precious metal buyer designated in a written complaint pursuant to Subsection A of this section, which notice shall set forth the alleged violation and the date, time and place of the hearing. The notice shall be served no more than ten days and no less than five days before the scheduled hearing. The notice shall be served personally upon the precious metal buyer or be posted in a conspicuous place in the buyer's place of business.
C. The precious metal buyer and any other interested person shall have the right to appear at the hearing and to produce evidence. The rules of evidence shall not
apply. If, after the hearing, the local government authority determines that the precious metal buyer is in violation of a provision of the Precious Metal Buyers Act, the local government authority shall issue a written order. The order may suspend the permit for a stated period of time or permanently revoke the permit. The order shall be served upon the precious metal buyer within five business days after the hearing in the manner specified in Subsection B of this section. The official serving the order may remove the permit from the premises, if appropriate, and deliver it to the local government authority.
SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] DAILY REPORTS--DELIVERY--RECEIPTS.--
A. Except as provided in Subsection B of this section, an owner of a place of business shall keep a record in which the owner shall note the time of each transaction, a description of the goods purchased, the name and address of the person selling the goods and the date and hour that the goods were received and shall retain all gold, silver and platinum items in the form in which they were purchased in the owner's possession for a period of not less than fifteen days.
B. For purchases of gold or silver coins, an owner of a place of business shall keep a record in which the owner shall note the time of each transaction, a description of the goods purchased, the name and address of the person selling the goods and the date and hour that the goods were received and shall retain all gold or silver coins in the form in which they were purchased in the owner's possession for a period of not less than five days.
C. The owner of a place of business shall issue a serial number receipt for each purchase or statement of appraisal of gold, silver or platinum, which receipt shall contain:
(1) the legal name and address of the store or appraiser;
(2) the name and address of the seller, including a copy of a federal or state government-issued identification card;
(3) the date of the transaction;
(4) the net weight in terms of pounds troy or avoirdupois, ounces troy or avoirdupois, pennyweight troy or avoirdupois or kilograms or grams; and
(5) the fineness of the precious metal in terms of karat for gold and sterling or coin for silver.
D. The owner of a place of business shall retain copies of each receipt or statement of appraisal for not less than one year.
E. Property purchased directly from a permit holder regulated by the Precious Metal Buyers Act who has already reported the item pursuant to this section is exempt from the requirements of this section.
F. The reports required pursuant to this section, as well as every item received, shall be available for inspection by the local government authority, the district attorney and the local law enforcement agency at all reasonable times.
G. Each item of precious metal received or purchased by the precious metal buyer for which a report is required, except gold or silver coins, shall be stored with the item's transaction record for not less than fifteen days. Each gold or silver coin received or purchased by the precious metal buyer for which a report is required shall be stored with the coin's transaction record for not less than five days.
SECTION 7. [NEW MATERIAL] DISPOSITION OF ITEMS OF PRECIOUS METAL--WAITING PERIOD--RECORD OF ITEM.--
A. Except as provided in Subsection B of this section, a precious metal buyer shall not remove from the state or sell, smelt, melt down, alter or otherwise dispose of an item of precious metal until at least fifteen days after the buyer has received or purchased the coin.
B. For purchases of gold or silver coins, a precious metal buyer shall not remove from the state or sell, smelt, melt down, alter or otherwise dispose of a gold or silver coin until at least five days after the buyer has received or purchased the coin.
SECTION 8. [NEW MATERIAL] PROHIBITED PRACTICES.--A precious metal buyer shall not:
A. knowingly enter into a precious metal transaction with a person under the age of eighteen years or under the influence of alcohol or any narcotic, drug, stimulant or depressant;
B. purchase or otherwise receive any item of property from which the manufacturer's name plate, serial number or identification mark has been obviously defaced, altered, covered or destroyed;
C. purchase or otherwise receive any item of precious metal that the buyer knows is not lawfully owned by the person offering it; or
D. require that any of the proceeds of the purchase be spent at the precious metal buyer's place of business or in any other manner directed by the precious metal buyer.
SECTION 9. [NEW MATERIAL] PENALTIES.--
A. A precious metal buyer who violates a provision of the Precious Metal Buyers Act is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978.
B. A precious metal buyer who violates a provision of the Precious Metal Buyers Act shall be subject to having the buyer's permit revoked or suspended by the local government authority pursuant to the provisions of Section 5 of the Precious Metal Buyers Act.
C. Revocation or suspension of a permit does not bar prosecution of the precious metal buyer pursuant to Subsection A of this section, and criminal prosecution does not bar proceedings to revoke or suspend the precious metal buyer's permit.
SECTION 10. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2014.
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