HOUSE BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE BILL 234

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

AN ACT

RELATING TO COMMERCE; ENACTING THE PRECIOUS METAL TRANSACTIONS ACT; EXPANDING THE REQUIREMENTS THAT APPLY TO CERTAIN COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING PRECIOUS METAL ITEMS; PROVIDING PENALTIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--Sections 1 through 7 of this act may be cited as the "Precious Metal Transactions Act".

     SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Precious Metal Transactions Act:

          A. "dealer":

                (1) means a person engaged in the business of making pawn transactions involving precious metal items for the purpose of smelting, melting or otherwise altering the items or a person engaged in the business of purchasing precious metal items for any of those purposes; and

                (2) does not include:

                     (a) a person engaged in the business of the manufacture and sale of industrial precious metal products;

                     (b) a person engaged in a business that acquires precious metals from non-retail suppliers or as a by-product of precision parts cleaning services, precious metal refining services or other metal recovery operations for industrial manufacturing customers;

                     (c) a person engaged in a jewelry store business or a gold or silver exchange that derives ninety percent or more of its annual gross receipts from: 1) the retail or wholesale sale of jewelry or jewelry-related products; 2) the manufacture and sale of jewelry; or 3) the repair of jewelry; or

                     (d) a person engaged in a business that derives ninety percent or more of its annual gross receipts from the purchase and sale of bullion and numismatic coins and jewelry;

          B. "precious metal" means gold, silver or platinum; and

          C. "transaction" means purchase by a dealer or loan of money by a dealer.

     SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] WEIGHING PRECIOUS METAL.--In conducting a transaction involving a precious metal item and a measure of the weight of that item, a dealer shall use as a scale only one that a weights and measures officer of New Mexico, within twelve months before the date of the measurement, has inspected and approved for use.

     SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] PRECIOUS METAL TRANSACTION--PATRON IDENTIFICATION--RECEIPT--RECEIPT RETENTION.--In conducting a transaction involving a precious metal item, a dealer shall:

          A. require the patron involved in the transaction to present a valid, government-issued photo identification card;

          B. issue to the patron a serialized receipt that shows:

                (1) the legal name and address of the dealer's business;

                (2) the name and address of the patron;

                (3) the date of the transaction;

                (4) the net weight of the precious metal in the item 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 the item in terms of karat for gold and sterling or coin for silver; and

          C. retain for at least one year a copy of the receipt.

     SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] PRECIOUS METAL TRANSACTION--RECORD--REPORT.--Except for a direct purchase from a person who is subject to the Pawnbrokers Act, who holds a permit issued in accordance with that act and who has already reported the item in accordance with this section, for every transaction involving a precious metal item, a dealer shall:

          A. no later than noon on the day after the transaction, accurately record the transaction on a form approved by a local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which the transaction occurs;

          B. create a record of each item transacted that includes:

                (1) identification and a description of the item;

                (2) the serial number and identifying marks of the item, if any;

                (3) the time and date of the transaction;

                (4) the name and address of the patron involved in the transaction;

                (5) a description, including the sex, complexion, hair color, approximate height, approximate weight and date of birth, of the patron;

                (6) the type of identification, as required by Subsection A of Section 4 of the Precious Metal Transactions Act, that the patron presents;

                (7) the identifying number of that identification and the state and date of issuance, if any;

                (8) a photograph of that identification; and

                (9) a photograph of the item, whether alone or with other items that are part of the transaction; and 

          C. deliver or mail a copy of the form and record to the local law enforcement agency within three days after the transaction.

     SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] PRECIOUS METAL TRANSACTION--ITEM TAG--ITEM HOLD--RECORD AND ITEM INSPECTION.--

          A. A dealer shall attach a tag to every item for which a record is required by Section 5 of the Precious Metal Transactions Act. The tag shall display alphabetic or numeric symbols that match the item to the record.

          B. A dealer who purchases a precious metal item from a seller other than a licensed pawnbroker, a second-hand store or another dealer shall, for at least fifteen days, retain the item in the form the dealer purchased it in.

          C. A dealer shall make available for inspection by the attorney general, the local government authority of the jurisdiction in which the transaction occurs, a law enforcement agency in that jurisdiction or a sworn member of that law enforcement agency:

                (1) the record required by Section 5 of the Precious Metal Transactions Act; and

                (2) the items required by this section to be held.

     SECTION 7. [NEW MATERIAL] PENALTY.--

          A. A person who violates the Precious Metal Transactions Act is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be sentenced in accordance with Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978.

          B. Upon a person's second or subsequent conviction for a violation of the Precious Metal Transactions Act, the person is guilty of a fourth degree felony and shall be sentenced in accordance with Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978.

     SECTION 8. Section 57-9-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 155, Section 1) is amended to read:

     "57-9-1. SHORT TITLE.--[This act] Chapter 57, Article 9 NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Used Merchandise Act"."

     SECTION 9. Section 57-9-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967, Chapter 155, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:

     "57-9-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Used Merchandise Act:

          A. "store" means [any] a pawnshop, second-hand store, junkshop, automobile salvage establishment or automobile wreckage establishment or [any] a place of operation for dealing in or purchasing gold, silver or platinum, but does not include [any] a shop or establishment insofar as it:

                (1) purchases or deals in paper products or used beverage containers other than those made of gold, silver or platinum; or

                (2) is regulated by the Precious Metal

Transactions Act; and

          B. "identification" means a valid New Mexico driver's license, driving authorization card or identification card, a federal social security card, a valid armed forces identification card, a federal census number, a valid medicare identification card, a valid passport or any valid juvenile identification card issued by a municipality of this state."

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