Secondhand dealers and coin dealers: reporting: handheld electronic devices.

Existing law provides for the regulation of secondhand dealers, as defined. Existing law makes it unlawful for a person to engage in the business of a secondhand dealer without a license issued by the chief of police, the sheriff, or, where appropriate, the police commission. Existing law requires a secondhand dealer or coin dealer, as defined, to report, as specified, to the chief of police or sheriff all secondhand "tangible personal property," as defined, purchased, taken in trade, taken in pawn, accepted for sale on consignment, or accepted for auctioning. Existing law requires the report to include, among other things, the identification of the intended seller or pledger of the property, verified by the person taking the information by reasonably relying on specified documents, and a complete and reasonably accurate description of serialized property, including, but not limited to, the serial number of that property. A violation of these provisions where a person knows or should have known that a violation was being committed is a misdemeanor. This bill would permit the person verifying the identification of the seller or pledger to use technology to obtain information and verify identity remotely. The bill would authorize specified unique identifying numbers to be used as the serial number reported for handheld electronic devices, as defined, and would require the report to the chief of police or sheriff to be updated within 10 days with these unique identifying numbers if they were not available when the report was submitted. Because a violation of this requirement under certain circumstances would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.