CHAPTER 287
HB 1346 – FINAL VERSION
30Jan2008… 0072h
05/14/08 1797s
04Jun2008… 2036cofc
2008 SESSION
10/05
HOUSE BILL 1346
AN ACT relative to the regulation of junk dealers, scrap metal dealers and pawnbrokers.
SPONSORS: Rep. Snow, Rock 1; Rep. Case, Rock 1; Rep. Schmidt, Straf 4; Sen. Cilley, Dist 6
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
This bill clarifies the authority for cities, towns, and unincorporated places to regulate junk dealers, scrap metal dealers, and pawnbrokers. The bill also limits the purchase of metal kegs for malt beverages by junk or scrap metal dealers.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
30Jan2008… 0072h
05/14/08 1797s
04Jun2008… 2036cofc
08-2604
10/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
AN ACT relative to the regulation of junk dealers, scrap metal dealers and pawnbrokers.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
287:1 Chapter Title; Junk and Scrap Metal Dealers. Amend the chapter title of RSA 322 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 322
JUNK AND SCRAP METAL DEALERS
287:2 Junk Dealers; Governing Body; Scrap Metal. Amend RSA 322:1 to read as follows:
322:1 License. The [police commissioners of any city or town, or the mayor and aldermen of any city or the selectmen of any town in which there is no police commission] governing body of any town, city, or unincorporated place, may, in their discretion, license suitable persons to be dealers in and keepers of shops for the purchase and sale, or barter, of old junk, old or scrap metals, old or second-hand bottles, cotton or woolen mill waste, unfinished cloth, cotton or woolen mill yarns in an unfinished state, not of family manufacture, or second-hand articles, excepting furniture and books, within their respective cities [or], towns, or unincorporated places, or to accumulate, store or handle said commodities therein for the purpose of sale or barter elsewhere, or as bailees for others, and may determine and designate the place where the business is to be carried on, and the place where the commodities aforesaid may be accumulated, stored or handled, under such license.
287:3 New Section; Junk and Scrap Metal Dealers; Records. Amend RSA 322 by inserting after section 6 the following new section:
322:6-a Records. Each person required to be licensed under this chapter shall keep records sufficient to the licensing authority of the accumulation, storage, and handling of commodities as a junk or scrap metal dealer. Such record shall be legibly written in the English language and provide account and description of the goods purchased, the date and time of their purchase, and the name and residence, verified by photo identification issued by a governmental agency, of the seller.
287:4 Junk and Scrap Metal Dealers; Inspections. Amend RSA 322:7 to read as follows:
322:7 Inspection. [The chief of police of a city and selectmen of a town, or] Any officer [authorized by either of them], having jurisdiction may [at any time] enter upon any premises used by a licensee for the purpose of his or her business, ascertain how [he] the licensee conducts [his] business and examine all commodities purchased, obtained, kept, or stored in or upon said premises, and all books and inventories relating thereto. Every such licensee, his or her clerk, agent, [servant] or other person in charge of the premises shall exhibit to such officer on demand any or all of such commodities, books, and inventories.
287:5 Junk and Scrap Metal Dealers; Identification. Amend RSA 322:9 and RSA 322:10 to read as follows:
322:9 Number. Every license shall be numbered, and each licensee [collecting] transporting any of the [aforesaid] commodities specified in RSA 322:1 in any wagon or vehicle shall have placed upon the outside of such wagon or vehicle, and upon each side of the same, the number of the license in plain, legible figures not less than 3 inches high so that the same may be distinctly seen and read.
322:10 [Badge] Identification. Every [person] licensee [going about from place to place collecting said commodities named in RSA 322:1 shall also wear a badge] or employee of a licensee shall carry a photocopy of his or her license or the license of his or her employer on [his hat or cap,] or about his or her person[, with the number of his license thereon in brass or plated figures not less than one inch high, so placed that the number may be distinctly seen and read]. The [badge shall] identification may be required to be furnished by the [board of police commissioners or by the city clerk of cities, or by the selectmen of towns,] licensing authority upon payment of a suitable fee therefor.
287:6 Junk and Scrap Metal; Unlicensed Persons. Amend RSA 322:12 to read as follows:
322:12 Unlicensed Person. No person not licensed shall [collect or] purchase any of the commodities above specified unless he or she acts as a helper to, and is accompanied by, some licensee.
287:7 Pawnbrokers; Licenses. Amend RSA 398:5 to read as follows:
398:5 Licenses. The [board of police commissioners of any city or town or the mayor and aldermen of any city or the selectmen of any town in which a police commission has not been established,] governing body of any town, city, or unincorporated place may license suitable persons to carry on the business of pawnbrokers in said city [or], town, or place for one year, and may revoke such licenses, in their discretion, after a hearing on charges preferred.
287:8 Pawnbrokers; Records. Amend RSA 398:12 to read as follows:
398:12 Records. Every such pawnbroker shall keep a book in which, at the time of making a loan, shall be legibly written in the English language an account and description of the goods, articles or things pawned or pledged, the amount of money loaned thereon, the time of pledging them, the rate of interest to be paid on such loan and the name and residence of the pledgor, verified by photo identification issued by a governmental agency.
287:9 Pawnbrokers; Inspections. Amend RSA 398:13 to read as follows:
398:13 Inspections. [The chief of police of a city, the selectmen of a town, or] Any officer [authorized by either of them], having jurisdiction may [at any time] enter upon any premises used by a licensed pawnbroker for the purposes of [his] business, ascertain how [he] the pawnbroker conducts his or her business and examine all articles taken in pawn or kept or stored in or upon said premises and all books and inventories relating thereto. Every such pawnbroker, his or her clerk, agent, servant, or other person in charge of the premises shall exhibit to such officer on demand any or all of such articles, books, and inventories.
287:10 New Section; Junk and Scrap Metal Dealers; Metal Kegs. Amend RSA 322 by inserting after section 12 the following new section:
322:12-a Metal Kegs for Malt Beverages. No junk or scrap metal dealer licensed by a governing body under the authority of this chapter shall purchase any metal keg for malt beverages, as defined in RSA 179:5-a, V, or pieces of such metal keg, unless the seller is the brewer whose name or marking appears on the keg. If the brewer’s name or marking has been removed or obliterated, the licensee shall not purchase the keg.
287:11 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved: June 27, 2008
Effective Date: June 27, 2008