2015 -- H 6228

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LC002732

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW - SALE OF USED PRECIOUS METALS

     Introduced By: Representatives Lima, McNamara, Hull, Shekarchi, and Edwards

     Date Introduced: May 21, 2015

     Referred To: House Corporations

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 6-11.1-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 6-11.1 entitled "Purchase

and Sale of Precious Metals" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     6-11.1-5. Fourteen-day holding period -- Recovery of stolen property -- Return to

rightful owner. – Twenty-one-day holding period -- Recovery of stolen property -- Return to

rightful owner. -- (a) All persons licensed under this chapter shall retain in their possession in an

unaltered condition for a period of fourteen (14) twenty-one (21) days all precious metals or

articles made from or containing a precious metal including catalytic converters except items of

bullion, including coins, bars, and medallions, that do not contain serial numbers or other

identifying marks. The fourteen-day (14) twenty-one-day (21) holding period shall commence

with the date the report of its acquisition was delivered to or received by the chief of police or the

attorney general, whichever is later. The records so received by the chief of police and the

attorney general shall be available for inspection only by law enforcement officers for law

enforcement purposes. If the chief of police has probable cause that precious metals or an article

made from or containing a precious metal has been stolen, he or she may give notice, in writing,

to the person licensed, to retain the metal or article for an additional period of fifteen (15) days,

and the person shall retain the property for this additional fifteen-day (15) period, unless the

notice is recalled, in writing, within the fifteen-day (15) period. Within the fifteen-day (15) period

the chief of police, or his or her designee, shall designate, in writing, an officer to secure the

property alleged to be stolen and the persons in possession of the property shall deliver the

property to the officer upon display of the officer's written designation by the chief of police or

his or her designee. Upon receipt of the property from the officer, the clerk or person in charge of

the storage of alleged stolen property for a police department shall enter into a book a description

of every article of property alleged to be stolen that was brought to the police department and

shall attach a number to each article. The clerk or person in charge of the storage of alleged stolen

property shall deliver the property to the owner of the property upon satisfactory proof of

ownership, without any cost to the owner, provided that the following steps are followed:

      (1) A complete photographic record of the property is made;

      (2) A signed declaration of ownership under penalty of perjury is obtained from the

person to whom the property is delivered;

      (3) The person from whom the custody of the property was taken is served with written

notice of the claim of ownership and is given ten (10) days from the mailing of the notice to file a

petition in district court objecting to the delivery of the property to the person claiming

ownership. If a petition is filed in a timely manner, the district court shall, at a hearing, determine

by a preponderance of the evidence that the property was stolen and that the person claiming

ownership of the property is the true owner. The decision of the district court may only be

appealable by writ of certiorari to the supreme court.

      (b) The clerk or person in charge of the storage of alleged stolen property shall not be

liable for damages for any official act performed in good faith in the course of carrying out the

provisions of this section. The photographic record of the alleged stolen property shall be allowed

to be introduced as evidence in any court of this state in place of the actual alleged stolen

property; provided that the clerk in charge of the storage of the alleged stolen property shall take

photographs of the property and those photographs shall be tagged and marked and remain in his

possession or control.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on September 1, 2015.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW - SALE OF USED PRECIOUS METALS

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     This act would increase (from fourteen (14) days to twenty-one (21) days) the time that

licensed vendors of precious metals and articles have to hold such items before they can be

resold.

     This act would take effect on September 1, 2015.

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LC002732

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LC002732 - Page 3 of 3