Chapter
043
2007 -- S 0366
Enacted 06/15/07
A N A C T
RELATING
TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS --
PURCHASE
AND SALE OF PRECIOUS METALS
Introduced
By: Senator Stephen D. Alves
Date
Introduced: February 13, 2007
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1.
Sections 6-11.1-1 and 6-11.1-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 6-11.1
entitled "Purchase and Sale of Precious
Metals" are hereby amended to read as follows:
6-11.1-1.
License required -- "Person" defined. -- (a) No person,
including a
pawnbroker, and consignment shop or
second hand dealer, as defined in section 5-21-1, shall
engage in the business of buying or receiving
for the purpose of selling gold, silver, platinum
group metals, or precious stones, or any
articles containing those items, other than coins
purchased for their numismatic value rather than
their metal content, referred to in this chapter as
"precious metals," from the general
public for the purpose of reselling the precious metals in any
condition without first obtaining a license from
the attorney general of the state of Rhode Island,
also called "the attorney general" in
this chapter. The attorney general shall not issue any license
to a person who has not registered a permanent
place of business within the state for the purchase
or sale of precious metals. The criteria for
determining a person's permanent place of business
shall be formulated by the attorney general
immediately on or after July 1, 1981.
(b) The word
"person," when used in this chapter, shall include individuals,
partnerships,
associations, and corporations.
(c) This chapter
shall not apply to any financial institution which is covered by federal or
state deposit insurance, nor to jewelry and
silverware manufacturers purchasing precious metals
directly from trade suppliers.
6-11.1-5. Seven
day holding period -- Recovery of stolen property -- Return to
rightful owner. – Fourteen 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 seven (7)
fourteen (14) days all precious metals or articles
made from or containing a precious metal except
items of bullion, including coins, bars, and
medallions, which do not contain serial numbers
or other identifying marks. The seven (7)
fourteen (14) day holding period shall commence with
the date the report of its acquisition was
delivered to or received through the mails 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 (15)
day period, unless the notice is recalled, in writing,
within the fifteen (15) day period; within the
fifteen (15) day 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 which 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 upon passage.
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LC01607
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