1Amending the act of April 6, 1937 (P.L.200, No.51), entitled "An 
2act licensing and regulating the business of pawnbrokers;
3providing for the issuance of licenses by the Secretary of
4Banking; authorizing the Secretary of Banking to make
5examinations and issue regulations; limiting the interest and
6charges on loans; and prescribing penalties for the violation
7of this act," further providing for definitions, for identity
8of pledger and for pawn ticket; providing for hold orders and
9related procedures; and further providing for sale of pledge
10and for penalties.

11The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
12hereby enacts as follows:

13Section 1. The definitions of "pawnbroker," "pledge" and
14"pledger" in section 2 of the act of April 6, 1937 (P.L.200,
15No.51), known as the Pawnbrokers License Act, amended June 20,
161947 (P.L.701, No.305), are amended to read:

17Section 2. Definitions.--The following terms shall be
18construed in this act to have the following meanings, except in
19those instances where the context clearly indicates otherwise.

20"Pawnbroker" includes any person, who--(1) engages in the
21business of lending money on the deposit or pledge of personal

1property, other than choses in action, securities, or written
2evidences of indebtedness; or (2) purchases personal property
3with an expressed or implied agreement or understanding to sell
4it back at a subsequent time at a stipulated price; or (3) lends
5money upon goods, wares or merchandise pledged, stored or
6deposited as collateral security; or (4) purchases items of 
7personal property without an agreement to sell the items back if 
8the transaction occurs in an establishment where business is 
9conducted under paragraph (1), (2) or (3).

10"Pledge" means--(1) an article or articles deposited with a
11pawnbroker as security for a loan in the course of his business
12as defined in [the preceding paragraph] paragraph (3) of the 
13definition of "pawnbroker"; or (2) an item of personal property 
14purchased by the pawnbroker solely for resale.

15"Pledger" means--(1) the person who obtains a loan from a
16pawnbroker and delivers a pledge into the possession of a
17pawnbroker, unless such person discloses that he is or was
18acting for another in which case a "pledger" means the disclosed
19principal; or (2) the person who sells an item of personal 
20property to a pawnbroker solely for the pawnbroker's resale of 
21the item.

22* * *

23Section 2. Section 13 of the act, amended December 15, 1969
24(P.L.364, No.159), is amended to read:

25Section 13. Identity of Pledger.--At the time of granting an
26original loan or purchasing an item of personal property, the
27pawnbroker shall enter upon his records, in the form and manner
28designated by the Secretary of Banking, a description of the
29pledger so as to identify the pledger, including the pledger's
30[name and address, and either the pledger's motor vehicle

1operator's number, the pledger's Social Security number, or, if
2the pledger does not have this information, such other proof of
3identity as the Secretary of Banking shall provide by
4regulation.]:

5(1) name;

6(2) address;

7(3) age;

8(4) sex;

9(5) race;

10(6) photocopy of a valid photo identification document
11issued by the Federal or State government; and

12(7) digital photograph of the pledger taken at the time of
13the transaction.

14Section 3. Section 14 of the act is amended to read:

15Section 14. Pawn Ticket.--At the time of granting a loan and
16upon the subsequent renewal of any loan or when purchasing 
17personal property, the pawnbroker shall furnish to the pledger a
18pawn ticket which is serially numbered and which shall contain
19the following information--name and address of the pawnbroker,
20the name and address of the pledger, name and address of
21disclosed principal, if any, the date of the loan, the amount
22actually loaned, the serial number of the loan, description of
23the pledge, due date of the loan, the total amount of principal,
24interest and charges required to redeem the pledge on the due
25date, a statement setting forth that the pledge may be sold
26after ninety (90) days of the due date of the loan if not
27redeemed. A pawnbroker may insert additional provisions on the
28pawn ticket not inconsistent with this act, and he shall insert
29such other provisions as may be required by the Secretary of
30Banking.

1A duplicate copy of the pawn ticket shall be retained by the
2pawnbroker for his record.

3The pawnbroker shall require the pledger to surrender the
4original pawn ticket when the pledge is released or the loan is
5renewed.

6Section 4. The act is amended by adding a section to read:

7Section 16.1. Hold Orders and Related Procedures.--(a) When
8an appropriate law enforcement official has probable cause to
9believe that property in the possession of a pawnbroker is
10misappropriated, the official may place a written hold order on
11the property. The written hold order shall impose a holding
12period not to exceed ninety (90) days unless extended by court
13order. The appropriate law enforcement official may rescind, in
14writing, any hold order. An appropriate law enforcement official
15may place only one hold order on property.

16(b) Upon the expiration of the holding period, the
17pawnbroker shall notify, in writing, the appropriate law
18enforcement official by certified mail, return receipt
19requested, that the holding period has expired. If, on the tenth
20day after the written notice has been received by the
21appropriate law enforcement official, the pawnbroker has not
22received from a court an extension of the hold order on the
23property and the property is not the subject of another court
24proceeding, title to the property shall vest in and be deemed
25conveyed by operation of law to the pawnbroker, free of any
26liability for claims but subject to any restrictions contained
27in the pawn transaction contract and subject to the provisions
28of this section.

29(c) A hold order must specify:

30(1) The name and address of the pawnbroker.

1(2) The name, title and identification number of the
2representative of the appropriate law enforcement official or
3the court placing the hold order.

4(3) If applicable, the name and address of the appropriate
5law enforcement official or court to which the representative is
6attached and the number, if any, assigned to the claim regarding
7the property.

8(4) A complete description of the property to be held,
9including model number and serial number if applicable.

10(5) The name of the person reporting the property to be
11misappropriated unless otherwise prohibited by law.

12(6) The mailing address of the pawnbroker where the property
13is held.

14(7) The expiration date of the holding period.

15(d) The pawnbroker or the pawnbroker's representative must
16sign and date a copy of the hold order as evidence of receipt of
17the hold order and the beginning of the ninety (90) day holding
18period.

19(e) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a pawnbroker
20may not release or dispose of property subject to a hold order
21except pursuant to a court order, a written release from the
22appropriate law enforcement official or the expiration of the
23holding period of the hold order.

24(2) While a hold order is in effect, the pawnbroker must
25upon request release the property subject to the hold order to
26the custody of the appropriate law enforcement official for use
27in a criminal investigation. The release of the property to the
28custody of the appropriate law enforcement official may not <-be
29considered a waiver or release of the pawnbroker's property
30rights or interest in the property. Upon completion of the

1criminal proceeding, the property must be returned to the
2pawnbroker unless the court orders other disposition. When
3another disposition is ordered, the court shall additionally
4order the conveying customer to pay restitution to the
5pawnbroker in the amount received by the conveying customer for
6the property together with reasonable attorney fees and costs.

7Section 5. Sections 23 and 31 of the act are amended to
8read:

9Section 23. Sale of Pledge.--Upon default in the payment of
10any loan, a pawnbroker may sell the pledge upon the conditions
11contained in this section.

12A pawnbroker may sell a pledge at private sale for an amount
13not less than that agreed to by the pledger, which amount shall
14be stipulated on the pawn ticket and shall not be less than one
15hundred twenty-five per cent (125%) of the amount of the loan. A
16pledge which cannot be sold at private sale at the minimum price
17agreed to by the pledger must be sold at public auction.

18No unredeemed pledge may be sold before the expiration of
19ninety (90) days after the due date of the loan unless otherwise
20specifically authorized in writing by the pledger. This
21authority to sell an unredeemed pledge prior to the expiration
22of ninety (90) days after the due date of the loan must be given
23by the pledger on a date subsequent to the due date of the loan.

24An unredeemed pledge shall be sold within twelve months of
25the due date of a loan. No interest or charges permitted under
26this act may be collected on a loan after the expiration of
27twelve months of the due date of a loan, whether the loan is
28renewed, or the loan is paid and the pledge redeemed. Where the
29pawnbroker has failed to sell the pledge within six months of
30the due date of the loan, no such interest or charges may be

1computed for the period after six months of the due date of a
2loan in determining the surplus due the pledger if a pledge is
3sold subsequent to six months after the due date of a loan.

4A pawnbroker shall keep an article of personal property it
5received as a pledge for not less than ninety (90) days.

6Section 31. Penalties.--Any person, partnership, association
7or corporation, or any partner, director, officer, agent or
8member thereof who shall engage in the business of pawnbroking
9in this Commonwealth without first obtaining a license under
10this act, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction
11thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than five
12hundred ($500.00) dollars nor more than five thousand
13($5,000.00) dollars, and/or suffer imprisonment not less than
14six months nor more than three years, in the discretion of the
15court.

16A pawnbroker licensed under the provisions of this act who
17shall violate any provision of this act, or shall direct or
18consent to such violation, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
19and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to pay a fine
20of not more than one thousand ($1,000.00) dollars for the first
21offense, and for each subsequent offense a like fine, and/or
22suffer imprisonment not to exceed one year, in the discretion of
23the court.

24An individual, partnership, association, corporation or 
25business entity that commits a violation of this act shall, upon 
26conviction, in addition to the other penalties set forth in this 
27section, have its license issued under the act revoked and be 
28ineligible to apply for a pawnbroker's license under this act 
29for five (5) years from the date of conviction.

30Section 6. This act shall take effect in 60 days.