(a) A license granted pursuant to Section 21300 shall be renewable the second year from the date of issue, and every other year thereafter, upon the filing of a renewal application, payment of a renewal fee specified by the licensing authority as described in this subdivision, and compliance with the requirements of Section 21303. The Department of Justice shall also require the licensee, in addition to any locally assessed fee as set forth herein, to pay a fee as described in Section 21642.5 of the Business and Professions Code. The licensing authority shall collect the fee and transmit the fee and a copy of the renewed license to the Department of Justice. The police chief, sheriff, or, where appropriate, the police commission may charge a fee not to exceed the actual costs incurred to process the renewal application of the licensee and to collect and transmit the fee charged by the Department of Justice.
(b) The license shall be subject to forfeiture by the licensing authority, and the licensee’s activities as a pawnbroker shall be subject to being enjoined pursuant to Section 21302, for breach of any of the following conditions:
(1) The business shall be carried on only at the location designated on the license. The license shall designate all locations where property belonging to the business is stored. Property of the business may be stored at locations not designated on the license only with the written consent of the local licensing authority.
(2) The license or a copy thereof, certified by the licensing authority, shall be displayed on the premises in plain view of the public.
(3) The licensee shall not engage in any act that the licensee knows to be in violation of this article.
(4) The licensee shall not be convicted of an attempt to receive stolen property or other offense involving stolen property. For the purposes of this paragraph, “convicted” means a plea or verdict of guilty or a conviction following a plea of nolo contendere. Any action that the chief of police, the sheriff, or, where appropriate, the police commission is permitted to take following that conviction may be taken when the time for appeal has elapsed, the judgment of conviction has been affirmed on appeal, or an order granting probation is made suspending the imposition of sentence, irrespective of a subsequent order under Section 1203.4 of the Penal Code.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), no renewal application for a pawnbroker’s license may be denied, nor may his or her pawnbroker’s license be forfeited, solely on the grounds that the applicant violated any provision contained in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 21000) or Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 21200), or any provision contained in Article 4 (commencing with Section 21625) or Article 5 (commencing with Section 21650) of Chapter 9 of Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, unless the violation demonstrates a pattern of conduct.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 172, Sec. 10. (AB 391) Effective August 17, 2012.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018