HBA-SEB H.B. 214 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 214
By: Hochberg
Criminal Jurisprudence
2/10/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, in order for a pawnbroker to avoid being presumed to know that
property secured with the pawnbroker is stolen, the pawnbroker must obtain
the identifying information of the seller or pledgor of the property,  a
complete description of the property itself, or a signed warranty stating
that the seller or pledgor has the right to possess the property.
Prosecutors may experience problems in prosecuting cases involving stolen
merchandise recovered from pawnshops because positive identification of the
seller or pledgor is often unavailable.  H.B. 214 provides that a
pawnbroker behaves knowingly or recklessly if the pawnbroker fails to do
one of the aforementioned tasks, or to photograph the seller or pledgor or
to record the person's thumbprint.     

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 31.03(c), Penal Code, to add failing to
photograph or videotape the seller or pledgor of property or failing to
obtain the seller's or pledgor's thumbprint to the list of actions which
create a presumption that a person knows the property is stolen if the
person is engaged in the business of buying and selling secondhand property
or lending money on the security of the personal property.  

SECTION 2.  Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 3.  Effective date:  September 1, 1999.

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.