HBA-NLM, H.B. 814 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 814
By: Jones, Jesse
Financial Institutions
3/2/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, the consumer credit commissioner (commissioner) is required by
statute to conduct a public hearing before issuing a pawnshop license.  The
Texas Pawnshop Act (TPA), which provides for the regulation and licensing
of pawnshops, does not provide for public notification of pawnshop license
applications and consequently, community residents are often aware of their
opportunity to participate in the public hearing process.  H.B. 814
requires each applicant for a pawnshop license for a location in a county
with a population of 1.5 million or more to publish notice of the
application. This bill also requires the commissioner to give notice of
each pawnshop license application made for a location in a county with a
population of 1.5 million or more to the county judge of the county or the
mayor or other presiding officer of the governing body of the municipality
in which the applicant's business is to be conducted, and to the state
representative and the state senator in whose district the applicant's
business is to be conducted. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the consumer credit commissioner in
SECTION 1 ( Section 371.0543, Finance Code) of this bill.  

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 371, Finance Code, by adding
Sections 371.0541, 371.0542, and 371.0543, as follows: 

Sec. 371.0541.  PUBLICATION OF APPLICATION NOTICE IN COUNTIES OF 1.5
MILLION OR MORE. (a) Requires each applicant for a pawnshop license for a
location in a county with a population of 1.5 million or more to publish
notice of the application, at the applicant's own expense, in two
consecutive issues of a newspaper of general circulation in the
municipality in which the applicant's business is to be conducted.
Provides that if a newspaper is not published in the municipality or if the
business is to be conducted in an unincorporated area of the county, the
applicant is required to publish the notice in a newspaper of general
circulation in the county, or in an adjacent county if a newspaper is not
published in that county, and circulated in the county in which the
applicant's business is to be conducted.  

(b) Provides that the notice must be printed in 10-point bold-faced type
and include the address of the place of business for which the pawnshop
license is sought, and the full name of the applicant or each partner if
the applicant is a partnership, or the full name and title of each officer
of the corporation if the applicant is a corporation. 

Sec. 371.0542.  NOTICE BY SIGN IN COUNTIES OF 1.5 MILLION OR MORE. (a)
Requires an applicant for a pawnshop license under this section at the
applicant's expense to post an outdoor sign at the proposed location that
states that an application for a pawnshop license has been made for those
premises and lists the applicant's name and business address. 

(b) Provides that the sign must be written and sized in a manner in which
the consumer credit commissioner (commissioner) determines adequate to
inform the public of the intended use of the property as a pawnshop.
Authorizes the commissioner to require the  sign to be both in English and
another language that is likely to be spoken by a substantial number of
residents in the area. 

(c)  Prohibits the commissioner from denying a license application for
failure to post the notice required by this section if the commissioner
determines that the area's residents are adequately aware of the nature of
the application. 

Sec. 371.0543. RULES.  Authorizes the commissioner to adopt rules as
necessary to enforce Sections 371.0541 and 371.0542. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 371, Finance Code, by adding
Section 371.0571, as follows: 

Sec. 371.0571.  APPLICATION NOTICE TO PUBLIC OFFICIALS IN COUNTIES OF 1.5
MILLION OR MORE.  Requires the commissioner to give notice of each pawnshop
license application made for a location in a county with a population of
1.5 million or more to the county judge of the county or the mayor or other
presiding officer of the governing body of the municipality in which the
applicant's business is to be conducted, and the state representative and
the state senator in whose district the applicant's business is to be
conducted. 

SECTION 3.  Amends Section 371.058(b), Finance Code, to require the
commissioner to allow any person, rather than only a pawnbroker, that would
be affected by the granting of a pawnshop license, to appear and be heard
concerning the application. Makes a nonsubstantive change. 

SECTION 4.  Amends Section 371.059, Finance Code, to specify that the
commissioner consider the public safety, health, and welfare of the
community that would be affected, in addition to making certain enumerated
findings, before being required to approve an application and issue a
license. 

SECTION 5.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.
                       Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 6.  Emergency clause.