HBA-NLM, C.S.H.B. 814 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS
Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 814
By: Jones, Jesse
Financial Institutions
4/15/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)
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. C.S.H.B. 814
requires the commissioner to give notice of each pawnshop license
application 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 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 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 consumer credit commissioner to give notice
of each pawnshop license application to the state representative and the
state senator in whose district the applicant's business is to be
conducted.
SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999.
Makes application of this Act prospective.
SECTION 3. Emergency clause.
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE
C.S.H.B. 814 modifies the original in the caption by deleting " the
granting of pawnshop license and ...in certain counties."
C.S.H.B. 814 redesignates SECTION 2 (proposed Section 371.0571, Finance
Code) of the original as SECTION 1 in the substitute. The substitute
requires the consumer credit commissioner (commissioner) to give notice of
each pawnshop license application to the state representative and the state
senator in whose district the applicant's business is to be conducted. The
substitute deletes text requiring the commissioner to give notice of each
pawnshop license application 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.
C.S.H.B. 814 modifies the original by deleting SECTION 1 (proposed Sections
371.0541, 371.0542, and 371.0543, Finance Code). Proposed Section 371.0541
required 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; providing 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; and providing 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.
Proposed Section 371.0542, required 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; providing that the sign must be written and sized in a
manner in which the commissioner determines adequate to inform the public
of the intended use of the property as a pawnshop; authorizing 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; and prohibiting 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.
C.S.H.B. 814 modifies the original by removing SECTION 1 (proposed Section
371.0543, Finance Code) which authorized the commissioner to adopt rules as
necessary to enforce Sections 371.0541 and 371.0542.
C.S.H.B. 814 modifies the original by deleting SECTION 3 (Section
371.058(b), Finance Code), which required 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.
C.S.H.B. 814 modifies the original by deleting SECTION 4 (Section 371.059,
Finance Code), which specified 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.
C.S.H.B. 814 redesignates SECTIONS 5 and 6 (effective date, emergency
clause) of the original to SECTIONS 2 and 3 in the substitute.