Protect Your Freedom to Buy and Sell Used Goods

Members of the California State Senate

We are writing to urge you to sign this petition to California State Legislators urging their support and Aye vote on AB 1182 (Santiago, Bonta, Cooley and Pan), a measure to remove the unnecessary and oppressive regulatory burden on secondhand dealers created by existing law, while continuing to provide law enforcement useful data they need in order to curtail the dissemination of stolen property.

Longstanding laws have largely been unenforced by local law enforcement. However, the advent of the statewide electronic database, we believe, will result in many local law enforcement agencies enforcing the law.

The existing law requires every secondhand dealer to do all the following for any secondhand goods taken in, no matter the type or value of the item or number of objects.

  • A secondhand dealer must be licensed by the local chief of police or sheriff
  • Report daily “all tangible personal property which he or she purchased, taken in trade, taken in pawn, accepted for sale on consignment, or accepted for auctioning
  • Take “[t]he name and current address of the intended seller or pledger of the property”
  • Take “[t]he identification of the intended seller or pledger”;
  • Take “[a] legible fingerprint taken from the intended seller or pledger” and
  • Retain in his or her possession for a period of 30 days all tangible personal property reported . . .”

This existing law is far too broad and must be corrected: it imposes all of the above-mentioned regulatory requirements on every secondhand dealer, regardless of how large the number of identical items or how low the value of each item bought and sold. [Bus. & Prof. Code Sec. 21627] provides “’tangible personal property’ includes, but is not limited to, all secondhand tangible personal property which bears a serial number or personalized initials or inscription.” [Emphasis added]

And the penalties are severe: Violations of the above provisions are subject to penalties ranging from $1,500 and/or two months in county jail to $25,000 and/or 6 months in county jail. 

Make your voice heard on this topic: AB 1182 will correct these excessive terms and penalties in responsible ways, and will help keep second hand sales going securely and in ways that continue to support law enforcement!

Ask your California State Legislators to support AB 1182 Today!

Petition by
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Alameda, California
Sponsored by
Carrb
Alameda, CA

To: Members of the California State Senate
From: [Your Name]

I want to make sure law enforcement has the data they need to go after stolen goods. But current law requires the reporting of many goods that are not necessary for that purpose and impose an unreasonable burden on legitimate secondhand dealers like me.

The solution to this problem is for the Legislature to clarify existing law to provide that “tangible personal property” means all secondhand tangible personal property which bears a serial number or personalized initials or inscription or which is statistically found through crime reports to the Attorney General to constitute a significant class of stolen goods.

We also seek to exempt all property that has a value of less than $950 from required reporting to the electronic database.

I urge your Aye Vote on AB 1182.