news listing

May 9, 2005

The Honorable Judy Chu, Chair

Assembly Appropriations Committee

State Capitol, Room 2114

Sacramento, CA 95814

 

            Re: Opposition to AB 1178 (Yee) as amended May 5, 2005

 

Dear Assembly Member Chu,

 

On behalf of our clients, the California State Auctioneers Association, we must respectfully oppose AB 1178 as amended on May 5, 2005.

 

AB 1178 proposes to expand the license fees, detailed record keeping and property hold provisions now applicable primarily to pawnbrokers to all other businesses that buy and sell used goods. The ostensible purpose is to help law enforcement find stolen property.

 

However, there is little evidence that imposing an enormously expensive, burdensome and cumbersome recordkeeping system on nearly all California businesses will substantially improve law enforcement’s ability to recover and return to rightful owners any stolen property. 

 

Historically there has been a problem with stolen property being pawned.  The reason is that pawnshops offer thieves what they want —-quick cash.  The only other venue where a thief can walk in with a stolen TV and walk out with cash is a flea market, swap meet or yard sale.  Unfortunately, AB 1178 completely exempts these businesses from all provisions of the bill.

 

In addition, to exempting the businesses known to be a problem, there is no evidence that businesses, other than pawnbrokers, are dealing in stolen property. Auctioneers for example, do not dispense quick cash, nor are their transactions conducted one-on-one in private.  Auctions are public. The more buyers who are present the better. For these reasons, there is no history of auctions being a venue for the movement of stolen property as there is with pawnshops and swap meets.

 

Because the bill’s high costs and general un-workability are imposed on businesses with no history of dealing in stolen property and because the businesses that do have such a history are exempt, AB 1178 is a bill that is bad for business and at the same time provides little or no real law enforcement benefit to the citizens of California.

 

Auctioneers are also opposed to AB 1178 because it requires them to be licensed under two comprehensive state licensing schemes. It adds regulation on top of regulation. California’s auctioneers and auction companies are already heavily regulated under California law (see Civil Code at Section 1812.600 et. seq).  AB 1178 effectively removes the existing exemption in the pawnbroker law for most auctioneers. This is accomplished by limiting the exemption in B&P section 21626 to auctioneers who only “call” auctions and do not “take possession” of the property to be auctioned.  However, nearly all auctioneers do take possession of the property to be auctioned and put it in condition for auction. Thus, the disingenuous exemption language of AB 1178 is analogous to exempting pilots as long as they don’t fly. 

 

For all these reasons, we must respectfully oppose AB 1178.
 

Sincerely,

 

BOB WILSON

 

cc: Assemblyman Leland Yee and other Assembly Appropriations Committee members.