Do I Need to Disclose the Buyer of Consigned Art Sales in California?
Full Question:
Answer:
You must tell them that the law requires the information in the following CA statute. This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2010, and, as of January 1, 2011, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2011, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.:
21628. Every secondhand dealer or coin dealer described in Section
21626 shall report daily, or on the first working day after receipt
or purchase of the property, on forms either approved or provided at
actual cost by the Department of Justice, all tangible personal
property that he or she has purchased, taken in trade, taken in pawn,
accepted for sale on consignment, or accepted for auctioning, to the
chief of police or to the sheriff, in accordance with the provisions
of Sections 21630 and 21633 and subdivision (j) of this section. The
report shall be legible, prepared in English, completed where
applicable, and include, but not be limited to, the following
information:
(a) The name and current address of the intended seller or pledger
of the property.
(b) The identification of the intended seller or pledger. The
identification of the seller or pledger of the property shall be
verified by the person taking the information. The verification shall
be valid if the person taking the information reasonably relies on
any one of the following documents, provided that the document is
currently valid or has been issued within five years and contains a
photograph or description, or both, of the person named on it, and,
where applicable, is signed by the person, and bears a serial or
other identifying number:
(1) A passport of the United States.
(2) A driver's license issued by any state, or Canada.
(3) An identification card issued by any state.
(4) An identification card issued by the United States.
(5) A passport from any other country in addition to another item
of identification bearing an address.
(6) A Matricula Consular in addition to another item of
identification bearing an address.
(c) A complete and reasonably accurate description of serialized
property, including, but not limited to, the following: serial number
and other identifying marks or symbols, owner-applied numbers,
manufacturer's named brand, and model name or number. Watches need
not be disassembled when special skill or special tools are required
to obtain the required information, unless specifically requested to
do so by a peace officer. A special tool does not include a penknife,
caseknife, or similar instrument and disassembling a watch with a
penknife, caseknife, or similar instrument does not constitute a
special skill. In all instances where the required information may be
obtained by removal of a watchband, then the watchband shall be
removed. The cost associated with opening the watch shall be borne by
the pawnbroker, secondhand dealer, or customer.
(d) A complete and reasonably accurate description of
nonserialized property, including, but not limited to, the following:
size, color, material, manufacturer's pattern name (when known),
owner-applied numbers and personalized inscriptions, and other
identifying marks or symbols. Watches need not be disassembled when
special skill or special tools are required to obtain the required
information, unless specifically requested to do so by a peace
officer. A special tool does not include a penknife, caseknife, or
similar instrument and disassembling a watch with a penknife,
caseknife, or similar instrument does not constitute a special skill.
In all instances where the required information may be obtained by
removal of a watchband, then the watchband shall be removed. The cost
associated with opening the watch shall be borne by the pawnbroker,
secondhand dealer, or customer.
(e) A certification by the intended seller or pledger that he or
she is the owner of the property or has the authority of the owner to
sell or pledge the property.
(f) A certification by the intended seller or pledger that to his
or her knowledge and belief the information is true and complete.
(g) A legible fingerprint taken from the intended seller or
pledger, as prescribed by the Department of Justice. This requirement
does not apply to a coin dealer, unless required pursuant to local
regulation.
(h) When a secondhand dealer complies with all of the provisions
of this section, he or she shall be deemed to have received from the
seller or pledger adequate evidence of authority to sell or pledge
the property for all purposes included in this article, and Division
8 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Financial Code.
In enacting this subdivision, it is the intent of the Legislature
that its provisions shall not adversely affect the implementation of,
or prosecution under, any provision of the Penal Code.
(i) Any person who conducts business as a secondhand dealer at any
gun show or event, as defined in Section 478.100 of Title 27 of the
Code of Federal Regulations, or its successor, outside the
jurisdiction that issued the secondhand dealer license in accordance
with subdivision (d) of Section 21641, may be required to submit a
duplicate of the transaction report prepared pursuant to this section
to the local law enforcement agency where the gun show or event is
conducted.
(j) (1) The Department of Justice shall, in consultation with
appropriate local law enforcement agencies, develop clear and
comprehensive descriptive categories denoting tangible personal
property subject to the reporting requirements of this section. These
categories shall be incorporated by secondhand dealers and coin
dealers described in Section 21626 for purposes of the reporting
requirements set forth herein. Any required report shall be
transmitted by electronic means. The Department of Justice and local
law enforcement agencies, in consultation with representatives from
the secondhand dealer and coin dealer businesses, shall develop a
standard format to be used statewide to transmit this report
electronically.
(2) Twelve months after the format and the categories described in
paragraph (1) have been developed, each secondhand dealer and coin
dealer shall electronically report using this format the information
required by this section under these reporting categories. Until that
time, each secondhand dealer and coin dealer may either continue to
report this information using existing forms and procedures or may
begin electronically reporting this information under the reporting
categories and using the format described in paragraph (1) as soon as
each has been developed.
(3) A coin dealer who engages in less than 10 transactions each
week in which he or she has purchased, taken in trade, taken in pawn,
accepted for sale or consignment, or accepted for auctioning
tangible personal property, shall report the information required by
this section under the reporting categories described in paragraph
(1) on a form developed by the Attorney General that the coin dealer
shall transmit each day by facsimile transmission or by mail to the
chief of police or sheriff. A transaction shall consist of not more
than one item. Nothing in this section shall prohibit up to 10
transactions with the same customer per week, provided that the
cumulative total per week for all customers does not exceed 10
transactions. Until that form is developed, these coin dealers shall
continue to report information required by this section using
existing forms and procedures. If these transactions increase to 10
per week, the coin dealer shall electronically report using the
format described in paragraph (1) the information required by this
section beginning six months after his or her transactions exceed 10
per week or 12 months after the format described in paragraph (1) has
been developed, whichever occurs later.
(4) For purposes of this subdivision, "item" shall mean any single
physical article. However, with respect to a commonly accepted
grouping of articles that are purchased as a set, including, but not
limited to, a pair of earrings or place settings of china,
silverware, or other tableware, "item" shall mean that commonly
accepted grouping.
(5) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as excepting a
secondhand dealer from the fingerprinting requirement of subdivision
(g).
(k) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2010, and, as
of January 1, 2011, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2011, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
See also:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=1832929487+3+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve
http://www.lapdonline.org/art_theft_case_files/content_basic_view/27387
