Posted on 06/22/2004 8:57:52 PM PDT by dixie sass
Buyer Must Fingerprint Seller, Says Proposed California Bill, but What about eBay?
By David S. Smith
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. - A current bill before California lawmakers aimed at curtailing the trafficking of stolen merchandise could seriously hamper the antiques and fine art trade throughout the Golden State. Proposed regulations for dealers and auctioneers are stringent. Included are such drastic measures as taking a fingerprint from everyone that they buy or take consignments from for items exceeding $250 in value. Dealers and auction houses will also be required to report all purchases of $250 or more to police within 24 hours, and hold the merchandise for 30 days prior to selling it.
The bill, SB 1893, takes aim at "pawnbrokers, secondhand dealers, coin dealers and business machine dealers" - antiques and fine art dealers, as well as auction houses, are legally classified as secondhand dealers.
"It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this article to curtail the dissemination of stolen property, to facilitate the rapid recovery of stolen property, and to aid the State Board of Equalization to detect possible sales tax evasion by a uniform, statewide, state-administered system of licensing and regulation," states the opening paragraph of the bill presented by Democratic Senator John L. Burton.
Critics of the bill argue that it will have the exact opposite effect and will be detrimental not only to those dealing in antiques and fine art, but also to the municipalities throughout the state.
The bill was originally proposed by a group representing the pawnbrokers, whose industry would benefit from it, yet somehow the auction and antiques industry got lumped into the bill. "It is unfortunate because [the pawnbrokers] operate completely opposite from the way the auction industry and the antiques dealers work," stated Norm Haigh, president of the California State Auctioneers Association (CSAA). "They do not know or understand the auction principles and the needs of our industry. It is unfortunate that we have been included in the bill. If this bill gets passed, it is going to have a drastic effect on the way all the auctions and antiques dealers operate in the state," he said.
"We were caught with our pants down, so to speak," said Haigh, "No one from the antiques business knew about [the bill] during the initial phase. We didn't find out until it had already been passed by the senate." Haigh commented that a similar bill had been proposed in 1980 and was defeated when the auctioneers created a state licensing board. State government funding dried up in 1990, and the board was disbanded in 1992.
CSAA has hired a lobbyist whose focus will be to get the auctioneers, antiques and fine art dealers exempted from the bill and to reinstate the licensing board for the auctioneers. "We are mustering all the support we can get and the antiques dealers have joined us on this. We are going to try and get them to take another look at the bill and exempt us," said Haigh.
The first phase of enacting the bill has already passed the California senate and it is now headed to the state assembly for consideration. The effort to derail the bill is spearheaded not only by CSAA, but also by show manager and auctioneer Allen Michaan of Auctions By The Bay in Alameda, Calif.
Michaan has created a groundswell of opposition in the short period of time that he has been aware of the bill, ranging from local dealers, auctioneers and show promoters to the chief of police in Alameda, where major month-ly antiques shows take place. "I have been in contact with the chief in Alameda and he is pulling his hair out over this," he said. "He could potentially get thousands of these forms from every one of our shows," said Michaan, referring to his monthly Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Fair, which is often referred to as "Brimfield West."
Michaan has been handing out flyers and sending emails by the tens-of-thousands pleading for support and stating, "Don't let our business or hobby be regulated into oblivion."
"The sheer logistics of this are impossible," states Michaan, "This bill was crafted to aid in the return of stolen materials and to increase revenue; in fact, the bill achieves neither. It is not a rational concept that it will recover stolen property. The recovery of stolen materials will be reduced, because rather than be fingerprinted, the thieves will sell the items out of state. The revenues from sales tax will decrease because many of the dealers we have spoken with say it will drive them out of the business."
Michaan commented that the process will cost the state untold amounts of both money and resources. "It creates a huge burden on our police departments that are already overburdened and underfunded," he said. "They are already having a hard time responding to serious crimes. How are they going to file and track the thousands of forms that will be filed after every one of my shows alone?"
Michaan is also deeply concerned for his auction business, "There are so many barriers, there is so much intrusion into our private business and our lives. I am worried about asking consignors for their fingerprints. A lot of them will tell me, 'No.' A lot of people are worried about government intrusion. The end result is that they won't consign. Things are tough enough these days in this business without a bill like this."
In California, the term "secondhand dealer" refers to "any person, firm, partnership or business entity whose business includes the buying, selling, trading, accepting for auction or for sale on consignment any secondhand tangible personal property." The definition of "secondhand tangible personal property" includes, among other things, jewelry, sterling silver utensils, coin collections, precious metals, stones or gems, antiques and collectibles with an individual value of $250 or more.
An electronic process has been proposed but will not be implemented for several years. In the mean-time, dealers will be required to register with the state and keep all records manually.
Antiques and fine art dealers, as well as auctioneers, must first register with their chiefs of police and pass a Department of Justice criminal background check prior to being issued a license/vendors permit. Until the state gets its electronic monitoring system in place, dealers will be required to report each purchase within 24 hours to the chief of police in the district where the purchase was made.
As outlined in the legislation, "all secondhand tangible personal property that is acquired by purchase, trade, or accepted for sale on consignment or for auction shall be reported. The report shall be transmitted daily, or on the first working day after receipt or purchase of the property" and shall be delivered to the chief of police or to the sheriff.
Another section outlines the requirements for supplied information and states the report shall be legible, prepared in English and shall include, but not be limited to, the name and current address of the seller or consignor, a complete and reasonably accurate description of the property, and certification that the seller is in fact the owner of the property or has the authority to sell or consign the property. It must also state that there has not been conveyed a right to, or granted a lien against, the property.
The identification of the intended seller or consignor of the property becomes even more complicated. "At the time of the acquisition, a legible fingerprint shall be taken from the intended seller or consignor," and the "fingerprint shall be maintained by the dealer for a period of three years from the date it was taken and shall be made available for inspection by any law enforcement officer or employee of the Department of Justice." A US passport or state issued identification card must also be presented, multiple forms of identification must be presented by foreign sellers or consignors.
Identity information must be updated only once every 12 months involving repeated sales, although reports for each purchase must still be presented to police within the one-business-day timeframe.
Moreover, the legislation also requires a dealer to hold any merchandise purchased for 30 days from the time it was originally reported to the state. In special circumstances, items may be sold sooner if the chief of police is notified. During the 30-day holding period, dealers are required to produce the property within 24 hours when requested by police.
Currently, becoming an antiques dealer in California is a fairly simple procedure. One need only apply for a tax identification number (resale number). That process, however, will also become complicated and expensive. An initial processing fee of $195 is to be imposed on top of a $100 license issuance fee, an additional $50 for the licensing authority, and $32 for the criminal background check. The license is renewable yearly afterwards for a $175 fee and an additional $50 fee for the licensing authority.
SB1893 also contains a host of regulations revolving around gun shows.
On yet another front that is not clearly addressed by the bill, Michaan queried, "What about eBay? Does this law effect everyone from California that is selling items to California residents?"
"We are raising as much cane as we can," said Haigh. "We need to get somebody up there to say 'Hey, we need to take another look at this."'
"The clock is ticking against us, and God forbid that other states jump on the bandwagon and model laws after this one," said Michaan. The auctioneer/show promoter suggested that California residents and anyone who buys or sells antiques in California contact the state committee members, assembly representatives and the governor.
Requests for comments from Senator Burton regarding these issues went unanswered as of press time.
Further information can be obtained through Michaan at 510-740-0220, ext 103, or by email at amichaan@auctionsbythebay.com. CSAA can be reached at 888-541-8084, its website is http://www.caauctioneers.org/. A copy of SB1893 may be viewed at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/ Senator Burton may be contacted at 916-445-1412, or email mailto:Senator.Burton@sen.ca.gov.
Crack whores for legislators bump...
Again, the "idiots-who-want-to-save-the-world" will just screw up things. Don't these fools know this will just create an underground trade, a black market?
california's ecconomy continues to tank.
This is a way of tracking when people sell for cash and avoid the oppressive taxation system.
Remember in real terms, 50 cents of every dollar the ordinary person makes in CF is gone to taxation in one form or anther.
This is not anticrime, this is government taxation tracking.
What dealer is going to throw away cash at one of these events buying any high dollar merchandise presented to him in the dealers' room by anyone who does not already have a booth there? Buy it and sit on it for 30 days? Most dealers look to turn around the good merchandise at the same show. And who wants to walk around with black ink on their fingers? What dealer will let a customer with black ink on his fingers handle merchandise?
At these events, there are also a lot of people from out of state and other countries that attend. They could also present merchandise to sell. It won't just be Californians making such sales.
It is possible to engrave personal electronics or to include serial numbers in such items. Artwork is a unique item and can be documented. Collectibles are mass produced and attempts to "tag" them don't work.
You send him to me! No if's, and's or but's - okay? Please.
I'm with my husband at the national E-bay convention in New Orleans, believe it or not. I haven't been to any of the sessions that might deal with the law, and so I don't know if anyone here is talking about this.
My husband would know better than I how the Pawnbrokers fought the bill, but the way I remember it was that they united and lobbied that the customers were legal buyers and had no reason to submit to fingerprinting - as well as convincing the lawmakers that their income would be improved if the pawnbrokers weren't harmed. (I hate the implications of that sort of lobbying, but understand that campaigns must go on....)
Ebay is an unbelievably diverse bunch of buyers and sellers. But, I can imagine them uniting to convince California that if their income goes down, the tax incomes for the State would go down - not to mention the problem of all the other resalers and those they support going on the unemployment lines.
My friend had some things stolen from her garage this weekend. She called around to the pawnshops and they told her that it's not like she sees in the movies. Here in San Diego apparently the sellers must be fingerprinted and show ID. Every night the receipts are faxed to the police Dept.
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