Second Hand Dealer Law

KLFY-TV (Louisiana) ^ | October 18, 2011 | Unattributed

[BfloGuy]

Cold hard cash. It's good everywhere you go, right? You can use it to pay for anything.

But that's not the case here in Louisiana now. It's a law that was passed during this year's busy legislative session.

House bill 195 basically says those who buy and sell second hand goods cannot use cash to make those transactions, and it flew so far under the radar most businesses don't even know about it.

"We're gonna lose a lot of business," says Danny Guidry, who owns the Pioneer Trading Post in Lafayette. He deals in buying and selling unique second hand items.

"We don't want this cash transaction to be taken away from us. It's an everyday transaction," Guidry explains.

Guidry says, "I think everyone in this business once they find out about it. They're will definitely be a lot of uproar."

The law states those who buy or sell second hand goods are prohibited from using cash. State representative Rickey Hardy co-authored the bill.

Hardy says, "they give a check or a cashiers money order, or electronic one of those three mechanisms is used."

Hardy says the bill is targeted at criminals who steal anything from copper to televisions, and sell them for a quick buck. Having a paper trail will make it easier for law enforcement.

"It's a mechanism to be used so the police department has something to go on and have a lead," explains Hardy.

[roadcat]

Cold hard cash. It's good everywhere you go, right? You can use it to pay for anything.

That's what we do, pay cash as much as possible for anything we buy at stores. We're not criminals, we just like privacy. At times, we buy things on the internet, where they often want an email address. Next thing we know, we're getting lots of spam emails with targeted sales pitches. If I could pay cash on the internet, I would. Anywhere else, paying cash keeps us anonymous.

[crazyhorse691]

And what exactly does that have to do with second hand dealers paying by check or money order for stuff that is brought in to them?

[Mike Darancette]

So I thought US currency stated: “this note is legal tender for all debts, public and private”. Yard sales and swap meets are screwed.

[muir_redwoods]

How do I negotiate a check without a bank account? True a money order might be negotiable without a bank account but it’s not unusual to have yo pay a premium to cash it thereby costing me some of my value. One has every right to cash for a transaction. You’ll see when this stupid law is overturned

[Oztrich Boy]