§1787. Eligibility for license, net assets or bond

A. To be eligible for a license an applicant shall meet all of the following:

(1) Be over eighteen years of age and of good character and reputation.

(2) Not have been convicted of a felony under the laws of the United States, the state of Louisiana, or any other state or country within the last ten years.

(3) Show that the pawnshop shall meet all other requirements of law.

(4) Have net assets of at least fifty thousand dollars that are used or readily available for use in the business or obtain and file with the commissioner a surety bond issued by a company licensed to do business in Louisiana in the amount of fifty thousand dollars.

B. An applicant whose license has been previously revoked shall also be subject to the provisions of R.S. 37:1806(F).

C. If the applicant for a pawnshop license is a juridical person the eligibility requirements of Paragraphs (1) and (2) of Subsection A shall apply to each operator, partner, officer, and director of the juridical person and owner or beneficial owner of at least twenty-five percent of the juridical person. The requirements of Paragraphs (3) and (4) of Subsection A shall apply to the juridical person as a whole.

D. Net assets may include capital investment unencumbered by a lien or other encumbrance and subject to a claim by a general creditor. If the commissioner is unable to verify through the presentation of a current balance sheet or a finding by an accountant, or an individual holding a permit to practice accounting in this state, that the pawnbroker meets the net assets requirement and through other means that the applicant for a pawnshop license meets and continues to meet the net assets requirement, then the commissioner may require the verification of the net assets requirement through an audited financial statement prepared by an independent certified public accountant authorized to practice in Louisiana by the State Board of Certified Public Accountants.

E. The requirements in Paragraph (A)(4) shall not apply to pawnshops legally operating before June 29, 1995. Effective July 1, 1997, the provisions of Paragraph (A)(4) shall apply to any person seeking a license.

F. A pawnbroker's license shall expire without a hearing sixty days after receipt of notice from the commissioner that he no longer meets the eligibility requirements of Paragraph (A)(4) of this Section, unless the pawnbroker requests an administrative hearing in writing within thirty days of receipt of the commissioner's notice. The commissioner shall promptly forward the request for hearing to the division of administrative law with a copy of the above notice to the pawnbroker. The administrative hearing shall be conducted within ninety days of the date the request for hearing is received by the division of administrative law, unless it is continued for good cause at the request of either party.

Acts 1993, No. 391, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1995, No. 1062, §1, eff. June 29, 1995; Acts 1997, No. 235, §1; Acts 2003, No. 500, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts 2004, No. 80, §1, eff. May 28, 2004.