(a) The chief of police, the sheriff, or, where appropriate, the police commission, shall accept an application for and grant a license permitting the licensee to engage in the business of secondhand dealer, as defined in Section 21626, to an applicant who has not been convicted of an attempt to receive stolen property or any other offense involving stolen property. Prior to the granting of a license, the licensing authority shall submit the application to the Department of Justice. If the Department of Justice does not comment on the application within 30 days thereafter, the licensing authority may grant the applicant a license. All forms for application and licensure, and license renewal, shall be prescribed and provided by the Department of Justice. A fee shall be charged to the applicant by the Department of Justice as specified in Section 21642.5. The licensing authority shall collect the fee and transmit the fee to the Department of Justice. In addition, the police chief, the sheriff, or, where appropriate, the police commission, may charge a fee to the applicant not to exceed the actual costs incurred to process the application and to collect and transmit the fee charged by the Department of Justice.
(b) For the purposes of this section, “convicted” means a plea or verdict of guilty or a conviction following a plea of nolo contendere.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), no person shall be denied a secondhand dealer’s license solely on the grounds that he or she violated any provision contained in this article or Article 5 (commencing with Section 21650), or any provision contained in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 21200) of Division 8 of the Financial Code, unless the violation demonstrates a pattern of conduct.
(d) Any person licensed as a firearms dealer pursuant to Sections 26700 to 26915, inclusive, of the Penal Code, who is conducting business at gun shows or events pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 26805 of the Penal Code, and who has a valid secondhand dealer license granted by the appropriate local authorities in the jurisdiction where the firearms dealer license has been granted, shall be authorized to conduct 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, without regard to the jurisdiction within this state that issued the secondhand dealer license pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section. No additional fees or separate secondhand dealer license shall be required by any agency having jurisdiction over the locality where the gun show or event is conducted. However, the person shall otherwise be subject to, and comply with, the requirements of this article when he or she acts as a secondhand dealer at the gun show or event to the same extent as if he or she were licensed as a secondhand dealer in the jurisdiction in which the gun show or event is being conducted.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 172, Sec. 4. (AB 391) Effective August 17, 2012.)