SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 3132

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  OCTOBER 10, 2024

      The Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 3132.

      As amended, this bill imposes certain requirements on secondhand dealers of cellular telephones and wireless communication devices.

      Under the bill, at the time of each transaction, each secondhand dealer is required to document the description of each cellular telephone or wireless communication device and is to include a device identifier, to mean the Mobile Equipment Identifier, International Mobile Station Equipment Identity, or Electronic Serial Number of the wireless communication device.  If the device identifiers are not available at the time of the transaction, the secondhand dealer shall update the description of the device with a device identifier as soon as commercially practicable.

      The record is also required to include a receipt with the purchase amount and a statement that the person selling the cellular telephone or wireless communication device is of lawful age; that the driver’s license number or other government-issued identification number and all other identifying information provided by the seller are true and correct; and that the person selling the cellular telephone or wireless communication device is the lawful owner of the cellular telephone or wireless communication device with absolute authority to sell the cellular telephone or wireless communication device.

      Under the bill, it is unlawful for any person who sells a cellular telephone or wireless communication device to a secondhand dealer to submit false or fraudulent information to a secondhand dealer on any receipt required under the bill.  The bill also prohibits secondhand dealers from selling a cellular telephone or wireless communication device that was knowingly acquired through false or fraudulent information.

      In addition, the bill provides that prior to purchase, every secondhand dealer is to require two forms of identification to be shown by each person attempting to sell any cellular telephone or wireless communication device.  At least one of the two forms of identification is required to be photographic identification issued by a federal, state, or local governmental entity.

      If the seller does not have photographic identification issued by a federal, state, or local governmental entity, the secondhand dealer is required to photograph the seller.  The photograph is required to be in color and clearly show the face of the seller sufficient to identify the person. On the documentation accompanying the photograph, the secondhand dealer is to record the seller’s name, residence address, date of birth, gender, height, and weight.  The photograph and accompanying documentation is considered a form of photographic identification for the purposes of the bill.

      The bill also contains provisions prohibiting a secondhand dealer from removing, altering, or obliterating any manufacturer’s make, model, or serial number; personal identification number; or identifying marks engraved or etched on a cellular telephone or wireless communication device.  In addition, a secondhand dealer is not to purchase a cellular telephone or wireless communication device where a manufacturer’s make, model, or serial number; personal identification number; or identifying marks engraved or etched on the device have been removed, altered or obliterated.

      Finally, the bill provides that violators are liable to a civil penalty of $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second offense, and $1,000 for a third or subsequent offense, which shall be collected by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety in a summary proceeding before a court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to the provisions of the “Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999.”  Under the bill, each transaction in violation of the bill’s provisions constitutes a separate offense. A violation of the bill is not to be considered an unlawful practice under current law.

      Under the bill, “secondhand dealer” means any person who engages in the business of purchasing, selling, receiving, trading, consignment selling, or otherwise transferring for value any secondhand property.  This term does not include providers of commercial mobile service, as defined under federal law, and the provider’s authorized agents and retailers that have contractual relationships with the provider to sell the provider’s authorized products and services.  “Secondhand property” is defined as any previously owned cellular telephone or wireless communication device. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

      The committee amended the bill to:

      (1) include an automated kiosk that purchases secondhand property in the term “secondhand dealer;”

      (2)  apply the term “device identifier” to mean Mobile Equipment Identifier, International Mobile Station Equipment Identity, or Electronic Serial Number and to require a secondhand dealer to update the description of a device with a device identifier as soon as commercially practicable if it is not available at the time of the transaction;

      (3)  provide that a photograph taken by a secondhand dealer of a seller must clearly show the face of the seller sufficient to identify the person;

      (4)  require a secondhand dealer to record a seller’s identifying information on the documentation accompanying the seller’s photograph;

      (5)  deem a clear photograph taken by the secondhand dealer and the accompanying documentation a form of photographic identification for the purposes of the bill; and

      (6)  exempt an automated kiosk that requires a person attempting to sell a cellular telephone or wireless communication device to provide a government or state-issued identification card from the identification requirements of the bill.