§ 37:1798 — Information furnished to police, sheriff, or Department of Public Safety and Corrections

A.(1) Every pawnbroker shall provide all transactional information obtained pursuant to R.S. 37:1796 to the chief of police of the city or town in which he is doing business or to the sheriff of the parish in which he is doing business, on a daily basis by the end of the next business day or on such less frequent basis as is required by the chief of police or sheriff. The means for providing the transactional information required under this Section shall be selected by the chief of police or sheriff and shall be one of the following:
(a) By electronic transmission if the pawnbroker has the means available to make transmissions in electronic form via a system which makes solely transactional information available for transmission and for examination by the chief of police of the city or town in which he is doing business, or by the sheriff of the parish in which he is doing business, or, when acting pursuant to Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, division of probation and parole.
(b) By placing in the United States mail.
(c) By sending a facsimile.
(2) In the event transactional information is transmitted electronically pursuant to Subparagraph (A)(1)(a) of this Section, the appropriate law enforcement official may, for purposes of an investigation of a crime relating to a particular pawn transaction, request the pawnbroker to mail or fax such official the personally identifiable information relating to such transaction under investigation. The pawnbroker shall deliver the personally identifiable information relating to the identified transaction to the appropriate law enforcement official within twenty-four hours of the request. In the event the pawnbroker transfers information in printed form pursuant to Subparagraph (A)(1)(b) or (c) of this Section, the pawnbroker shall not also be required to transmit such information in electronic form pursuant to Subparagraph (A)(1)(a) of this Section.
(3) If a pawnshop is requested by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, division of probation and parole to provide transactional information for the purpose of an investigation of a specific crime relating to a particular pawn transaction, then such transactional information shall be tendered. The means for tendering the transactional information shall be selected by the department and the selection shall be limited to the means specified in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.
B. The pawnbroker shall have the responsibility of tendering the information provided for in Subsection A of this Section regardless of its use or nonuse by the chief of police in the city or town in which he is doing business or, alternatively, to the sheriff of the parish in which he is doing business. The tender of this information is a courtesy mandated by state law and which provides a benefit to the general public. The chief of police or sheriff shall not be mandated to take any particular action concerning the information tendered.
C. For complying with the provisions of this Section and Part the pawnbroker shall be entitled to the service charge set forth in R.S. 37:1799. No further fees, charges, or taxes may be enacted by state or local government related to the use of the information provided to local law enforcement.

Legislative History

Acts 1993, No. 391, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 2003, No. 500, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts 2006, No. 183, §1; Acts 2012, No. 144, §1.