§ 12-171. Regulation as to employees and managers.

(a)

No person shall be employed by a pawnshop in any capacity until such person is found to be in compliance with the qualifications as described in this section and has paid a fee which shall be established by the board of commissioners. Upon complying with the requirements of this article, a permit card authorizing such person to be a pawnshop employee will be issued. Each employee and/or manager will be required to renew the permit card annually. The permit card and occupation tax certificate will expire annually, on the date established generally for expiration of the occupation tax certificate. All persons having any interest in the proposed business including each owner, employee, manager, and pawnbroker, shall, while on the pawnshop premises, have in their possession and available for inspection such permit card. It shall be the duty of the pawnbroker to insure compliance with the provisions of this section.

(b)

The following qualifications shall apply to all employees and managers:

(1)

No permit shall be issued until such time as a signed application has been filed with the county police department, chief of the county police or his designee and a search of the criminal record of the person completed. Such application shall include the applicant's name, fingerprints, social security number, date of birth, and prior arrest record; though an applicant's arrest record shall be used for investigative purposes only and shall not give rise to a presumption or inference of guilt. The applicant must also provide positive identification (only official government issued pictured identification accepted; e.g., The U.S. driver's license, passport, military card, or U.S. state identification card).

(2)

The chief of the county police or his designee shall conduct a complete and exhaustive search relative to any police record of the applicant.

(3)

In the event the applicant is qualified for employment in a pawnshop under this section and there is no record of a violation of this article, the chief of the county police or his designee shall issue a permit to the applicant, by mail, stating that the person is eligible for employment. If it is found that the person is not qualified for a permit and therefore ineligible for employment in a pawnshop, the chief of the county police or his designee shall notify the person in writing that they are not eligible for employment, the cause of such denial and their right to appeal.

(4)

No person who has been convicted or pled guilty or entered a plea of nolo contendere to any crime involving moral turpitude, illegal gambling, or any felonies, or any crime involving theft or fraudulent practices shall be issued a permit for the five years preceding the date of application. For purposes of this article, a conviction or plea of guilt or nolo contendere entered under the Georgia First Offender Act, O.C.G.A. § 42-8-60 et seq., shall be ignored; provided, however, that any such offense shall not be ignored where the defendant violated any term of probation imposed by the court granting first offender status or committed another crime and the sentencing court entered an adjudication of guilt as to the crime for which the defendant had previously been sentenced as a first offender.

(5)

No person shall be issued a permit if it is determined that the person falsified, concealed, or misrepresented any material fact by any device, trick, or scheme while making application to the police department for a pawnshop permit under this section.

(6)

All permits issued through administrative error can be terminated and seized by the chief of the county police or his designee or the licensing and revenue manager or his designee.

(7)

Replacement permits will be issued within 30 days of original date, upon paying one-half of the fee charged for pawnshop permits. After 30 days of original application date, a new application and fee must be submitted.

(8)

All permits issued hereunder remain the property of the county police department, and shall be produced for inspection upon the demand of any officer or designee of the county police department or employee of the licensing and revenue department.

(9)

No pawnshop owner shall allow any employee or manager to work on the premises unless the employee or manager has in their possession a current valid county permit. For new employees, a receipt issued by the county police permit unit may be used for a maximum of 30 days from the date of issue. Pawnshop owners are required by this article to inspect and verify that each employee or manager has in their possession a valid current pawnshop permit. Issuance of this fee receipt shall allow the applicant to work in the position applied for only until such time as the required criminal history background investigation is completed. The temporary privilege conferred by issuance of this fee receipt shall expire immediately upon completion of such background investigation. If the background investigation indicates that the applicant does not meet the requirements for issuance of a pawnshop permit, the applicant may appeal the denial of the permit as provided in this article. However, issuance of this fee receipt and the temporary privilege granted thereby shall not be construed as conferring any right or privilege to the applicant to continue working in the position for which the permit sought during the pendency of the appeal from the denial of a permit under this article.

(10)

It shall be the duty of all persons holding a pawnshop occupation tax certificate to file with the chief of the county police or his designee, the name of the establishment, the occupation tax certificate number and a list of all employees, including their date of birth, social security number, home address and home telephone numbers, twice annually; during the month of June and again during the month of December.

(11)

If it is determined that any person issued a pawnshop permit has falsified, concealed, or misrepresented any material fact by any device, trick, or scheme in the application for the pawnshop permit such permit shall be revoked or canceled.

(12)

County employees who are directly involved in the issuance of pawnshop permits or in the regulation of pawnshops shall not be eligible for a permit.

(Code 1993, § 5.28.050; Gwinnett Co. Ord. of 9-19-1995; Gwinnett Co. Ord. of 6-18-2002(2), § 1; Res. of 4-1-2010(01))