Senate Bill S6388

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6388
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 13, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection
 
 AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to  providing  for
   electronic notice for collateral loan brokers
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 49 of the general business law, as
 amended by chapter 594 of the laws  of  1997,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   1. [No pledge shall be sold unless written or printed notice of inten-
 tion  to sell with a statement of the article or articles to be sold has
 been first mailed by letter addressed to  the  pledgor  at  the  address
 given  at the time of pledging at least thirty days prior to the date of
 sale] NOTWITHSTANDING ANY GENERAL OR SPECIAL  STATUTES,  LOCAL  LAW  AND
 ORDINANCES  TO THE CONTRARY, UPON THE TENDERING OF A PLEDGE, THE PLEDGOR
 SHALL PROVIDE A COLLATERAL LOAN BROKER AN EMAIL ADDRESS OR PHONE  NUMBER
 TO  BE USED IN THE EVENT A PLEDGE IS NOT TIMELY REDEEMED FOR PURPOSES OF
 PROVIDING A NOTICE OF INTENTION TO SELL.  NO PLEDGE SHALL BE SOLD UNLESS
 A NOTICE OF INTENTION TO SELL, WITH A STATEMENT OF THE ARTICLE OR  ARTI-
 CLES  TO BE SOLD, IS FORWARDED ELECTRONICALLY, BY EMAIL OR TEXT MESSAGE,
 AT LEAST THIRTY DAYS PRIOR TO THE DATE OF SALE.    A  SECOND  NOTICE  OF
 INTENTION  TO  SELL  SHALL BE FORWARDED ELECTRONICALLY, BY EMAIL OR TEXT
 MESSAGE, TO THE PLEDGOR AT LEAST FIFTEEN DAYS PRIOR TO THE SALE.  ALTER-
 NATIVELY, A PLEDGOR MAY AT THE TIME  OF  TENDERING  A  PLEDGE  ELECT  TO
 RECEIVE  A  NOTICE  OF INTENTION TO SELL BY UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE
 MAIL WITH A STATEMENT OF THE ARTICLES TO BE SOLD BY LETTER ADDRESSED  TO
 THE PLEDGOR AT THE ADDRESS GIVEN AT THE TIME OF PLEDGING AT LEAST THIRTY
 DAYS  PRIOR TO THE DATE OF THE SALE.  A PLEDGOR MAY AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO
 THE TRANSMISSION OF THE SECOND NOTICE REFERENCED ABOVE, OR MAILING OF  A
 LETTER  ADDRESSED  TO THE PLEDGOR, PROVIDE ONE OR MORE UPDATED ADDRESSES
 OR PHONE NUMBERS TO BE USED FOR PURPOSES OF TRANSMISSION OF A NOTICE  OF
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07205-01-5
              

 S. 6388                             2
 
 INTENTION  TO  SELL  AND  THE  COLLATERAL  LOAN BROKER SHALL ACCORDINGLY
 EMPLOY A SUBSTITUTE NEW ADDRESS OR PHONE NUMBER. COPIES  OF  NOTICES  OF
 INTENTION TO SELL SENT PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE RETAINED BY
 A  COLLATERAL LOAN BROKER FOR NOT LESS THAN SIX YEARS. If the sale shall
 be by public auction, then notice of every such sale shall be  published
 for  at  least  six  days previous thereto, in at least two of the daily
 newspapers printed in the city where the business shall be  carried  on,
 and  also  in two daily newspapers of the city where the sale is to take
 place and to be designated by said mayor, and such notice shall  specify
 the  time  and place at which such sale is to take place and the name of
 the auctioneers by whom the same is to  be  conducted  together  with  a
 statement of the class of pledges to be sold and the inclusive dates and
 numbers of the pawn tickets of the pledges to be sold. If the pledge, at
 such  sale,  shall  be purchased back by the collateral loan broker, the
 pledgor shall be entitled to redeem same within ten days  thereafter  by
 tendering  to the collateral loan broker the amount of the loan with the
 interest due thereon, the amount of the auctioneer's lawful  commission,
 lawful  extra  care charges, and the expense of the advertisement of the
 sale.
   § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 50  of  the  general  business  law,  as
 amended  by  chapter  321  of  the  laws  of 1983, is amended to read as
 follows:
   2. In the event there is any surplus money due to a pledgor after such
 sale, the collateral loan broker shall give the pledgor  written  notice
 thereof,  by  mailing to such pledgor, directed to [him] SUCH PLEDGOR at
 the address given at the time of pledging or in the event  such  pledgor
 has  notified  the  collateral  loan  broker, in writing, of a change of
 address, to such new address, within thirty  days  after  such  sale,  a
 notice  which  shall  state  the name and address of the collateral loan
 broker, the number of the pledge, the date of sale and the amount of any
 surplus, PROVIDED HOWEVER THAT IN THE EVENT  THAT  THE  COLLATERAL  LOAN
 BROKER HAS TRANSMITTED A NOTICE OF SALE VIA ELECTRONIC MEANS PURSUANT TO
 SECTION  FORTY-NINE  OF THIS ARTICLE, THE NOTICE OF SURPLUS HEREIN SHALL
 BE TRANSMITTED IN A MANNER IDENTICAL TO THE MEANS EMPLOYED  WITH  REGARD
 TO  THE  NOTICE  OF  SALE,  PROVIDED FURTHER THAT SUCH ELECTRONIC NOTICE
 SHALL BE REQUIRED TO BE TRANSMITTED ONE TIME TO THE  ELECTRONIC  ADDRESS
 PROVIDED  BY  THE  PLEDGOR  AT THE TIME THE ARTICLE WAS PLEDGED OR TO AT
 LEAST ONE OR MORE ALTERNATIVE ELECTRONIC ADDRESSES IF PROVIDED, IN WRIT-
 ING, HARD COPY OR ELECTRONIC, TO THE COLLATERAL LOAN BROKER BY THE PLED-
 GOR PRIOR TO THE TRANSMITTAL OF THE  NOTICE  OF  SURPLUS  AS  PRESCRIBED
 HEREIN.  In  the event any person entitled to such surplus fails to make
 claim for the same within one year from the  date  of  such  sale,  such
 surplus  shall be paid over, by the collateral loan broker, to the state
 comptroller in accordance with the provisions of  section  one  thousand
 three hundred one of the abandoned property law.
   § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it  shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be  made  and
 completed on or before such effective date.