A.  Except as provided below, an application for a new license is required upon a twenty-five percent or more change in the ownership of any licensed pawnshop.

B.(1)  In the event that a licensee, for whatever reason, wishes to change its legal entity, it shall notify the commissioner thirty days prior to such change and submit a fee of one hundred dollars.  For the purposes of this Subsection, a natural person may transfer his license to a juridical person in which he owns at least seventy-five percent interest.  A juridical person may transfer a license to another juridical person provided that seventy-five percent or more of the ownership in the transferee is the same as that of the transferor.

(2)(a)  Where a change in ownership occurs due to the death of an owner of twenty-five percent or more of a licensed pawnshop, a new license shall not be necessary under either of the following circumstances:

(i)  The deceased held ownership as part of a community of acquets and gains and the surviving spouse obtains ownership of the deceased’s share of the community, either in full or via usufruct.

(ii)  The ownership of the deceased transfers via succession to an ascendant, descendant, or collateral heir of the deceased.

(b)  When a licensee seeks to change ownership pursuant to this Subsection, upon renewal of the license, the licensee shall notify the commissioner in writing of the change of ownership and provide such proof as the commissioner deems appropriate to support such change in ownership.

(3)  In the event that a licensee wishes to change its name, trade name, or assumed name, and such change is not due to a change in ownership or legal entity, the licensee shall notify the commissioner in writing within thirty days of such change and submit a fee of fifty dollars.  If the licensee fails to notify the commissioner or remit the required fee within the required thirty days, the commissioner may assess the licensee an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars as a penalty.

C.(1)  Before a licensee changes the location of a pawnshop, the licensee shall provide thirty days’ written notice of the same and pay a fee of one hundred dollars to the commissioner who shall then amend the license.  The licensee shall also provide all persons who have things in pledge, at the address listed on the pawn ticket, with thirty days’ written notice of the change in location.

(2)  When a change of location is to occur, in lieu of the notices required in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, a licensee may give notice by publishing such in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality in which the pawnshop is located and placing a notice in the pawnshop window thirty days prior to the change of location. The notice must be published each week for four weeks prior to the change of location.

D.  Before a licensee ceases business, the licensee shall provide thirty days written notice of the same to the commissioner who shall then cancel the license.  The licensee shall also provide all persons who have things in pledge, at the address listed on the pawn ticket, with thirty days written notice of the date business will cease.  Ceasing business shall not impair or affect the obligation of either the pawnbroker or the pledgor to fulfill the terms of any preexisting contract between them.

Acts 1993, No. 391, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1995, No. 1062, §1, eff. June 29, 1995; Acts 1997, No. 235, §1; Acts 1999, No. 883, §1; Acts 2010, No. 60, §1.