§ 47–2884.03. Appointment of Mayor as attorney; application for license; cash capital; application fee; endorsement to master business license.

(a) No license shall be issued to any person unless and until such person shall, in writing and in the form prescribed by the Mayor, appoint the Mayor as his true and lawful attorney upon whom all judicial and other process or legal notice directed to such person may be served. A copy of any such process or notice so served upon the Mayor shall be forthwith sent by registered mail by the plaintiff or his attorney to the defendant at his residence or his place of business.

(b) Each application for a license under this part shall be in writing, under oath or affirmation, to the Mayor in such form as he may prescribe. Such application shall contain:

(1) In the case of an individual, his name and the address of his residence and place of business;

(2) In the case of a firm or voluntary association, the name and address of every member thereof and the address of the place where such business is to be conducted;

(3) In the case of a joint-stock company, incorporated society, or corporation, the names and addresses of the officers and directors thereof and the address of the place where such business is to be conducted; and

(4) Such additional information as the Council of the District of Columbia may prescribe.

(c) Each applicant shall prove to the satisfaction of the Mayor that he has available, for use in the business of making loans authorized by this part at the location specified in his application, cash capital of at least $20,000.

(d) Upon the filing of any such application the applicant shall pay to the Mayor the sum of $50 as a fee for investigating the application, which sum shall be retained by the District whether such application is approved or disapproved.

(e) Any license issued pursuant to this part shall be issued as an Inspected Sales and Services endorsement to a basic business license under the basic business license system as set forth in subchapter I-A of this chapter.

(f) No license shall be issued to any person unless:

(1) At least 30 days before the issuance of a license, all affected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions have been provided notice that a pawnbroker license application has been submitted to the Mayor; provided, that this paragraph shall not apply to applications for a renewal of a pawnbroker license; and

(2) The opinions of all affected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions have been accorded great weight during deliberations to approve or deny the license application.

(Aug. 6, 1956, 70 Stat. 1036, ch. 970, § 3; Apr. 20, 1999, D.C. Law 12-261,§ 2003(c), 46 DCR 3142; Oct. 28, 2003, D.C. Law 15-38, § 3(hh)(4)(Y), 50 DCR 6913; Mar. 12, 2011, D.C. Law 18-315, § 4(a), 57 DCR 12412; Sept. 26, 2012, D.C. Law 19-171, § 302, 59 DCR 6190; Dec. 24, 2013, D.C. Law 20-61, § 7158(a), 60 DCR 12472.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 2-1903.

1973 Ed., § 2-2003.

Section References

This section is referenced in § 47-2884.05.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 15-38, in subsec. (e), substituted “an Inspected Sales and Services endorsement to a basic business license under the basic” for “a Class A Inspected Sales and Services endorsement to a master business license under the master”.

D.C. Law 18-315 added subsec. (f).

D.C. Law 19-171 enacted this subchapter into law.

The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 20-61 substituted “30 days before” for “30 days prior to” in (f)(1); and substituted “opinions” for “opinion” in (f)(2).

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 3(hh)(4)(Y) of Streamlining Regulation Emergency Act of 2003 (D.C. Act 15-145, August 11, 2003, 50 DCR 6896).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7158(a) of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-130, July 30, 2013, 60 DCR 11384, 20 DCSTAT 1827).

For temporary (90 days) amendment of this section, see § 7158(a) of the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2013 (D.C. Act 20-204, October 17, 2013, 60 DCR 15341, 20 DCSTAT 2311).

Short Title

Section 7151 of D.C. Law 20-61 provided that Subtitle O of Title VII of the act may be cited as the “Tax Clarification Amendment Act of 2013”.

Editor's Notes

Applicability of D.C. Law 20-61: Section 11001 of D.C. Law 20-61 provided that, except as otherwise provided, the act shall apply as of October 1, 2013.

Change in Government

This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 402(70) of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to the District of Columbia Council, subject to the right of the Commissioner as provided in § 406 of the Plan. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.