Bill
S 3132
Requires secondhand cellphone dealers to verify IDs, log device IDs, keep records for 1 year, and allow inspections to curb resale of stolen devices; penalties apply per offense.
Status (from bill documents)
- Introduced in Senate: April 15, 2024 (as amended through December 2024 and May 2025).
- Passed Senate and Assembly: June 30, 2025 (Senate and Assembly votes recorded).
- Transmitted/administrative steps in 2025 include referrals to Judiciary and Attorney General for opinion; documents also report P.L.2025, c.154 (10/20/2025) in the action history.
- Current text and committee reports reflect third reprint/amendments adopted in late 2024–mid 2025.
Purpose
- To reduce the resale and circulation of stolen or fraudulently obtained cellular telephones and wireless devices by imposing identification, recordkeeping, inspection, and device-authenticity requirements on secondhand dealers, including automated kiosks.
Key definitions
- Secondhand dealer: any person or entity that buys, sells, receives, trades, consigns, or otherwise transfers for value previously owned cellular telephones or wireless communication devices. (Excludes commercial mobile service providers, their authorized agents/retailers, and—by later amendment—entities licensed to provide portable electronics insurance or their affiliates.)
- Device identifier: Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID), International Mobile Station Equipment Identity (IMEI), or Electronic Serial Number (ESN).
Major provisions and changes
- Transaction records: At each purchase, dealers must document a device description including the device identifier (MEID/IMEI/ESN). If the identifier is not available at sale, the dealer must update the record “as soon as commercially practicable.”
- Receipts and seller statements: Records must include purchase amount and a seller declaration that they are of lawful age, that provided ID numbers and information are true, and that they are the lawful owner with authority to sell.
- Identification requirements: Dealers must obtain two forms of identification before purchase; at least one must be photographic government-issued ID. If no government photo ID is available, the dealer must take a color photograph of the seller (clearly showing the face) and record the seller’s name, residence address, date of birth, gender, height, and weight. A compliant photograph and accompanying documentation count as photographic ID.
- Automated kiosks that require a government/state-issued ID are exempt from the bill’s identification rules.
- Device integrity: Dealers may not remove, alter, or obliterate manufacturer make/model/serial numbers, personal identification numbers, or identifying marks. Dealers must not purchase devices whose identifying marks have been removed or altered.
- Record retention & inspection: Dealers must retain required transaction records for one year and make them available for inspection by law enforcement and the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs during business hours. Assembly amendments require records be made available to the Director and impose secure data-handling requirements.
- Privacy & data use: Assembly amendments prohibit dealers from selling or sharing seller information or data without the seller’s written consent and require secure maintenance per rules the Director may promulgate.
- Rulemaking: The Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs may adopt regulations to implement the law.
Enforcement and penalties
- Civil penalties per transaction: up to $250 for a first offense, up to $500 for a second offense, and up to $1,000 for a third or subsequent offense (collected by the Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs via summary proceeding). Each violating transaction is a separate offense. Violations are not classified as an “unlawful practice” under existing consumer protection statute.
Who is affected
- Primary: secondhand dealers of cell phones/wireless devices (including automated kiosks, except where exempted).
- Secondary: individuals selling devices to dealers; law enforcement and the Division of Consumer Affairs (enforcement/inspection); downstream buyers and marketplaces (reduced risk of purchasing stolen devices).
- Exemptions: commercial mobile service providers and their authorized agents/retailers; entities licensed to provide portable electronics insurance (and affiliates) are excluded by amendment.
Potential impact
- Improves traceability of secondhand mobile devices and creates stronger seller authentication to deter theft-related resale.
- Imposes documentation, retention, and privacy/security obligations on secondhand dealers (administrative burden and compliance costs).
- Provides law enforcement better access to records for investigations of stolen devices.
For full text and legislative history, see Senate No. 3132 (Reprints/committee reports dated Oct.–Dec. 2024 and May 2025) and companion Assembly bill A4334.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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