New Assemblymember Todd Gloria will introduce a bill Friday to fix problems with California’s autographed sports memorabilia law.
Gloria said the current law, designed to stop counterfeit sports memorabilia, was written so broadly that it affects booksellers and potentially anyone with a signed item.
“Current state law imposes a number of serious unintended burdens on small businesses and individuals who sell collectible merchandise,” said Gloria. “With AB 228, we correct overly burdensome regulations on small business while still protecting consumers of limited edition memorabilia from fraud.”
The current law dating from the last legislative session requires all autographed memorabilia sold for more than $5 to come with a certificate of authenticity, a copy of which sellers must keep for seven years. The way it’s written, any signed item is potentially covered.
Gloria’s bill, co-authored with Assemblymember David Chiu from San Francisco, would clarify the current law’s definition of merchandise “dealer” to only apply to a person or business whose inventory or sales is comprised of a majority of autographed memorabilia.
“My Assembly district is home to a strong small business sector as well as our convention center where large-scale events like the world-famous Comic-Con take place
and where autographed merchandise is often sold,” said Gloria. “Consumers need to be protected and businesses should be clear on what state law requires without unnecessary burdens.”
