(a)
No license shall be issued under this division to any person, partnership or corporation
for pecuniary gain where any individual having an interest either as owner, partner,
principal stockholder, or licensee, such interest being direct or indirect, beneficial
or absolute, or his spouse, shall have been convicted of a felony of any state or
of the United States, unless ten years have expired from the date of completion of
the felony sentence. No license shall be issued to anyone who has been convicted within
five years immediately prior to the filing of the application, of any misdemeanor
of any state or of the United States or any municipal or county ordinance which would
have any effect on the applicant's ability to properly conduct such a business, except
traffic offenses. For purposes of this section, the term "conviction" shall include
an adjudication of guilt or plea of guilty, plea of nolo contendere or forfeiture
of a bond when charged with a crime. Where the violation is for a misdemeanor, forfeiture
of bond, or violation of a municipal or county ordinance, or where there is a plea
of nolo contendere, the license review board may, after investigation, waive such
violation as a disqualification. No license shall be issued so long as there are outstanding
criminal warrants, criminal charges, accusations or indictments for any of the crimes
enumerated in this section on which there has been no final disposition or adjudication,
and any application involving such pending charges shall be held for final decision
until final disposition or adjudication of the charges. No license to operate a pawnshop
that deals in firearms shall be issued to any convicted felon, unless the applicant's
right to possess firearms has been verifiably reinstated in the jurisdiction where
the conviction occurred.
(b)
The board of commissioners, on appeal, may waive any conviction as a disqualification,
if it finds that it would have no material affect upon the applicant's ability to
properly conduct its business if such license were granted.
