A new Louisiana law, House bill 195, passed earlier this year says that those who buy or sell secondhand goods are prohibited from using cash.

State representative Rickey Hardy, who co-authored the bill, says: "They can give a check or a cashiers money order, or electronic (transfer)."



Rep. Hardy says the bill is targeted at criminals who steal anything from copper to televisions, and sell them for cash. He claims that having a paper trail will make it easier for law enforcement: "It's a mechanism to be used so the police department has something to go on and have a lead."

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Rep. Hardy is a self-employed businessman with his own house washing and lawn care business.

Besides non-profit resellers like Goodwill, and garage sales, the language of the bill covers stores that resell used goods and even flea markets.

"We're gonna lose a lot of business," Danny Guidry, who owns the Pioneer Trading Post in Lafayette, told KLFY-TV. "We don't want this cash transaction to be taken away from us. It's an everyday transaction. I think everyone in this business once they find out about it. They're will definitely be a lot of uproar."



Guidry feels his store shouldn't have to change it's ways of doing business, because he may possibly buy or sell stolen goods: "We are being targeted for something we shouldn't be."



Lawyer Thad Ackel Jr. claims the bill begins a slippery slope for economic freedom in the state: "The government is placing a significant restriction on individuals transacting in their own private property."

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