Town of Ashland, MA Licensing

The Town Collector herein referred to as "Collector" shall annually furnish to each department, board, or commission, hereinafter referred to as the "Licensing Authority" that issues licenses or permits, including renewals and transfers, a list of any person, corporation, or business enterprise, hereinafter, referred to as the "party" that has neglected or refused to pay any local taxes, fees, assessments, betterment or other municipal charges, and that such party has not filed in good faith a pending petition before the appellate tax board.

[Amended 11-28-2018 STM by Art. 16]

The licensing authority may deny, revoke, or suspend any license or permit, including renewals and transfers of any party whose name appears on said list furnished to the licensing authority from the Collector or with respect to any activity, event or other matter which is the subject of such license or permit and which activity, event or matter is carried out or exercised or is to be carried out or exercised on or about real estate owned by any party whose name appears on said list furnished to the licensing authority from the Collector; provided, however, that written notice is given to the party and the Collector, as required by applicable provisions of law, and the party is given a hearing, to be held no earlier than fourteen (14) days after said notice. Said list shall be prima facie evidence for denial, revocation or suspension of said license or permit to any party. The Collector shall have the right to intervene in any hearing conducted with respect to such license denial, revocation or suspension. Any findings made by the licensing authority with respect to such denial, revocation or suspension shall be made only for the purposes of such proceeding and shall not be relevant to or introduced in any other proceeding at law, except for any appeal from such license denial, revocation or suspension. Any license or permit denied, suspended or revoked under this by-law shall not be reissued or renewed until the licensing authority receives a certificate issued by the Collector that the party is in good standing with respect to any and all local taxes, fees, assessments, betterments or other municipal charges payable to the town as of the date of issuance of said certificate.

[Amended 5-13-1998 ATM, Art. 39]

Any party shall be given an opportunity to enter into a payment agreement, thereby allowing the licensing authority to issue a certificate indicating said limitations to the license or permit and the validity of said license shall be conditioned upon the satisfactory compliance with the said agreement. Failure to comply with said agreement shall be grounds for the suspension or revocation of said license or permit; provided however, that the holder be given notice and a hearing as required by applicable provisions of law.

The Select Board may waive such denial, suspension or revocation if it finds there is no direct or indirect business interest by the property owner, its officers or stockholders, if any, or members of his immediate family, as defined in Section 1 of Chapter 268A, MGL. in the business or activity conducted in or on said property.

[Amended 11-20-2019 STM, Art. 13]

This section shall not apply to the following licenses and permits:

Open burning, MGL. Chapter 48, Section 13.

Bicycle Permits, MGL. Chapter 85, Section 11A.

Sales of articles for charitable purposes, MGL. Chapter 101, Section 33.

Children Work Permits, MGL. Chapter 149, Section 69.

Clubs, associations dispensing food and beverages licenses, MGL. Chapter 140, Section 21E.

Dog Licenses, MGL. Chapter 140, Section 137.

Fishing, Hunting, Trapping licenses, MGL. Chapter 131, Section 12.

Marriage Licenses, MGL. Chapter 207, Section 28.

Theatrical events, public exhibition permits, MGL. Chapter 140, Section 181.

Article II Fingerprint-Based Background Checks

[Adopted 5-1-2019 ATM, Art. 13]

§ 178-2-1 Purpose and authorization.

In order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the inhabitants of the Town of Ashland, as authorized by Chapter 6, Section 172B 1/2, of the Massachusetts General Laws as enacted by Chapter 256 of the Acts of 2010, this chapter shall require that:

(1)

Applicants for certain Town licenses to engage in specified occupational activities within the Town as enumerated in § 178-2-2 below, must submit to fingerprinting by the Ashland Police Department;

(2)

The Ashland Police Department must conduct criminal history record checks based on such fingerprints pursuant to Section 172B 1/2 of Chapter 6 of the Massachusetts General Laws and 28 U.S.C. § 534; and

(3)

The Town shall consider the results of such background checks in determining whether or not to grant a license.

Under this chapter, fingerprints shall be submitted to the Identification Unit within the Department of the Massachusetts State Police, the Massachusetts Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS), or its successor, for a state criminal history records check and to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), or its successor, for a national criminal history records check, as may be applicable and consistent with this chapter. The Town authorizes the licensing authority and the Ashland Police Department to receive and utilize these state and FBI records in connection with such background checks, consistent with this chapter.

§ 178-2-2 Applicant's submission to fingerprinting by Ashland Police Department.

Any applicant for a license to engage in any of the following occupational activities within the Town shall submit, within 10 days of application, a full set of fingerprints taken by the Ashland Police Department for the purpose of conducting a state and national criminal history record check to determine the suitability of the applicant for said license:

(1)

Ice cream truck vendor, MGL c. 270, § 25.

At the time of fingerprinting, the Ashland Police Department shall notify the individual fingerprinted that the fingerprints will be used to check the individual's state and FBI criminal history records.

§ 178-2-3 Police Department processing.

Upon receipt of the fingerprints and payment of the applicable fee, the Police Department shall transmit the fingerprints obtained pursuant to this chapter to the Identification Section of the Massachusetts State Police, DCJIS, and/or the FBI or their successors as may be necessary for the purpose of conducting the fingerprint-based state and national criminal history records checks of license applicants specified in § 178-2-2.

The Town authorizes the Massachusetts State Police, the Massachusetts Department of Criminal Justice Information Systems (DCJIS), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and their successors, as may be applicable, to conduct fingerprint-based state and national criminal record background checks, including FBI records, consistent with this chapter. The Town authorizes the Ashland Police Department to receive and utilize state and FBI records in connection with such background checks, consistent with this chapter. The state and FBI criminal history will not be disseminated to unauthorized entities.

The Police Department shall provide the applicant with a copy of the results of their fingerprint-based criminal history record check and provide the applicant an opportunity to complete or challenge the accuracy of the information contained therein, including in the FBI identification record. The Police Department shall also supply applicants with information regarding the procedures for obtaining a change, correction, or updating of a criminal record, including a copy of 28 CFR Part 16.34 pertaining to FBI identification records.

The Police Department shall not communicate the fingerprint-based criminal history record check to the applicable licensing authority pursuant to the following subsection until it has complied with the preceding subsection and otherwise complied with the Town's policy applicable to Town licensing-related criminal history record checks.

The Police Department shall communicate the results of fingerprint-based criminal history record checks to the applicable licensing authority within the Town. The Police Department shall indicate whether the applicant has been convicted of, or is awaiting final adjudication for, a crime that bears upon their suitability for a license, or any felony or misdemeanor that involved force or threat of force, controlled substances, or a sex-related offense.

The Police Chief shall periodically check with the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) which has issued an Informational Bulletin which explains the requirements for Town bylaws and the procedures for obtaining criminal history information, to see if there have been any updates to be sure the Town remains in compliance.

§ 178-2-4 Reliance on results.

Licensing authorities of the Town shall utilize the results of fingerprint-based criminal history record checks for the sole purpose of determining the suitability of the applicant for the proposed occupational activity which is the subject of the license applications specified in § 178-2-2.

A Town licensing authority may deny an application for a license on the basis of the results of a fingerprint-based criminal record background check if it determines that the results of the check render the subject unsuitable for the proposed occupational activity. The licensing authority shall consider all applicable laws, regulations, and Town policies bearing on an applicant's suitability in making this determination.

The licensing authority shall not deny a license based on information in a criminal record unless the applicant has been afforded a reasonable time to correct or complete the record or has declined to do so.

§ 178-2-5 Compliance with law, regulation, and Town policy.

Implementation of this chapter and the conducting of fingerprint-based criminal record background checks by the Town shall be in accordance with all applicable laws, regulations, and Town policies, including, but not limited to, the Town's policy applicable to licensing-related criminal record background checks which shall include record retention and confidentiality requirements. The Town shall not disseminate the results of fingerprint-based criminal background checks except as may be provided by law, regulation, and Town policy. The Town shall not disseminate criminal record information received from the FBI to unauthorized persons or entities.

§ 178-2-6 Fees.

At the time of filing the application, each applicant shall pay a fee of $60. A portion of the fee, as specified in MGL c. 6, § 172B 1/2, shall be deposited into the Firearms Fingerprint Identity Verification Trust Fund, and the remainder of the fee may be retained by the Town for costs associated with the administration of the fingerprinting system.

§ 178-2-7 Severability.

The provisions of this chapter are severable. If a court determines that a word, phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, subsection, section, or other provision is invalid or that the application of any part of the provision to any person or circumstance is invalid, the remaining provisions and the application of those provisions to other persons or circumstances are not affected by that decision.

Any bylaws in conflict herewith are hereby repealed to the extent of such conflict.