(a) 
Definitions.
For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply, unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:
Goods.
Property of every kind.
Public property.
(1) 
Any property open or devoted to public use or owned by the city;
(2) 
Any area dedicated to the public use for sidewalk, street, highway, or other transportation purposes, including but not limited to any curb, median, parkway, shoulder, sidewalk, alley, drive or public right-of-way.
Roadway.
Has the meaning given that term in Texas Transportation Code, chapter 541.
Services.
Any work done for the benefit of another person.
Solicitation.
Any conduct or act whereby a person:
(1) 
Either orally or in writing, asks for a ride, employment, food, services, financial aid, monetary gifts, or any article representing monetary value, for any purpose;
(2) 
Either orally or in writing, sells or offers for sale goods, services, or publications;
(3) 
Distributes with or without remuneration goods, services, materials, or publications; or
(4) 
Solicits signatures on a petition or opinions for a survey.
Vehicle.
Has the meaning given that term in Texas Transportation Code, chapter 541.
(b) 
Offenses.
A person commits an offense if, while occupying any public property adjacent to or in any public roadway in the city, he or she knowingly conducts a solicitation directed to, or intended to attract the attention of, the occupant of any vehicle stopped or traveling on the roadway. An offense occurs when the solicitation is made, whether or not an actual employment relationship is created, a transaction is completed, or an exchange of money, goods, or services takes place.
(c) 
Defenses.
It is a defense to prosecution under subsection (c) that the person was:
(1) 
Summoning aid or requesting assistance in an emergency situation;
(2) 
A law enforcement officer or emergency personnel in the performance of official duties; or
(3) 
A member of the city volunteer fire department collecting on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Association during their annual Fill the Boot Campaign.
(d) 
Complaints.
In addition to any enforcement action by a peace officer for a violation of this section, any person who is a victim of solicitation prohibited under subsection (b) may file a complaint with the city judge’s office. Evidence to support a conviction of a violation of this section may include, but is not limited to, testimony of witnesses, videotape evidence of the violation, and other admissible evidence.
(Ordinance 12-01 adopted 5/17/12; 1994 Code, sec. 114.12; Ordinance adopting 2021 Code)
For the purpose of this division, the following definitions shall apply, unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:
Eleemosynary organization.
Organizations relating to or supported by charity.
Goods or merchandise.
Inter alia, goods, wares, furniture, household furnishings, household appliances, merchandise, services, photographs, newspapers, magazines, or subscriptions to newspapers or magazines.
Itinerant vendor.
Any person and/or persons who does not have a regular place of business within the city or who does not reside within the city or who is not conducting business activities in connection with or ancillary to a regular place of business within the city.
(Ordinance 86-488 adopted 9/9/86; 1994 Code, sec. 114.01)
(a) 
It shall be unlawful for any person and/or persons to engage in the operation of a business of an itinerant merchant or any activity ancillary thereto without a license for the purpose having been first obtained as hereafter provided.
(b) 
It shall be unlawful for any itinerant vendor to go in or upon the premises of a private residence within the limits of the city for the purpose of soliciting, selling, or taking orders for or offering to solicit, sale, or take orders for any goods or merchandise, without a license for the purpose having first been obtained as hereinafter provided.
(Ordinance 86-488 adopted 9/9/86; 1994 Code, sec. 114.02)
(a) 
Itinerant merchants as set forth in section 5.05.031 desiring to conduct and/or engage in any mercantile business and/or activities ancillary to any mercantile business within the corporate limits of the city, including inter alia the soliciting, selling, or taking of orders for or offering to solicit, sell, or take orders for any goods or merchandise, shall file a written application with the chief of police or such other officer as the chief may designate for a license.
(b) 
The written application shall contain the following information:
(1) 
The name and address of the applicant;
(2) 
The birth date of the applicant;
(3) 
The driver’s license number of the applicant;
(4) 
Length of time the applicant intends to spend in the city;
(5) 
Where the applicant intends to sell the goods or merchandise;
(6) 
The name and address of the person, firm, association, or corporation by whom the applicant is employed or for whom he or she will solicit, sell, or take orders;
(7) 
A sales tax number from the state comptroller;
(8) 
Written evidence of right to occupancy upon premises that the business activity is to be conducted; and
(9) 
Date of delivery for any goods, wares, furniture, household furnishings, household appliances, merchandise, services, photographs, newspapers, magazines, or subscriptions to the newspaper or magazine for which applicant may solicit, sell, or take orders.
(Ordinance 86-488 adopted 9/9/86; 1994 Code, sec. 114.03)
(a) 
In addition to the filing of the written application as set forth in section 5.05.033 and before the issuance of the license as herein provided, any itinerant merchant who promises to deliver goods by mail or at any time later than the initial contact between the merchant and customer shall provide a bond, either in cash or executed by a corporate surety licensed to do business in the state, in the amount of $500.00, to be approved by the chief of police or such officer as the chief of police may designate.
(b) 
The bond shall be upon the condition that the applicant for a license as herein provided shall in all things comply with the conditions and provisions of this division and the laws of the state, including the payment of any and all state, county and municipal taxes.
(c) 
Every applicant that is required to provide a bond shall provide a list of the names and addresses of every person who orders goods or merchandise to the chief of police or such officer as the chief of police may designate.
(d) 
In the event the applicant for a license as herein provided shall be a person desiring to have more than one employee or agent engaged in activities as set forth in section 5.05.033, then and in that event, each such employee or agent shall also file the application for a license as provided for in section 5.05.033, and for each such employee or agent there shall be provided an additional $100.00 cash bond as herein provided and upon the same terms and conditions.
(e) 
The cash bond and/or deposit shall be refunded to the applicant named in the license when and after the applicant shows evidence satisfactory to the chief of police that the applicant has complied with the terms of this division and that the goods or merchandise have been delivered.
(Ordinance 86-488 adopted 9/9/86; 1994 Code, sec. 114.04)
Each applicant for a license as provided in this division shall pay to the city a license fee in the sum set forth in the fee schedule in appendix A of this code, in cash, which is to be deposited in the general fund, for the issuance of each license required and issued hereunder.
(Ordinance 86-488 adopted 9/9/86; Ordinance 99-591 adopted 1/5/99; Ordinance 18-09 adopted 9/28/18; 1994 Code, sec. 114.05; Ordinance adopting 2021 Code)
Upon compliance with the foregoing provisions of this division, the chief of police shall issue a license to the itinerant merchant or his or her employee or agent, which license shall permit the itinerant merchant or employee or agent to engage in the activities as set forth in section 5.05.032, and when issued, shall be valid for a period of 60 days from the date of issuance.
(Ordinance 86-488 adopted 9/9/86; 1994 Code, sec. 114.06; Ordinance adopting 2021 Code)
Itinerant merchants who handle food products exclusively shall not be required to pay the license fee indicated in section 5.05.035; however, they shall file the application as stated in section 5.05.033 and pay a filing fee in the amount set forth in the fee schedule in appendix A of this code. When issued, the food handler’s permit shall be valid for a period designated therein, not to exceed 60 days from the date of issuance.
(Ordinance 86-488 adopted 9/9/86; Ordinance 87-501 adopted 9/22/87; Ordinance 18-09 adopted 9/28/18; 1994 Code, sec. 114.07; Ordinance adopting 2021 Code)
(a) 
Declaration of nuisance.
The practice of going upon private residences in the city by solicitors, peddlers, hawkers, itinerant merchants, or transient vendors of goods or merchandise without a license as specified in section 5.05.032, not having been requested or invited to do so by the owners or occupants of the private residence for the purpose of soliciting orders for the sale of goods or merchandise is hereby declared to be a nuisance and a misdemeanor.
(b) 
Enforcement.
The chief of police and all police officers of the city are required and directed to suppress the nuisance specified by subsection (a) of this section and to abate any such nuisance as is described in subsection (a).
(Ordinance 86-488 adopted 9/9/86; 1994 Code, secs. 114.08, 114.09)
Any itinerant merchants who utilize any loudspeakers, amplifiers, mechanical or electrical device, machine, apparatus or instrument to intensify, amplify, or reproduce the human voice or any other sound to attract attention to themselves or the goods they provide shall be required to comply with section 8.03.005, which regulates unreasonably loud and disturbing noises within the city limits.
(Ordinance 86-488 adopted 9/9/86; 1994 Code, sec. 114.10)
The provisions of this division shall not apply to eleemosynary organizations or commercial travelers or sales agents who make sales to or take orders from dealers, retailers, or wholesalers in the usual course of business, nor to vendors of fish, farm, ranch, or dairy products who raise or produce the goods they sell.
(Ordinance 86-488 adopted 9/9/86; 1994 Code, sec. 114.11)