Itinerant Merchant.
Any person who temporarily engages in the making or selling of any kind of goods, wares, or merchandise at retail within the city, regardless of whether such goods, ware, or merchandise are peddled from house to house, sold upon the streets or other public places, or sold from any room, building, structure, or lot rented or leased for the purpose of carrying on such business.
Mobile Food Vending Unit.
Any motorized vehicle designed to be portable and not permanently attached to the ground from which food is peddled, vended, sold for sale or given away.
Peddler.
Any person who engages in a temporary business within city limits by carrying goods or merchandise and who sells or offers for sale for immediate delivery such goods or merchandise from house-to-house, business-to-business or upon public property; a merchant shall be considered temporarily in business unless it is the intention of such merchant to remain continuously in business at each location where the merchant is engaged in business in the city as a merchant for a period of sixty (60) days or more.
Solicitor.
Any person who solicits or attempts to solicit, from house-to-house, business-to-business or upon public property, orders for services, commercial goods, wares, merchandise, subscriptions, or publications to be delivered at a future date or time. The term “canvasser” is included under this definition of “solicitor.”
(Ordinance 2019-08-19-E adopted 8/19/19)
No person shall peddle, canvass or solicit in person from residence to residence in the City of Teague (hereinafter “city”) to sell or attempt to sell goods, merchandise, wares, food, services or anything of value or to take or attempt to take orders for the future delivery of goods, merchandise, wares or anything of value, or take or attempt to take orders for services to be furnished or performed in the future, without first having a written permit therefor. The provisions of this section shall not apply where the solicitation is for a charitable, educational, patriotic, philanthropic or religious purpose. The provisions of this section also do not apply to agents of an insurance company licensed to do business in the state.
(Ordinance 2019-08-19-E adopted 8/19/19)
(a) 
Any person desiring to peddle, canvass or solicit or act as a business, mobile food vending unit, itinerant merchant, peddler or solicitor within the city shall file a written application for a permit with the city secretary and/or city staff, which application shall include:
(1) 
The name and address of the applicant and if the applicant is an association, company or corporation, it shall state such name along with the names of the persons who will be soliciting in the city;
(2) 
The name and address of the employer or firm which such applicant represents;
(3) 
If the applicant is a corporation or if the individual is employed by a corporation, the legal name of the corporation and its place of incorporation;
(4) 
The nature of merchandise to be sold or offered for sale or the nature of the services to be furnished;
(5) 
Whether such applicant upon any such order so obtained will demand, accept or receive payment or deposit of money in advance of final delivery;
(6) 
The period of time such applicant wishes to solicit, sell or take orders in the city;
(7) 
The name and state of any communities in which the applicant has peddled or solicited in the last ninety (90) days; and
(8) 
A physical description of the applicant which includes race, sex, height, weight, hair and eye color, date of birth, driver’s license number and the name of the state issuing the driver’s license.
(b) 
Such applicant shall show satisfactory proof of his authority to represent the company or individual such applicant states that he represents, and such proof shall be in writing.
(c) 
Where any individual, association, company or corporation shall be represented by more than one individual serving as solicitor, the individual, association, company or corporation may apply for a master permit to solicit, in lieu of each individual obtaining a permit to solicit. The application for this master permit will include all the information requested in subsection (a) of this section, except subsections (a)(7) and (a)(8). The applicant will maintain at all times a list containing the names and addresses of the individuals soliciting under the master permit. This list will be made available to the city secretary and/or city staff upon request during regular business hours. The fee required for this permit will be the same as for an individual.
(d) 
This application shall be accompanied by the fee established by the board of aldermen. No permit shall be issued until such fee has been paid by such applicant.
(e) 
Persons engaged in interstate commerce are exempt from paying the license fee.
(f) 
A permit applied for under this section shall be issued by the city secretary and/or city staff within three working days after the application is completed and any required bond is filed, unless it is determined that the applicant has provided false information on his application, or the information on the application shows an intent to conduct solicitation by a means in violation of this article or state law.
(g) 
A permit requested under this section shall be issued for the length of time requested, not to exceed 12 months. Upon expiration of one permit, the peddler or solicitor may apply for a new permit in the manner prescribed by this section.
(Ordinance 2019-08-19-E adopted 8/19/19; Ordinance 2024-12-16-A adopted 12/16/2024)
The permit required by this section shall not be required of the following:
(1) 
Ordinary commercial travelers who sell or exhibit for sale goods, wares or merchandise to persons engaged in the business of buying, selling and dealing in the same within the city;
(2) 
Persons offering for sale agricultural products, or other articles of food grown or produced by such persons; and
(3) 
Persons operating under licenses granted by a state agency.
(Ordinance 2019-08-19-E adopted 8/19/19)
(a) 
Where the properly completed application for a permit to peddle/solicit in the city shows that the applicant will not demand, receive or accept payment and/or deposit of money in advance of final delivery of such goods, wares, merchandise or articles to be sold and/or solicited by such applicant, it shall be the duty of the city secretary and/or city staff to issue to such applicant a permit to solicit, sell, and take orders for such goods, wares, merchandise and/or articles set out in such applicant’s application and upon the payment of the fee, subject to the other applicable provisions of this article.
(b) 
If the application for such permit shows that such applicant shall receive, demand or accept payment and/or deposit of money in advance of final delivery of goods, wares, merchandise, services or anything of value sold, then such application shall be accompanied by a bond in the penal sum of $1,000.00 for an individual permit or $2,000.00 for a master permit executed by such applicant as principal and a surety company licensed to do business as such in the state. Such bond is to be conditioned upon making final delivery of such goods, wares, merchandise, services or anything of value in accordance with the terms of such order and/or orders obtained and which bond shall be used for the benefit of all persons who may pay in advance or make any advance deposit on the purchase of such orders and such bond shall so stipulate in its terms. The city shall be named as the beneficiary. Cash or cash equivalent deposits may be made with the city in lieu of a surety bond subject to the same conditions. The deposit is refundable upon proof that all merchandise, goods or services were delivered as promised. The bond/deposit requirement may be waived if the city secretary and/or city staff determines that the financial stability and performance history of the solicitor/peddler is sufficient assurance of performance.
(Ordinance 2019-08-19-E adopted 8/19/19; Ordinance 2024-12-16-A adopted 12/16/2024)
(a) 
The applicant shall provide its solicitors with a copy of the permit issued by the city. It shall be unlawful for any solicitor to engage in business without having such copy in his possession. It shall be unlawful for any solicitor to fail or refuse to show or display such copy upon the request of any person.
(b) 
The applicant shall provide its solicitors with identification cards showing who the solicitor is, who he is working for and where the association, company or corporation has its place of business. It shall be unlawful for any solicitor to fail or refuse to show or display such identification card upon the request of any person.
(Ordinance 2019-08-19-E adopted 8/19/19)
If an applicant is denied a permit or a permit is revoked, he may appeal that action to the city council by submitting a letter to the city secretary's office within 10 days of the action. A hearing on the denial will be scheduled for the next regular meeting of the city council. The council will render a decision on the appeal within 10 days of the hearing.
(Ordinance 2019-08-19-E adopted 8/19/19; Ordinance 2024-12-16-A adopted 12/16/2024)