This entire article is and shall be deemed an exercise of the police power of the state and of the city, for the public safety, comfort, convenience and protection of the city and citizens of the city, and all of the provisions hereof shall be construed for the accomplishment of that purpose.
(Ordinance 522, sec. 1, adopted 7/5/1983; 2005 Code, sec. 4-1)
It shall hereafter be unlawful for any person to peddle or go uninvited from house to house or from place to place in the city soliciting, selling or taking orders for or offering to sell or take orders for any goods, wares, merchandise, services, photographs, newspapers, magazines, or subscriptions to newspapers or magazines, without having first applied for and obtained a license so to do from the city secretary. It shall also hereafter be unlawful to sell or solicit in the city as aforesaid without carrying such license while engaged in such soliciting or selling.
(Ordinance 522, sec. 2, adopted 7/5/1983; 2005 Code, sec. 4-2)
Any person desiring to go from house to house or from place to place in the city to sell or solicit orders for goods, wares, merchandise, services, photographs, newspapers, magazines, or subscriptions to newspapers or magazines shall make written application to the city secretary for a license so to do, which application shall show the name and address of applicant, the name and address of the person, firm, or corporation, if any, that he or she represents and the nature of goods offered for sale, and whether such applicant upon any such sale or order shall demand, accept or receive payment or deposit of money in advance of final delivery, and the period of time such applicant wishes to sell or solicit in the city.
(Ordinance 522, sec. 3, adopted 7/5/1983; 2005 Code, sec. 4-3)
An itinerant merchant or an itinerant vendor as the terms are used in this article shall be held to be any person, firm, company, partnership, corporation or association engaged in any activity mentioned in this section. For the purposes of this article, “peddle” means to sell any goods, wares, merchandise, services, photographs, newspapers, magazines, or subscriptions from any location not established as a place of business by said peddler within the city by continuous use during usual working days and that does not fall within the definition of charitable solicitation within the city.
(Ordinance 522, sec. 5, adopted 7/5/1983; 2005 Code, sec. 4-5)
The license fee for an itinerant merchant or itinerant vendor shall be listed in the fee schedule in appendix A of this code. The fee herein provided for shall be used for the purpose of defraying expenses incident to the issuing of said license.
(Ordinance 522, sec. 6, adopted 7/5/1983; 2005 Code, sec. 4-6; Ordinance adopting 2023 Code)
The provisions of this article shall not apply to sales made to dealers by commercial travelers or sales agents in the usual course of business, or sales made under authority and by order of law. The provisions of this article requiring said licenses and fees shall not apply to persons licensed by the state department of insurance.
(Ordinance 522, sec. 7, adopted 7/5/1983; 2005 Code, sec. 4-7; Ordinance adopting 2023 Code)
(a) 
The provisions of sections 5.04.002, 5.04.003, and 5.04.005 of this article, pertaining to licenses and license fees, shall not apply to persons engaged in interstate commerce as that term is herein defined; provided, however, that it shall be unlawful for persons engaged in interstate commerce to go from house to house or place to place in the city without having first registered with the city secretary, giving the following information:
(1) 
Name, home address and local address, if any, of the registrant.
(2) 
Name and address of the person, firm or corporation, if any, that he or she represents or for whom or through whom orders are to be solicited or cleared.
(3) 
Nature of the articles or things which are to be sold or for which orders are to be solicited or cleared.
(4) 
Whether the registrant, upon sale or order, shall demand or receive or accept payment or deposit of money in advance of final delivery.
(5) 
Period of time which the registrant wishes to solicit or sell in the city.
(b) 
The registrant, at the time of the registration, as herein provided for, shall submit for inspection of the city secretary written proof of his identity such as a motor vehicle operator’s license, social security card, voter registration card, certified copy of birth certificate, or letter of identification from the applicant’s principal or firm through whom orders are to be solicited or cleared.
(c) 
The applicant shall exhibit proof of a valid sales tax permit as issued by the state comptroller of public accounts, and shall report to the city secretary the total amount of sales made by him before leaving the city each time the applicant sells merchandise or wares or takes orders in the city.
(d) 
The term “interstate commerce” means soliciting, selling, or taking orders for or offering to take orders for any goods, wares, merchandise, photographs, newspapers, or magazines, or subscriptions to newspapers or magazines, which, at the time the order is taken, are in any federal district or territory, any commonwealth, or any state other than Texas or will be produced in any federal district or territory, any commonwealth, or any state other than Texas and shipped or introduced into this city in the fulfillment of such orders.
(Ordinance 522, sec. 7, adopted 7/5/1983; 2005 Code, sec. 4-8)
It shall be unlawful for any solicitation by an itinerant vendor or itinerant merchant [to take place] after the hours of daylight. daylight being the hours between sun-up and sunset as set forth by the National Weather Service.
(2005 Code, sec. 4-9)
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provisions of this article or failing to observe any provisions hereof shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined in any sum not to exceed the maximum allowed by state law, and each and every day or fraction of a day [during] which this article, or any part thereof, shall be violated shall be deemed a separate offense and punishable as such.
(Ordinance 522, sec. 9, adopted 7/5/1983; 2005 Code, sec. 4-10)