(a)
The
city council finds that the city has received numerous and continuous
complaints from citizens about persons going onto residential premises
(including premises that contain conspicuous signs prohibiting solicitations)
to solicit, sell, or take orders for goods and services and to distribute
commercial printed matter; and:
(1)
Those citizens have expressed concerns that such solicitations result
in criminal activity (including burglary and fraud) and disturb the
privacy of their homes;
(2)
The city council believes that establishing a registration program
for those home solicitors will help protect the citizens against criminal
activity, including, but not limited to, burglary and fraud, minimize
the unwelcome disturbance of citizens and the disruption of their
privacy and otherwise preserve the public health, safety, and welfare;
(b)
The
city council finds that the regulations of this article do not prevent
door-to-door activity and that ample alternative channels of communication
exist outside of the time limitations, including solicitation via
telephone, electronic communication, public solicitation outside of
the privacy of citizens' doorsteps, and solicitation via direct mail,
television, radio, and internet.
(c)
The
purpose of this article is to further the city's legitimate and compelling
interest in securing city citizens' general health, safety and welfare
by:
(1)
Prohibiting door-to-door home solicitation during times when such
activity is most intrusive and disruptive to citizens' privacy and
the security of their homes;
(2)
Regulating the manner in which door-to-door solicitation activity
may occur so as to protect citizens in the privacy of their own homes
from aggressive and intimidating practices; and
(3)
Requiring home solicitors to register with the city and conspicuously
display registration certificates while soliciting, so as to minimize
deceptive practices, fraud and aid law enforcement in crime detection.
(Ordinance 202303-01-107 adopted 3/3/2023)
(a)
A person who violates a provision of this article, or who fails
to perform an act required of the person by this section, commits
an offense. A person commits a separate offense for:
(1)
Each day or portion of a day during which a violation is committed,
permitted, or continued;
(2)
Each item placed, deposited, or distributed on residential premises
in violation of this article; and
(3)
Each residential premises to which a home solicitation is conducted
in violation of this article.
(b)
The penalties provided for in section 5.07.002 are in addition to any other enforcement remedies and penalties which the city may have under city ordinances and state law.
(c)
Any
person, firm or corporation who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects,
or refuses to comply with or who resists the enforcement of any of
the provisions of this article shall be fined not more than five hundred
dollars ($500.00) for each offense. Each day that a violation is permitted
to exist shall constitute a separate offense.
(Ordinance 202303-01-107 adopted 3/3/2023)
Except as may otherwise be provided or clearly implied by context,
all terms shall be given their commonly accepted definitions. For
the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall apply
unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
A person who goes door-to-door for the primary purpose of
disseminating religious, political, social, or other ideological beliefs.
For purpose of this article, the term door-to-door advocate shall
fall under the term solicitor and include door-to-door canvassing
and pamphleteering intended for noncommercial purposes.
A person who goes from house-to-house, door-to-door, business-to-business,
street-to-street, or any other type of place-to-place movement, for
the purpose of offering for sale, displaying for exposing for sale,
selling or attempting to sell, and delivering immediately upon sale,
the goods, wares, products, merchandise, or other personnel property
that the person is carrying or otherwise transporting. For purpose
of this article, the term peddler shall have the same common meaning
as the term hawker.
Any natural individual, group, organization, corporation,
partnership, or similar association.
Any day during which the city hall is normally open for the
purpose of conducting public business. Holidays defined by state law
shall not be considered regular business days.
A person who goes from house-to-house, door-to-door, business-to-business,
street-to-street, or any other type of place-to-place movement, for
the purpose of obtaining or attempting to obtain orders for goods,
wares, products, merchandise, other personal property, or services
of which he or she may be carrying or transporting samples, or that
may be described in a catalog or by other means, and for which delivery
or performance shall occur at a later time. The absence of samples
or catalogs shall not remove a person from the scope of this provision
if the actual purpose of the person's activity is to obtain or attempt
to obtain orders as discussed above. For purposes of this article,
the term solicitor shall have the same meaning as the term canvasser.
A person who temporarily sets up business out of a vehicle,
trailer, boxcar, tent, other portable shelter, or empty store front
for the purpose of exposing or displaying for sale, selling or attempting
to sell, and delivering goods, wares, products, merchandise, or other
personal property and who does not remain in any one location for
more than fourteen (14) consecutive days.
(Ordinance 202303-01-107 adopted 3/3/2023)
(a)
For the purpose of this article, the terms peddler, solicitor,
and transient merchant shall not apply to:
(1)
Noncommercial door-to-door advocates. Nothing within this article shall be interpreted to prohibit or restrict noncommercial door-to-door advocates. Person engaging in noncommercial door-to-door advocacy shall not be required to register as a solicitor under section 5.07.007.
(2)
Any person selling or attempting to sell at wholesale, any goods,
wares, products, merchandise, or other personal property to a retail
seller of the items being sold by the wholesaler.
(3)
Any person who makes initial contacts with other people for
the purpose of establishing or trying to establish a regular customer
delivery route for the delivery of perishable food and dairy products,
such as baked goods or milk.
(4)
Any person making deliveries of perishable food and dairy products
to the customers on his or her established delivery route.
(5)
Any person making deliveries of newspapers, newsletters, or
other similar publications on an established customer delivery route,
when attempting to establish a regular delivery route, or when publications
are delivered to the community at large.
(6)
Any person conducting the type of sale commonly known as garage
sales, rummage sales, or estate sales.
(7)
Any person participating in an organized multi-person bazaar
or flea market.
(8)
Any person conducting an auction as a properly licensed auctioneer.
(9)
Any officer of the court conducting a court-ordered sale.
(b)
Exemption from these definitions shall not, for the scope of
this article, excuse any person from complying with any other applicable
statutory provision or requirement provided by another city ordinance.
(Ordinance 202303-01-107 adopted 3/3/2023)
Any written notice that the city is required to give any applicant
or registrant under this article is deemed to be delivered:
(1)
On the date the notice is hand delivered to the applicant or
registrant; or
(2)
Three days after the date the notice is placed in the United
States mail with proper postage and properly addressed to the applicant
or registrant at the address provided for the applicant or registrant
in the most recent registration application.
(Ordinance 202303-01-107 adopted 3/3/2023)
Whenever commercial printed matter is placed, deposited, or
distributed, or caused to be placed, deposited, or distributed, in
violation of this article, it is presumed that the person named on
the commercial printed matter is the person who committed the violation,
either personally or through an agent.
(Ordinance 202303-01-107 adopted 3/3/2023)
(a)
It is unlawful for a person 14 years of age or older to solicit
an occupant of residential premises, unrequested:
(1)
Without first registering and obtaining a certificate of registration
and identification badge issued by the city in accordance with this
article;
(2)
Except between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.;
(3)
If the residence conspicuously displays at or near the primary
entrance to the residence, a readily legible sign, bearing any of
the words:
"No Trespassing," "No Peddlers," "No Advertisements," "No Solicitation,"
"No Handbills."
(4)
At a location other than the primary entrance to the residence.
(b)
It is unlawful for the registrant to allow any other person
to use or wear their personal city-issued certificate of registration
and identification badge.
(c)
It is unlawful for any registrant or registrant's agent to represent
that the city's issuance of a certificate of registration and/or identification
badge constitute the city's endorsement or approval of the purposes
of any particular solicitation.
(Ordinance 202303-01-107 adopted 3/3/2023)
(a)
A person commits an offense if the person conducts or attempts
to conduct (either personally or through an agent), a home solicitation
at a residential premises:
(Ordinance 202303-01-107 adopted 3/3/2023)
(a)
A person commits an offense if that person:
(1)
Personally, by an agent, or as the agent of another, engages
in a home solicitation without a valid certificate of registration
or home solicitor identification badge issued to the person under
this division;
(2)
Engages in a home solicitation by using an agent who does not
hold a valid certificate of registration or home solicitor identification
badge issued under this division; or
(3)
Engages in a home solicitation by acting as an agent of another
person who does not hold a valid certificate of registration or home
solicitor identification badge issued under this division.
(b)
Registration exemptions:
(1)
No registration shall be required for any person to sell or
attempt to sell, or to take or attempt to take orders for, any product
grown, produced, cultivated, or raised on any farm.
(2)
No registration shall be required for any person going from
house-to-house, door-to-door, business-to-business, street-to-street,
or any other type of place-to-place movement for the primary purpose
of exercising that person's state or federal constitutional rights
such as the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion,
and the like. This exemption will not apply if the person's exercise
of constitutional rights is merely incidental to what would properly
be considered a commercial activity.
(c)
It is a defense to prosecution under subsection (a)(1) of this section that:
(1)
The person was soliciting for a noncommercial purpose, including,
but not limited to, a charitable, educational, civic, patriotic, philanthropic,
political, or religious purpose;
(2)
The person was on the residential premises by express invitation
of the owner, occupant, or other person in control of the premises;
(3)
The person was a wholesale agent or factory representative who
sells or exhibits for sale goods, wares, or merchandise and was conducting
business with a person engaged in the business of buying, selling,
and dealing in the same type of goods, wares, or merchandise;
(4)
The person was soliciting newspaper sales, or delivering newspapers
pursuant to a request by or contract with the owner, occupant, or
other person in control of a residential premises;
(5)
The solicitation, sale, or taking of orders for goods or services
took place upon residential premises owned, leased, or controlled
by the person or by the person's employer;
(6)
The person was a governmental entity, or an officer, employee,
or agent of a governmental entity, placing a notice or other information
on the premises in the performance of official duties; or
(7)
The person was the United States Postal Service or a private
courier service registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration,
or an employee or agent of those services, delivering an item of mail,
a notice, or a package to the premises.
(d)
Before taking any enforcement action under this section, the
city administrator or designee, any police officer, or any city code
enforcement officer shall ask the apparent offender's reason for being
on the residential premises or for depositing any item on the premises.
The city administrator or designee, the police officer or the city
code enforcement officer shall not issue a citation or make an arrest
under this section without a reasonable belief that an offense has
occurred.
(Ordinance 202303-01-107 adopted 3/3/2023)
(a)
To obtain a certificate of registration to conduct home solicitations,
a person must file a written application with the city administrator
or designee on the city-issued form. The application must include
the following information regardless of whether the applicant is an
individual or company:
(1)
The applicant's name, address, and telephone number and if an
individual his or her date of birth, even if the individual is acting
as an agent or submitting the application for the applicant.
(2)
If the applicant is a company the title of each of its officers
and date and place of incorporation or location of the business establishment.
(3)
The name, address, date of birth and telephone number of each
person conducting home solicitation in the city for the applicant.
(4)
A photograph of the applicant and of each person soliciting
taken within the preceding 12 months, which clearly depicts the applicant's
facial features.
(5)
The applicant's and each person soliciting date of birth and
proof of driver's license including the driver's license number and
the issuing state, or if the person does not have a driver's license,
proof of a government issued personal identification card with the
government number, the person's photograph, and date of birth.
(6)
The names of other cities or jurisdictions in which the applicant
and each person soliciting has worked as a home solicitor in the past
12 months and if the person was an agent of different companies in
the other cities or jurisdictions, the names of those companies.
(7)
The nature, character, and quality of the goods or services
to be advertised, offered for sale, or delivered as part of the home
solicitation.
(8)
Whether the applicant and each person soliciting, upon obtaining
an order for goods or services, will demand, accept, or receive payment
or a deposit of money in advance of final delivery of the goods or
services.
(9)
The dates, times, and locations for which the applicant and
each person soliciting proposes to conduct home solicitations in the
city.
(10)
An outline of the method to be used in conducting the home solicitations.
(11)
Proof that the applicant and each person soliciting possesses
all licenses or permits required by this code or by state or federal
law for the operation of the proposed business.
(12)
If the applicant is an agent of an individual or company, sufficient
written proof of the applicant's authority to represent and act on
behalf of the individual or company.
(13)
If a company, proof of applicant's compliance with state or
federal law for the operation of the proposed business, to include
Texas Labor Code ch. 51, as amended.
(14)
Any other information the city administrator or designee determines
necessary to the enforcement and administration of this article.
(b)
Any application filed under this section must be accompanied by a nonrefundable registration or renewal fee which includes the cost of a home solicitor identification badge for each home solicitor established in section 5.07.009. Initially, the registration fee as established in the fee schedule found in appendix A of this code, as is any renewal, inclusive of the badge. Thereafter, the fees shall be as established by the city's annual fee schedule, as it may be amended from time-to-time.
(c)
Upon expiration, the registrant may apply for a registration
renewal in the same manner prescribed by this article for a new registration.
(d)
Neither a certificate of registration nor an identification
badge are transferable from one person to another, but:
(1)
Both may be used by the registrant to act as an agent for different
individuals or companies during the registration term if the city
administrator or designee is notified in accordance with this section;
and
(e)
A registrant shall notify the city administrator or designee
within five days after any material change in the information on the
application during the registration term. A material change includes,
but is not limited to:
(1)
When a registrant becomes an agent for another individual or
company;
(2)
When a registrant terminates an individual's authority to serve
as the registrant's agent;
(3)
A change in the nature, character, and quality of the goods
or services; or
(4)
A change in the dates, times, and locations proposed for conducting
home solicitations in the city.
(f)
A certificate of registration expires 120 days after the issue
date. The registration may be renewed for a successive 90-day period,
if the application is made within the previous 120-day registration
period. Before expiration, the registrant may apply for a registration
renewal in the same manner prescribed by this section for a new registration,
submitting any renewal fee.
(Ordinance 202303-01-107 adopted 3/3/2023)
(a)
Procedure: Upon receipt of the application and payment of the
registration fee, the city administrator or designee will, within
two (2) regular business days, determine if the application is complete.
An application will be considered complete if all required information
is provided. If the application is determined to be incomplete, the
city administrator or designee will inform the applicant of the required,
necessary information that is missing. If the application is complete
and there have been no misrepresentations, the city administrator
or designee shall issue a certificate of registration to the applicant
within three business days after receipt of the application unless
any of the following applies:
(1)
The applicant has failed to provide material information requested
or made a false statement of a material fact on the application form
or in a hearing concerning the application or registration.
(2)
The required registration fee has not been paid.
(3)
The applicant has failed to comply with or the proposed business
will violate any applicable ordinance or regulation of the city or
applicable state or federal law.
(b)
If the city administrator or designee determines that a certificate
of registration should be denied the applicant, the city administrator
or designee shall notify the applicant in writing that the application
is denied and include in the notice the reason for denial and a statement
informing the applicant of the right of appeal. If the city administrator
or designee denies the registration application, the applicant must
be notified in writing of the decision, the reason for denial and
the applicant's right to appeal the denial by requesting, within twenty
(20) days of receiving notice of rejection, a public hearing before
the city council. The city council shall hear the appeal with twenty
(20) days of the date of the request for a hearing.
(c)
Upon issuing a certificate of registration, the city administrator
or designee shall issue the registrant and each person soliciting
an identification badge. At all times the registrant and each person
soliciting is conducting home solicitations in the city, the registrant
the identification badge on the registrant's clothing and maintain
the certificate of registration on the registrant's person. The registrant
shall allow the certificate of registration and the identification
badge to be examined upon request by the city administrator or designee,
any police officer, any city code enforcement officer, or the owner
or occupant of the residential premises on which a home solicitation
is being conducted.
(d)
If a city-issued home solicitor's identification badge is lost, mutilated, or destroyed, the city administrator or designee shall issue the registrant or each person soliciting a duplicate identification badge upon payment of a duplicate identification badge fee in the amount as established in the fee schedule found in appendix A of this code, per identification badge, which fee may be later modified by the city's fee schedule, as modified from time-to-time.
(e)
Duration: A registration granted under this article shall be
valid for 120 days from the date of issuance.
(Ordinance 202303-01-107 adopted 3/3/2023)
(a)
The city administrator or designee may suspend a certificate
of registration for a definite period of time not to exceed 30 days
if the city administrator or designee determines that:
(1)
A violation of this code or any other law concerning the sale
or distribution of goods or services, or the distribution of commercial
printed matter, by the registrant or the registrant's agent has occurred;
or
(2)
The registrant or a representative authorized to supervise the
registrant's agents has failed to establish policy and take action
to discourage, prevent, or correct violations of this article by agents.
(b)
The city administrator or designee shall send to the registrant
by certified mail, return receipt requested, a written statement setting
forth the reasons for the suspension and notifying the registrant
of the right to appeal. A timely request for appeal by the registrant
stays the effect of the suspension unless the city administrator or
designee determines that an emergency exists.
(c)
For purposes of this section, an emergency exists if the city
administrator or designee determines that a violation has occurred
and constitutes an imminent and serious threat to the public health
or safety. In case of an emergency, the city administrator or designee
may order the registrant or the registrant's representative to correct
the violation immediately or cease home solicitations to the extent
the city administrator or designee determines is necessary to abate
the threat until the violation is corrected.
(Ordinance 202303-01-107 adopted 3/3/2023)
(a)
The city administrator or designee shall revoke a certificate
of registration if the city administrator or designee determines that:
(1)
The registrant or an agent of the registrant, individually or
cumulatively, has been convicted in any court of two violations of
this code, within a 12 month period. The fact that a conviction is
being appealed has no effect;
(2)
The registrant has given false or misleading information of
a material nature or has withheld material information on the application
or in any hearing concerning the application or registration;
(3)
The registrant or an agent of the registrant has intentionally
or knowingly or otherwise impeded a lawful inspection by the city
administrator or designee, his or her authorized representative, or
any representative of another department who has the authority to
inspect the registrant and the registrant's business procedure; or
(b)
The city administrator or designee shall send to the registrant
by certified mail, return receipt requested, a written statement setting
forth the reasons for the revocation and notifying the registrant
of the right to appeal.
(c)
If the city administrator or designee revokes a certificate
of registration, the fee already paid for the registration will be
forfeited. A person whose certificate of registration has been revoked
under this section may not apply for or be issued a new registration
for a period of one year after the date the revocation took effect,
except that, if the city administrator or designee determines that
the basis for the revocation has been corrected, the person may apply
for and be issued a new certificate of registration if at least 90
days have elapsed since the date the revocation took effect.
(Ordinance 202303-01-107 adopted 3/3/2023)
