[Approved 11-8-2001 by Ch. No. 2623]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
An individual employed in the business of going door-to-door
throughout the City to sell or take orders for any goods, services,
or subscriptions, to be sold at the door or delivered at a future
date, or one engaged in the taking of a poll or survey for commercial
purposes.
Includes individual persons, partnerships, associations,
or corporations that conduct any business by means of door-to-door
solicitation.
No person shall attempt to sell products or
services by means of door-to-door solicitation, or employ or allow
any other person to do so in the City, before first being issued a
permit therefor from the City Council in compliance with this article.
A.
Any person desiring a permit to canvass or solicit
in the City shall file, on a form provided by the City Clerk, an application
with the Clerk stating:
(1)
Name of applicant;
(2)
Permanent home address;
(3)
Name and address of employer or firm represented;
(4)
Place or places of residence of the applicant for
the preceding three years;
(5)
Date on which the applicant desires to commence canvassing
or soliciting;
(6)
Nature of the merchandise to be sold or offered for
sale, and its place of manufacture, or the nature of the services
to be furnished;
(7)
Whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a
crime, misdemeanor or violation of any ordinance, and if so, when,
where, and the nature of the offense;
(8)
Name of other communities in Rhode Island or any other
state in which the applicant has worked as a solicitor or canvasser
in the past three years.
B.
Said application shall also be accompanied by a letter
or other written statement from the individual, firm, or corporation
employing the applicant, certifying that the applicant is authorized
to act as the employer's representative.
C.
No such application shall be filed more than three
months prior to the date upon which canvassing or soliciting is to
begin.
A.
Once an applicant has provided the necessary information
to the City Clerk, the Clerk shall give the application to the Chief
of Police. To ensure the public health, safety and welfare, the Chief
of Police or his designate shall cause an investigation to be made
of the information provided therein. He shall use any information
available from any cities or towns in Rhode Island or any other state
where the applicant has canvassed or solicited within the past three
years. No permit shall be issued to any person who has a record of
conviction for a felony or for a crime involving moral turpitude,
nor shall any permit be issued to any business that has a record or
conviction for consumer fraud. If, while the application is pending
or during the term of any permit granted hereunder, there is any change
in fact that would alter the information given in the application,
the applicant shall notify the City Clerk in writing within 24 hours
of such change. If an applicant is found to have canvassed or solicited
over the past three years without criminal incident and has confirmed
authority to solicit for a legitimate purpose, the Chief of Police
shall endorse the application and the City Clerk shall issue a permit.
No permit issued under this section shall authorize any person to
solicit other than the one named therein. Every such permit shall
be valid for the period of one year and shall expire the first day
of March unless sooner revoked or voided under the provisions of this
article. The fee for a permit to conduct door-to-door solicitation
shall be $250.
[Amended 11-22-2017 by Ch. No. 3145]
B.
Upon proof by a commercial applicant to the City Clerk
that he or she has an existing commercial business, then the fee for
the issuance of any additional license or licenses granted pursuant
to this article to that corporate applicant shall be $25 per additional
license. Each separate license issued to a commercial applicant shall
be subject to the provisions of this article.
Upon approval of the application by the Chief
of Police, but before issuance of a permit by the City Clerk, each
applicant shall provide to the Clerk a photograph. This photograph
shall be incorporated into an identification card to be issued to
the applicant by the City Clerk. The card shall be of plastic at least
two by three inches; it shall contain, in addition to the photograph,
the name of the person issued to; his address; the name of the employer
represented; and a number corresponding to the number on the permit
(permit number) issued; and the date of expiration of the permit.
In the case of a corporation with several employees, each employee
who is to solicit shall obtain a card. The card shall be worn on the
outer garments, lapel, belt, or otherwise conspicuously displayed
when soliciting.
No person shall wear any identification card
as referred to in the preceding section after the expiration or revocation
of the permit represented by it. Any person who shall allow any identification
card issued to him/her to be used by another person, to whom the card
was not issued, for a purpose similar to that for which the card was
issued, shall forfeit the identification card and the permit represented
by the card. Any person holding a permit under this article who shall
fail, upon proper demand of any police officer, to exhibit to such
officer his or her identification card shall be deemed to have violated
the provisions of this article.
[Added 5-25-2023 by Ch. No. 3273[1]]
It is further required that any person applying for a permit
under the provisions of this article sign a hold-harmless agreement
indemnifying the City of Pawtucket, its officers, agents and employees
from any liability arising out of or in the course of his or her business
or the granting of a permit for same.
To ensure the public safety, prevent crime,
and provide for the peacefulness of the citizens of Pawtucket in their
homes, no person shall engage in door-to-door solicitation before
the hour of 9:00 a.m. or after the hour of 7:00 p.m. or sunset, whichever
comes earlier; or on a Sunday or any state or national holiday.
A.
Every occupant of a residence who desires to secure
the protections provided by this section pertaining to soliciting
may give notice of his or her intent not to invite solicitors by posting
on or near the main door of the residence a sign, no smaller than
one by four inches, containing the words "No Soliciting" or another
applicable or equivalent phrase. Such notice shall be sufficient to
advise solicitors that they are not to ring any doorbell, knock upon
any door, or make any other sound calculated to attract the attention
of the occupant for the purpose of gaining entrance and securing an
audience. Any solicitor arriving on any premises where such a notice
is visible shall immediately and peacefully depart from the premises;
failure to so leave is declared a nuisance and is punishable by a
fine of not more than $200.
B.
Any solicitor who has gained entrance to any residence,
whether invited or not, shall immediately and peacefully depart from
the premises when requested to do so; failure to so leave is declared
a nuisance and is punishable by a fine of not more than $200.
It is the responsibility of the Police Department
to ensure the lawful operation of door-to-door solicitors. It shall
be the duty of any police officer of the City to require any person
seen soliciting or canvassing, and who is not known by such officer
to have a valid permit, to produce the solicitor's identification
card and to enforce the provisions of this article against any person
found to be in violation of this article. Any person who cannot produce
a valid identification card shall have such goods as are in his possession
at the time confiscated and shall be deemed to be in violation of
this article.
The Chief of Police shall report to the City
Clerk all violations and all convictions for violations, and the Clerk
shall maintain a record for each permit issued and shall record the
reports of violations therein.
A.
The City Clerk may decline to issue a permit, or may
revoke permits issued under the provisions of this article, after
notice and hearing for any of the following causes:
(1)
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement found
contained in the application for a permit;
(2)
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statement made in
the course of carrying on the business of solicitor or canvasser;
(3)
Any violation of this article;
(4)
Conviction of any crime or misdemeanor involving moral
turpitude;
(5)
Conducting solicitation or canvassing in a disorderly
or unlawful manner, or in such a manner as to constitute a breach
of the peace or a menace to the health, safety or general welfare
of the public.
B.
A hearing for either reconsideration in the denial
of issuance of a permit, or for the revocation of a door-to-door solicitation
permit, shall be held before an ad hoc committee of the City Council.
Notice of the hearing for denial or revocation of a permit shall be
given in writing, setting forth specifically the reasons for denial
or the grounds of complaint and the time and place of hearing. Such
notice shall be mailed first class, postage prepaid, to the applicant
or permit holder at his last known address at least five days prior
to the date set for hearing.
Any person aggrieved by the results of a hearing
on denial or revocation of a permit shall have the right of appeal
to the full City Council. Such appeal shall be taken by filing with
the Council, within 14 days after notice of the action complained
of has been mailed to such person's last known address, a written
statement setting forth fully the grounds for appeal. The Council
shall set a time and place for the hearing on such appeal, and notice
of such hearing shall be given to the applicant in the same manner
as in the preceding section. The decision and order of the City Council
on such appeal shall be final and conclusive.
[Amended 5-24-2018 by Ch. No. 3160]
Any person who violates any of the provisions
of this article shall pay a fine of not more than $500, and each violation
of any of the provisions of this article and each day the same is
violated shall be deemed and taken to be a separate and distinct offense.
Nothing in this article shall apply to any religious
or charitable organization that has provided to the City Clerk evidence
of a current exemption certificate from the Internal Revenue Service
pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code
and has given the Clerk notice of its intention to canvass door-to-door;
nor to any vendors of newspapers, milkmen, or farmers selling the
produce of their farms or those engaged as part of a political campaign.
