CHAPTER 113:  PEDDLERS AND SOLICITORS

113.01  Definitions
113.02  Exceptions to definitions
113.03  Licensing; exemptions
113.04  License ineligibility
113.05  License suspension and revocation
113.06  License transferability
113.07  Registration
113.08  Prohibited activities
113.09  Exclusion by placard

§ 113.01  DEFINITIONS.

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 chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.

CANVASSER.  See SOLICITOR.

PEDDLER.  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, for the purpose of offering for sale, displaying, or 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.  The term PEDDLER shall mean the same as the term HAWKER.

PERSON.  Any natural individual, group, organization, corporation, partnership, or association.  As applied to groups, organizations, corporations, partnerships, and associations, the term shall include each member, officer, partner, associate, agent, or employee.

REGULAR BUSINESS DAY.  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 counted as regular business days.

SOLICITOR.  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, 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.  The term shall mean the same as the term CANVASSER.

TRANSIENT MERCHANT.  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 or intend to remain in any one location for more than 14 consecutive days.

§ 113.02  EXCEPTIONS TO DEFINITIONS.

(A)  For the purpose of the requirements of this chapter, the terms PEDDLER, SOLICITOR, and TRANSIENT MERCHANT shall not apply to any person selling or attempting to sell at wholesale any goods, wares, products, merchandise, or other personal property to a retailer of the items being sold by the wholesaler.  The terms also shall not apply to 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 and milk, nor shall they apply to any person making deliveries of perishable food and dairy products to the customers on his or her established regular delivery route.

(B)  In addition, persons conducting the type of sales commonly known as garage sales, rummage sales, or estate sales, as well as those persons participating in an organized multi-person bazaar or flea market, shall be exempt from the definitions of PEDDLERS, SOLICITORS, and TRANSIENT MERCHANTS, as shall be anyone conducting an auction as a properly licensed auctioneer, or any officer of the court conducting a court-ordered sale.  Exemption from the definitions for the scope of this chapter shall not excuse any person from complying with any other applicable statutory provision, code provision, or local ordinance.

§ 113.03  LICENSING; EXEMPTIONS.

(A)  County license required.  No person shall conduct business as a peddler, solicitor, or transient merchant within the city limits without first having obtained the appropriate license from the county as required by M.S. Chapter 329, as it may be amended from time to time.

(B)  City license required.  Except as otherwise provided for by this chapter, no person shall conduct business as either a peddler or a transient merchant without first having obtained a license from the city.  Solicitors need not be licensed, but are still required to register pursuant to § 113.07.

(C)  Application.  Application for a city license to conduct business as a peddler or transient merchant shall be made at least 14 regular business days before the applicant desires to begin conducting business.  Application for a license shall be made on a form approved by the City Council and available from the office of the City Administrator.  All applications shall be signed by the applicant.  All applications shall include the following information:

          (1)  The applicant's full legal name.

          (2)  All other names under which the applicant conducts business or to which applicant officially answers.

          (3)  A physical description of the applicant (hair color, eye color, height, weight, distinguishing marks and features, and the like).

          (4)  The full address of the applicant's permanent residence.

          (5)  The telephone number of the applicant's permanent residence.

          (6)  The full legal name of any and all business operations owned, managed, or operated by the applicant, or for which the applicant is an employee or agent.

          (7)  The full address of the applicant's regular place of business (if any).

          (8)  Any and all business-related telephone numbers of the applicant.

          (9)  The type of business for which the applicant is applying for a license.

          (10) Whether the applicant is applying for an annual or daily license.

          (11) The dates during which the applicant intends to conduct business, and if the applicant is applying for a daily license, the number of days he or she will be conducting business in the city (maximum 14 consecutive days).

          (12) Any and all addresses and telephone numbers where the applicant can be reached while conducting business within the city, including the location where a transient merchant intends to set up business.

          (13) A statement as to whether or not the applicant has been convicted within the last five years of any felony, gross misdemeanor, or misdemeanor for violation of any state or federal statute, any local code provision, or any local ordinance, other than traffic offenses.

(14) A list of the three most recent locations where the applicant has conducted business as a peddler or transient merchant.

          (15) Proof of any requested county license.

          (16) Written permission of the property owner or the property owner's agent for any property to be used by a transient merchant.

          (17) A general description of the items to be sold or services to be provided.

(18) All additional information deemed necessary by the City Council.

          (19) The applicant's driver's license number or other acceptable form of identification.

          (20) The license plate number, registration information, and vehicle identification number for any vehicle to be used in conjunction with the licensed business and a description of the vehicle.

(D)  Fee.  All applications for a license under this chapter shall be accompanied by the fee established in the city's fee schedule as adopted from time to time by an ordinance passed by the City Council.

(E)  Procedure.  Upon receipt of the completed application and payment of the license fee, the City Administrator shall forward the application to the City Council within two regular business days of receipt.  An application shall be determined to be complete only if all required information is provided. The City Administrator, within two regular business days of receipt, shall determine if the application is complete.  If the City Administrator determines that the application is incomplete, the City Administrator shall inform the applicant of the required necessary information which is missing.  The City Council shall review the application and order any investigation, including background checks, necessary to verify the information provided with the application.  Within ten regular business days of receiving the application from the City Administrator, the City Council shall vote whether or not to issue the license.  If the City Council approves the application, the City Administrator shall be instructed to issue a license to the applicant.  If the City Council rejects the application, the applicant shall be notified in writing of the City Council's decision, the reason for denial, and of his or her right to appeal the denial by requesting, within 20 days of receiving the City Council's notice of rejection, a public hearing to be heard within 20 days of the date of the request.  The final decision of the City Council following the public hearing shall be appealable by petitioning the Minnesota Court of Appeals for a Writ of Certiorari.

(F)  Duration.  An annual license granted under this chapter shall be valid for one calendar year from the date of issue.  All other licenses granted under this chapter shall be valid only during the time period indicated on the license.

(G)  License exemptions.

          (1)  No license 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 license shall be required of any person going from house-to-house, door-to-door, business-to-business, street-to-street, or other type of place-to-place when the activity is for the purpose of exercising that person's State or Federal Constitutional rights such as the freedom of speech, press, religion and the like, except that this exemption may be lost if the person's exercise of Constitutional rights is merely incidental to a commercial activity.

          (3)  Professional fund raisers working on behalf of an otherwise exempt person or group shall not be exempt from the licensing requirements of this chapter.
Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 113.04  LICENSE INELIGIBILITY.

The following shall be grounds for denying a license under this chapter:

(A)  The failure of the applicant to obtain and show proof of having obtained any required county license.

(B)  The failure of the applicant to truthfully provide any of the information requested by the city as a part of the application, or the failure to sign the application, or the failure to pay the required fee at the time of application.

(C)  The conviction of the applicant within the past five years from the date of application for any violation of any federal or state statute or regulation, or of any local code provision or ordinance, which adversely reflects on the person's ability to conduct the business for which the license is being sought in an honest and legal manner.  Such violations shall include but not be limited to burglary, theft, larceny, swindling, fraud, unlawful business practices, and any form of actual or threatened physical harm against another person.

(D)  The revocation within the past five years of any license issued to the applicant for the purpose of conducting business as a peddler, solicitor, or transient merchant.

(E)  The applicant is found to have a bad business reputation.  Evidence of a bad business reputation shall include, but not be limited to, the existence of more than three complaints against the applicant with the Better Business Bureau, the Attorney General's Office, or other similar business or consumer rights office or agency, within the preceding 12 months, or three such complaints filed against the applicant within the preceding five years.

§ 113.05  LICENSE SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION.

(A)  Generally.  Any license issued under this section may be suspended or revoked at the discretion of the City Council for violation of any of the following:

          (1)  Fraud, misrepresentation, or incorrect statements on the application form.

          (2)  Fraud, misrepresentation, or false statements made during the course of the licensed activity.

          (3)  Conviction of any offense for which granting of a license could have been denied under § 113.04.

          (4)  Violation of any provision of this chapter.

(B)  Multiple persons under one license.  The suspension or revocation of any license issued for the purpose of authorizing multiple persons to conduct business as peddlers or transient merchants on behalf of the licensee shall serve as a suspension or revocation of each such authorized person's authority to conduct business as a peddler or transient merchant on behalf of the licensee whose license is suspended or revoked.

(C)  Notice.  Prior to revoking or suspending any license issued under this chapter, the city shall provide the license holder with written notice of the alleged violations and inform the licensee of his or her right to a hearing on the alleged violation.  Notice shall be delivered in person or by mail to the permanent residential address listed on the license application, or if no residential address is listed, to the business address provided on the license application.

(D)  Public hearing.  Upon receiving the notice provided in division (C) of this section, the licensee shall have the right to request a public hearing.  If no request for a hearing is received by the City Administrator within ten regular business days following the service of the notice, the city may proceed with the suspension or revocation.  For the purpose of mailed notices, service shall be considered complete as of the date the notice is placed in the mail.  If a public hearing is requested within the stated timeframe, a hearing shall be scheduled within 20 days from the date of the request.  Within three regular business days of the hearing, the City Council shall notify the licensee of its decision.

(E)  Emergency.  If, in the discretion of the City Council, imminent harm to the health or safety of the public may occur because of the actions of a peddler or transient merchant licensed under this chapter, the City Council may immediately suspend the person's license and provide notice of the right to hold a subsequent public hearing as prescribed in division (C) of this section.

(F)  Appeals.  Any person whose license is suspended or revoked under this section shall have the right to appeal that decision in court.
Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 113.06  LICENSE TRANSFERABILITY.

No license issued under this chapter shall be transferred to any person other than the person to whom the license was issued.
Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 113.07  REGISTRATION.

All solicitors, and any person exempt from the licensing requirements of this chapter under § 113.03, shall be required to register with the city.  Registration shall be made on the same form required for a license application, but no fee shall be required.  Immediately upon completion of the registration form, the City Administrator shall issue to the registrant a certificate of registration as proof of the registration.  Certificates of registration shall be non-transferable.
Penalty, see § 10.99

§ 113.08  PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES.

No peddler, solicitor, or transient merchant shall conduct business in any of the following manners:

(A)  Calling attention to his or her business or items to be sold by means of blowing any horn or whistle, ringing any bell, crying out, or by any other noise, so as to be unreasonably audible within an enclosed structure.

(B)  Obstructing the free flow of either vehicular or pedestrian traffic on any street, alley, sidewalk or other public right-of-way.

(C)  Conducting business in such a way as to create a threat to the health, safety, and welfare of any individual or the general public.

(D)  Conducting business before 7:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.

(E)  Failing to provide proof of license or registration, and identification, when requested; or using the license or registration of another person.

(F)  Making any false or misleading statements about the product or service being sold, including untrue statements of endorsement.  No peddler, solicitor, or transient merchant shall claim to have the endorsement of the city solely based on the city having issued a license or certificate of registration to that person.

(G)  Remaining on the property of another when requested to leave, or otherwise conducting business in a manner a reasonable person would find obscene, threatening, intimidating, or abusive.
Penalty, see § 10.99