Article 313
PEDDLERS, HUCKSTERS
AND SOLICITORS
Sections:
313.01 Definitions.
313.02 License required – Compliance.
313.03 License personal and not transferable.
313.04 Valid days and hours.
313.05 License application form and information.
313.06 License evidenced by license cards.
313.07 Licensee to exhibit license.
313.08 Qualifications of licensee – License refusal.
313.09 License suspension or revocation.
313.10 License granted three days after application.
313.11 Peddler’s license fees.
313.12 Huckster’s license fee.
313.13 Manufacturer’s agent license fee.
313.14 Soliciting agent’s license fee.
313.15 No licensee fee for solicitor.
313.16 Hawker’s license fee.
313.17 License term.
313.18 License fee exceptions.
313.19 License required though fee not collected.
313.20 Illegal use of licenses.
313.21 Article intent as police power exercise.
313.99 Penalty.
313.01 Definitions.
For the purpose of this article, certain terms are defined as follows:
(A) "Peddler" means any person who goes about from door to door with goods, wares, and/or merchandise, other than as described in subsection (B) of this section, the ownership of which is vested in him, and offering the same for immediate sale and/or delivery.
(B) "Huckster" means any person who goes about from door to door selling or offering for sale farm, truck and/or garden produce, fruit, bakery, fish and/or poultry products, whether the same be of his own raising or production or not, or who sells the same from a railroad car.
(C) "Hawker" means any person who establishes a stand or place of business on the traveled portion of any business street or sidewalk or any public place adjacent thereto for the purpose of selling or offering for sale, or advertising, goods, wares and/or merchandise, or offering or distributing samples thereof.
(D) "Manufacturer’s agent" means any person who goes about from door to door as the agent or representative of some other person, firm or corporation, exhibiting samples of goods, wares and/or merchandise, or describing the same, for the purpose of taking or receiving orders for present or future delivery thereof or on account of his principal.
(E) "Soliciting agent" means any person who goes about from door to door for the purpose of securing or obtaining subscriptions or contracts for the purchase or otherwise acquiring by the person or persons solicited on his own behalf or that of another, of any magazine, book, periodical, study‑ course or other publications, or any of them.
(F) "Solicitor" means any person who goes about from door to door, or from person to person, and solicits or attempts to solicit money and/or other contributions for any public or private charity wheresoever situate.
(G) The use of the masculine pronoun in this article shall be taken to mean male or female, and when relating to a principal or manufacturer shall include an individual, corporation or partnership. (Ord. 2066 §§ 1, 22, 1940)
313.02 License required – Compliance.
No person within the city shall be or engage in the business of peddler, huckster, hawker, manufacturer’s agent, soliciting agent and/or solicitor, or any of them as defined in MMC 313.01, without having first obtained a license for each and every such person from the city clerk and otherwise complying with the provisions of this article. (Ord. 2066 § 2, 1940)
313.03 License personal and not transferable.
Licenses provided for under this article shall be personal and will not be issued to a firm or corporation, nor to an employer, nor in bulk applications, but only on the application of the proposed licensee in the manner provided in MMC 313.05. Each license shall be surrendered to the city clerk by the licensee upon its expiration and shall not be transferable. (Ord. 2066 § 3, 1940)
313.04 Valid days and hours.
No license granted under the provisions of this article shall be valid except on weekdays only, and on such days between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. (Ord. 2066 § 4, 1940)
313.05 License application form and information.
Application for a license shall be made on a written or printed form furnished by the city and directed to the city clerk, signed by the applicant who shall affirm to the truth of the facts thereon stated. Each applicant shall be required to give his age, place of legal residence, name of employer or principal, if any, the names and addresses of two reputable citizens, resident business or professional men in the United States who may be referred to as to his reputation for honesty and fair dealing, and such facts as may be necessary to establish his classification. In addition, any application for a license as a manufacturer’s agent, soliciting agent or solicitor must be accompanied by a proper certificate from the principal of such applicant on a form prescribed by the city clerk, certifying such manufacturer’s agent, soliciting agent or solicitor to be employed by him and defining the scope of his employment, and, if a solicitor, the purpose of the contribution desired. (Ord. 2066 § 5, 1940)
313.06 License evidenced by license cards.
Licenses shall be evidenced by cards bearing the date of issue, the seal of the city, the name of the licensee, his classification and the period of limitation. They shall be signed by the city clerk and countersigned by the licensee. (Ord. 2066 § 6, 1940)
313.07 Licensee to exhibit license.
Any licensee shall be required to exhibit his license upon demand by any police officer or by any person whom he may approach for the purpose of his business, and failure on his part to show such license when so demanded shall constitute a violation of the provisions of this article. (Ord. 2066 § 7, 1940)
313.08 Qualifications of licensee – License refusal.
It is the intent of this article that each licensee hereunder shall be a reputable and law-abiding person engaged only in the pursuit of lawful business, and a license shall, therefore, be refused any applicant who fails to sign the required application or to otherwise comply with the provisions of this article, or one who upon investigation shall have been found to have been convicted of a crime or misdemeanor, or one whose references do not show him to be a reputable and law-abiding person or refuse to furnish required information as to the applicant. (Ord. 2066 § 8, 1940)
313.09 License suspension or revocation.
Any license issued under the provisions of this article may be suspended by the city clerk at any time upon well-founded complaint of any resident or police officer of the city and shall be forthwith surrendered upon demand to the city clerk or to any police officer. Following a hearing of such complaint within 24 hours after the suspension of the license the city clerk may, for proper cause shown, revoke the license. The licensee shall present himself before the city clerk for such hearing upon notice to do so given by any police officer and his failure to appear shall be sufficient cause for revocation of the license. (Ord. 2066 § 9, 1940)
313.10 License granted three days after application.
No license shall under any circumstances be granted until three days after the filing of the application for such license, and not then unless the applicant has fully complied with the requirements of this article. (Ord. 2066 § 10, 1940)
313.11 Peddler’s license fees.
Any person, except as provided in MMC 313.18, obtaining a license to engage in the business of peddling shall be required to pay a license fee for the use of the city of $9.00 per day, $27.00 per week, $72.00 per month and $180.00 per year. (Ord. 3176 § 1, 1988)
313.12 Huckster’s license fee.
Any person, except as provided in MMC 313.18, obtaining a license to engage in the business of huckstering shall be required to pay a license fee for the use of the city of $2.00 per day, $5.50 per week, $18.00 per month and $90.00 per year, if the licensee goes about from house to house, and $9.00 per car or part thereof if the licensee sells from a railroad car. (Ord. 3176 § 1, 1988)
313.13 Manufacturer’s agent license fee.
Any person obtaining a license to engage in the business of manufacturer’s agent shall be required to pay a license fee for the use of the city of $9.00 per day, $27.00 per week, $72.00 per month or $180.00 per year. (Ord. 3176 § 1, 1988)
313.14 Soliciting agent’s license fee.
Any person obtaining a license to engage in the business of soliciting agent shall be required to pay a license fee for the use of the city of $2.00 per day, $9.00 per week, $18.00 per month or $55.00 per year. (Ord. 3176 § 1, 1988)
313.15 No licensee fee for solicitor.
Any person obtaining a license to engage in the business of solicitor shall not be required to pay a license fee. (Ord. 2066 § 15, 1940)
313.16 Hawker’s license fee.
Any person obtaining a license to engage in the business of hawker shall be required to pay a license fee for the use of the city of $3.50 per day. (Ord. 3176 § 1, 1988)
313.17 License term.
A yearly license as provided in this article shall be for the fiscal year from the first Monday of January of one year to the first Monday of January of the following year, and no apportionment of the yearly license fee shall be made. A monthly license shall run from the date of issue to the corresponding date of the next succeeding month. No license shall be granted to a hawker or solicitor for more than one day at a time. (Ord. 2066 § 17, 1940)
313.18 License fee exceptions.
(A) No license fee shall be charged a huckster disposing of farm, truck, garden produce, fruit, poultry or eggs of his own raising or production, but any such person shall be required to file with the city clerk an affidavit giving the location and size of the property farmed by him and that the products which he is offering for sale and which he will continue to offer for sale under this license is and will be exclusively composed of products raised by him, or produced by him on the property in such affidavit described, and the sale of any other products shall constitute a violation of this article.
(B) No license fee shall be charged for a peddler or huckster’s license to any honorably discharged soldier, sailor or marine of the military or naval service of the United States who holds a license to peddle under an Act of Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. (Ord. 2066 § 18, 1940)
313.19 License required though fee not collected.
In any instance, if a fee for license is not legally collectible from a registrant under this article, the requirement of securing a license shall be still effective as to such registrant. (Ord. 2066 § 19, 1940)
313.20 Illegal use of licenses.
No person shall have or exhibit a license under this article which has not been issued to him, and no person to whom a license has been issued shall give, loan, sell or otherwise dispose of it to another. (Ord. 2066 § 20, 1940)
313.21 Article intent as police power exercise.
It is the intent of council that the police of the city shall be diligent in the enforcement of the provisions of this article and shall keep a careful and constant supervision over all persons engaging in any of the businesses herein set forth, for which reason it is hereby expressly declared that the license fees herein set forth are not imposed as a tax but are imposed under the police power of the city as necessary and required to compensate the city for the proportionate expenses of the police department incurred in the investigation of applicants and supervision of respective businesses hereby authorized to be licensed. (Ord. 2066 § 23, 1940)
313.99 Penalty.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall be fined not less than $15.00 nor more than $25.00, together with costs for the first offense, not less than $25.00 nor more than $50.00 with costs for the second offense, and $100.00 with costs for the third and any subsequent offense, and in default of payment of any such fine or costs shall be imprisoned for not less than three days nor more than five days for the first offense, not less than five days nor more than 15 days for the second offense, and 30 days for the third or any subsequent offense. In addition thereto, if the person so offending has a license granted under this article by the city, such license may be revoked by the city clerk. (Ord. 2066 § 21, 1940)