(a) A person commits an offense if, within the city, the person:
(1) personally, by an agent, or as the agent of another, engages in a home solicitation without a valid certificate of registration issued to the person under this chapter;
(2) engages in a home solicitation by using an agent who does not hold a valid certificate of registration issued under this chapter; or
(3) engages in a home solicitation by acting as an agent of another person who does not hold a valid certificate of registration issued under this chapter.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a) 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.
(c) Before taking any enforcement action under this section, the chief, 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 chief, the police officer, or the city code enforcement officer shall not issue a citation or make an arrest under this section unless he or she reasonably believes that an offense has occurred and that, based on any response and other circumstances, no defense in Subsection (b) is present. (Ord. 29245, eff. 4-22-14)
(a) To obtain a certificate of registration to conduct home solicitations, a person must file a written application with the chief on a form provided for that purpose. The application must include the following:
(1) If the applicant is a company:
(A) the company name, address, and telephone number;
(B) the name, address, telephone number, and title of each of its officers;
(C) the date and place of incorporation or establishment of the business; and
(D) the name, address, and telephone number of each person who will be conducting a home solicitation in the city for the applicant.
(2) If the applicant is an individual:
(A) the applicant’s name, address, and telephone number;
(B) the name, address, and telephone number of any individual or company for which the applicant is acting as an agent;
(C) the name, address, and telephone number of each person who will be conducting a home solicitation in the city for the applicant;
(D) a photograph of the applicant, taken within the preceding 12 months, that clearly depicts the applicant’s facial features; and
(E) the applicant’s date of birth and driver’s license number (with the state of issuance) or, if the applicant does not have a driver’s license, the number from another government-issued personal identification card containing the applicant’s photograph and date of birth.
(3) The names of other communities in which the applicant has worked as a home solicitor in the past 12 months and, if the applicant was an agent of different companies in the other communities, the names of those companies.
(4) The nature, character, and quality of the goods or services to be advertised, offered for sale, or delivered as part of the home solicitation.
(5) Whether the applicant, 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.
(6) The dates, times, and locations for which the applicant proposes to conduct home solicitations in the city.
(7) An outline of the method or methods to be used in conducting the home solicitations.
(9) Proof that the applicant possesses all licenses or permits required by this code or by state or federal law for the operation of the proposed business.
(10) If the applicant is an agent of an individual or company, written proof of the applicant’s authority to represent the individual or company.
(11) Any other information the chief determines necessary to the enforcement and administration of this chapter.
(b) An application filed under this section must be accompanied by a nonrefundable registration fee of $50.
(c) A certificate of registration expires one year after the date of issuance. Upon expiration, the registrant may apply for a registration renewal in the same manner prescribed by this section for a new registration.
(d) Neither a certificate of registration nor an identification badge is transferable from one person to another, but both may be used by the registrant to act as an agent for different individuals or companies during the registration term if the chief is notified in accordance with Subsection (e).
(e) A registrant shall notify the chief within 10 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. (Ord. 29245, eff. 4-22-14)
(a) The chief shall issue a certificate of registration to the applicant within 30 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 applicant has been convicted of a crime:
(A) involving:
(i) criminal homicide as described in Chapter 19 of the Texas Penal Code, as amended;
(ii) kidnapping as described in Chapter 20 of the Texas Penal Code, as amended;
(iii) a sexual offense as described in Chapter 21 of the Texas Penal Code, as amended;
(iv) an assaultive offense as described in Chapter 22 of the Texas Penal Code, as amended;
(v) robbery as described in Chapter 29 of the Texas Penal Code, as amended;
(vi) burglary as described in Chapter 30 of the Texas Penal Code, as amended;
(vii) theft as described in Chapter 31 of the Texas Penal Code, as amended, but only if the offense was committed against a person with whom the applicant came in contact while engaged in a home solicitation business;
(viii) fraud as described in Chapter 32 of the Texas Penal Code, as amended, but only if the offense was committed against a person with whom the applicant came in contact while engaged in a home solicitation business;
(ix) the transfer, carrying, or possession of a weapon in violation of Chapter 46 of the Texas Penal Code, as amended, or of any comparable state or federal law, but only if the violation is punishable as a felony under the applicable law; or
(x) criminal attempt to commit any of offenses listed in Paragraph (2) (A) (i) through (ix) of this subsection;
(B) for which:
(i) less than two years have elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement imposed for the conviction, whichever is the later date, if the applicant was convicted of a misdemeanor offense;
(ii) less than five years have elapsed since the date of conviction or the date of release from confinement for the conviction, whichever is the later date, if the applicant was convicted of a felony offense; or
(iii) less than five years have elapsed since the date of the last conviction or the date of release from confinement for the last conviction, whichever is the later date, if, within any 24-month period, the applicant has two or more convictions of any misdemeanor offense or combination of misdemeanor offenses.
(3) The applicant has failed to provide proof of a license or permit required by this code or another city ordinance or by state law for the operation of the proposed business.
(4) The applicant or an agent, individually or cumulatively, has been convicted of two violations of this chapter, other than the offense of conducting a home solicitation without a certificate of registration, within the 24 months immediately preceding the application.
(5) The required registration fee has not been paid.
(6) 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 chief determines that a certificate of registration should be denied the applicant, the chief 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.
(c) Upon issuing a certificate of registration, the chief shall also issue the registrant an identification badge. At all times the registrant is conducting home solicitations in the city, the registrant shall prominently display 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 chief, 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 registrant’s identification badge is lost, mutilated, or destroyed, the chief shall issue the registrant a duplicate identification badge upon payment of a $10 duplicate badge fee. (Ord. 29245, eff. 4-22-14)
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