(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)