(a) Registration Required. No person shall act as a canvasser or door-to-door sales person in interstate commerce in this City without first having registered as such with the Secretary to the Director of Public Safety-Service. No fee shall be required. However, the Secretary to the Director of Public Safety-Service shall issue a registration certificate to each applicant and such certificate shall be carried on the person of the registrant at all times when engaged in such canvassing or solicitation and shown on request of any police officer or any person of whom an offer to sell is made. Each canvasser or solicitor shall provide a written receipt and, if applicable, a statement attesting to the organization’s exempt status under Section 501 of the Federal Internal Revenue Code if requested to do so by the person making the purchase. Such receipt shall show the name of the organization, amount of purchase, date and shall be signed by the solicitor.
Any organization which desires to place a number of canvassers or solicitors in the City simultaneously may make a group application to cover all of them; however, a separate information card shall be issued to each canvasser or solicitor by the registered organization. Such information card shall include, at minimum, the name of the registered organization, a description of the purpose for the solicitation, the period for which the registration was issued, the name of the canvasser or solicitor, a brief description of the canvasser or solicitor (to include; age, weight, height), the signature of the canvasser or solicitor and the signature or a member of the registered organization.
(b) Registration Application Contents. Application for a certificate or registration shall be made upon a form provided by the Secretary to the Director of Public Safety-Service. Each application shall contain, among other information, the name, address, and the phone number of the person completing the application; the name, address, and phone number of the organization, corporation, or business for which he purports to act; the name of an officer or other official at said organization, corporation or business; the nature of the goods or services for which he will take orders in the case of door-to-door salespersons in interstate commerce and the compensation, if any, which he or other canvassers are to receive for their services.
(c) One Year Limitation. In no case shall any registration certificate for canvassers or door-to-door salespersons in interstate commerce be valid for more than a one year period. The certificate of registration shall state the expiration date thereof.
(d) Exceptions. The provisions of this section shall not apply to solicitations conducted only among the members of the entity or organization conducting the canvassing or to those in the form of collections or contributions at the regular assemblies, meetings or service of any such established organization.
(e) Registration Revocation. Any registration issued hereinunder shall be revoked by the Director of Public Safety-Service if the holder thereof is convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, or has made a false material statement in the application. Immediately upon such revocation, written notice thereof shall be given by the Director of Public Safety- Service to the holder of the registration in person or by certified U.S. Mail addressed to his or her resident address as set forth in the application. Immediately upon the giving of such notice the license shall become null and void.
(f) Fraudulent Solicitation Prohibited.
(1) No person, canvasser or solicitor shall make or perpetrate any misstatement, deception or fraud in connection with any solicitation for any charitable purpose.
(2) No person having entered into an agreement to conduct any solicitation on behalf of any person for any charitable purpose shall fail to remit or pay to the party entitled thereto the proceeds of such solicitation in accordance with the true terms of the agreement.
(Ord. 02-25. Passed 10-14-02.)