The following words and phrases, when used in this Chapter, shall have the meaning ascribed to them by this section:
(a) "Business day" means any calendar day except Saturday, Sunday, or any state or national holiday.
(b) "Charitable purpose" means philanthropic, religious or other nonprofit objectives, including the benefit of poor, needy, sick, refugee, or persons with disabilities; the benefit of any church or religious society, sect, group, or order; the benefit of a patriotic or veterans' association or organization; the benefit of any fraternal, social, or civic organization, or the benefit of any educational institution. "Charitable purpose" shall not be construed to include the direct benefit of the individual making the solicitation. "Charitable purpose" shall not be construed to include the benefit of any political group or political organization, which is subject to financial disclosure under state or federal law.
(c) "Consumer" means an individual who seeks or acquires real or personal property, services, money, or credit for personal, family, or household purposes.
(d) "Consumer transaction" means a sales transaction in which one or more of the parties is a consumer.
(e) "Deposit or depositing a handbill" means to place, distribute, handout, or circulate any type of handbill.
(f) "Handbill, Commercial" means and includes any printed or written material, any sample or devise, dodger, circular, leaflet, pamphlet, paper, booklet, or any other printed or otherwise reproduced original copies of any material or literature, which:
(1) Advertises for sale any merchandise, product, commodity, service, or thing;
(2) Directs attention to any business, mercantile, commercial establishment, or other activity for the purpose of either directly or indirectly promoting the interest thereof;
(3) Directs attention or advertises any meeting, theatrical performance, exhibition, group, fundraiser, or other event whether the purpose of directing attention and advertising is for private gain or for raising funds for a charitable purpose; or
(4) Contains information that is of a noncommercial nature, but remains predominantly and essentially an advertisement, and is distributed or circulated for advertisement purposes, for private gain, or for raising funds for a charitable purpose.
(g) "Handbill, Noncommercial" means and includes any printed or written material, any sample or devise, dodger, circular, leaflet, pamphlet, paper, booklet, or any other printed or otherwise reproduced original copies of any material or literature, pertaining to any speech not included in the definition of commercial handbill. Noncommercial handbills include, but are not limited to, handbills containing exclusively political and religious speech.
(h) "Handbill distributor" means and includes any person engaging or engaged in the business for hire or gain of distributing commercial handbills, other than newspapers distributed to subscribers thereof, and any person receiving compensation directly or indirectly for the distribution of such commercial handbills.
(i) "Handbill sponsor" means and includes the person, firm, or corporation who is utilizing commercial handbills as a medium of advertising or spreading a message.
(j) "Home solicitation transaction" means:
(1) A consumer transaction for the purchase of goods, services, or realty, payable in installments or in cash, in which the merchant engages in a personal solicitation of the sale to the consumer at a residence in person and the consumer's agreement of offer to purchase is given at the residence to the merchant; or
(2) Any request for funds made by a person soliciting to the occupant of a residence at a place of residence and the solicitor is unknown to the occupant or owner of the residence at which the request for funds is made. A home solicitation transaction shall not include a sale made pursuant to a preexisting revolving charge account or retail charge agreement, or a sale made pursuant to prior negotiations between the parties at a business establishment at a fixed location where goods or services are offered or exhibited for sale; or a sale where the consumer initiated a request for an appointment for the merchant to send a representative to his or her residence; or a sale of realty in which transaction the purchaser is represented by a licensed attorney or in which the transaction is being negotiated by a licensed real estate broker.
(k) "Individual or person" means an individual, a person, a group of two or more individuals, a proprietorship, a partnership, a corporation, a limited liability company, an association, or other legal entity.
(l) "Job placement activities" means any request, offer, enticement, or action which announces the availability for or of employment or seeks to secure employment. As defined herein, "job placement activities" shall be deemed complete when made whether or not an actual employment relationship is created.
(m) "Merchant" means a party to a consumer transaction other than a consumer.
(n) "Residence" means any living unit, occupied for residential purposes by one or more persons, contained within any type of building or structure.
(o) "Solicit funds or Solicitation of funds or Solicitation" shall mean any home solicitation transaction; any request for the donation of money, property, or anything of value, or the pledge of a future donation of money, property, or anything of value; or the selling, or offering for sale, or the purchasing, or offering to purchase, of any property, real or personal, tangible or intangible, whether of value or not, including, but not limited to, goods, books, pamphlets, tickets, publications or subscriptions to publications, or taking or attempting to take orders for the future delivery of goods, merchandise, wares, services, or personal property. A solicitation of funds is complete when the solicitation is communicated to any individual then located within the corporate limit of the Village. Expressly excluded from the meaning of "solicit funds" or "solicitation of funds" or "solicitation" is any offers of membership in any organization.
All terminology used in this Chapter and not specifically defined above, shall retain its meaning in conformance with the latest volume of Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
(Ord. 2023-2503. Passed 7-27-23.)