(A) No person shall go from person to person or from door to door within the city for the purpose of soliciting orders for books or subscriptions to magazines or other periodicals or publications without first having obtained a permit so to do from the City Recorder.
(B) Each applicant for a permit under this section shall furnish to the City Recorder in writing, his or her full name, age and present residence and business address; the address of each place wherein he or she has resided during the preceding five years and the name and address of each person by whom he or she has been employed or for whom he or she has been an independent contractor during the preceding five years; the name and address of each person or publisher for whom he or she proposes to solicit sales or subscriptions; a copy of each sales contract or subscription order to be used by him or her in the course of his or her transactions under the permit being applied for; and his or her police record, if any.
(C) Upon the filing of an application for a permit under this section, the City Recorder shall refer it to the Chief of Police, who shall investigate the applicant’s police record, whether or not any reference is made thereto in the application; and the Chief of Police shall make such further investigation, including inquiries of recognized better business bureaus, credit agencies and other organizations, as may be deemed necessary to determine the applicant’s reliability and the reliability of the persons and publishers for whom he or she proposes to solicit orders and subscriptions to adhere faithfully to the terms of the proposed contracts and subscription orders; and the Chief of Police shall then confer with the City Attorney concerning each contract and subscription order form to determine whether they comply with all requirements of state and federal law. Upon completion of such investigation, the Chief of Police shall return the application to the City Recorder with his or her findings and recommendations and the findings and recommendations of the City Attorney attached thereto.
(D) Each applicant for a permit under this section who is not an actual, bona fide resident of this city shall pay to the City Recorder at the time of filing his or her application, the sum of $25 to defray the costs of investigating the application.
(E) The City Recorder shall not issue a permit under this section if the Chief of Police has determined that the applicant has been convicted of a felony or any misdemeanor involving moral turpitude or that the applicant or any person or publisher for whom he or she proposes to solicit orders or subscriptions has failed to adhere faithfully to the terms of any contract or subscription order; nor shall the City Recorder issue any permit under this section if the City Attorney has determined that any proposed contract or subscription order fails to meet any requirement of state or federal law.
(F) The City Recorder shall not issue a permit under this section to any person who is not an actual, bona fide resident of this city until the applicant has given bond to the city, secured by an owner of real property within this city or within Kanawha or Putnam County, or with corporate surety, in the amount of not less than $1,000, conditioned upon the payment of any loss sustained by any person within the city who signs any contract or subscription order hereunder by reason of any misrepresentation, fraud or failure of the permit holder or the person or publisher for whom he or she solicits to adhere faithfully to the terms of such contract or subscription order.
(G) No permit issued pursuant to this section shall be construed to relieve the holder thereof from the necessity of procuring any city license which may be required under any other provision of this code or other ordinance of the city.
(Prior Code, § 745.02)