Chapter 5.20
SOLICITATION AND CANVASSING
Sections:
5.20.030 License Required—Exceptions.
5.20.040 Application—License—Fee.
5.20.050 Financial responsibility.
5.20.060 License—Identification, display, and disclosure.
5.20.065 Commercial handbills.
5.20.070 Receipt and notice to buyer.
5.20.080 Illegal acts—Penalties.
5.20.010 Purpose.
The city council of the city finds that the public health, safety, and welfare requires that the citizens of the city be provided with information relating to persons and organizations who solicit and canvass within the city, that such activities should be regulated by the city, and that the citizens of the city be protected from undue harassment, criminal behavior, and deceptive or dishonest practices. (Ord. 713 § 1 (part), 2001: Ord. 690 § 2 (part), 2000)
5.20.020 Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
“Commercial handbill” means any printed or written matter, any sample or device, dodger, circular, leaflet, pamphlet, paper, booklet, or any other printed or otherwise reproduced original or copies of any matter of literature, excluding newspapers and the United States mails which:
1. Advertises for sale any merchandise, product, commodity, or thing; or
2. Directs attention to any business or mercantile or commercial establishment, or other activity, for the purpose of either directly or indirectly promoting the interest thereof by sales; or
3. Directs attention to or advertises any meeting, theatrical performance, exhibition, or event of any kind, for which an admission fee is charged for the purpose of private gain or profit; but the terms of this clause shall not apply where an admission fee is charged or a collection is taken up for the purpose of defraying the expenses incident to such meeting, theatrical performance, exhibition, or event of any kind, when either of the same is held, given or takes place in connection with the dissemination of information which is not restricted under the ordinary rules of decency, public peace, safety and good order; provided, that nothing contained in this clause shall be deemed to authorize the holding, giving, or taking place of any meeting, theatrical performance, exhibition, or event of any kind, without a license, where such license is or may be required by any law of this state, or under any ordinance of this city; or
4. Contains reading matter other than advertising matter that is predominantly and essentially an advertisement, and is distributed or circulated for advertising purposes, or for the private benefit and gain of any person so engaged as advertiser or distributor.
“Home sales party” means a gathering in a private residence where those in attendance are invited guests, and where goods, wares, merchandise, and/or services are sold or offered for sale, and are not considered “selling” or “canvassing” under this chapter.
“Private residence” or “residence” means any privately-owned yard, grounds, walk, driveway, dwelling, house, building, or other structure, including appurtenant porches, steps or vestibules, used or designed either wholly or in part for private residential purposes, whether single-family, duplex or multiple, and whether inhabited or temporarily or continuously uninhabited or vacant.
“Public place” means any area that is used or held out for use by the public, whether owned and/or operated by public or private interests.
“Solicitor” or “canvasser” means any person, either as principal or agent, who goes from place to place, or house to house, within the city, and who:
1. Sells, carries for sale, exposes for sale, takes orders for, or offers for sale, any goods, wares, or merchandise of any type, whether or not collecting in advance for such goods, wares, or merchandise; and/or
2. Sells, takes orders for, or offers for sale any services, whether or not collecting in advance for such services; and/or
3. Seeks or solicits contributions or donations to private causes (as opposed to tax-exempt charities); and/or
4. Seeks or solicits opinions, preferences, or other information for commercial purposes; and/or
5. Distributes and/or places handbills on personal or real property for commercial purposes.
(Ord. 713 § 1 (part), 2001: Ord. 690 § 2 (part), 2000)
5.20.030 License Required—Exceptions.
A. License Required. It is unlawful for any solicitor or canvasser to:
1. Sell, carry for sale, expose for sale, take orders for, or offer for sale any goods, wares, merchandise, or services; and/or
2. Seek or solicit contributions or donations to private causes (as opposed to tax-exempt charities); and/or
3. Seek or solicit opinions, preferences, or other information for commercial purposes; and/or
4. Distribute and/or place handbills on personal or real property for commercial purpose without first obtaining a solicitor or canvasser license as provided for in this chapter.
5. The license(s) required by this chapter are separate from and in addition to the business license issued under Chapter 5.02, which may also be required when applicable.
B. Exceptions. The following persons are not required to obtain a license, pay a fee, or obtain a bond:
1. Local newspaper carriers;
2. Postal carriers;
3. Sellers of fruits, vegetables, berries, butter, eggs, fish, milk, poultry, meats, or any farm produce or edibles raised, caught, produced, or manufactured by such person in any place within this state;
4. Any person licensed for charitable solicitations pursuant to subsection (3) of the definition for “solicitor” or “canvasser” (Section 5.20.020); provided, however, that such solicitation is managed and conducted solely by officers and members of charitable organizations who are unpaid for such services;
5. Bona fide candidates, campaign workers, or members of political committees campaigning on behalf of candidates or ballot issues, or soliciting signatures of registered voters on petitions to be submitted to any governmental agency;
6. All persons under the age of eighteen years, unless employed by another person or organization;
7. Any person who, as an agent, solicits, canvasses or sells on behalf of a regulated utility; and
8. Any person conducting a home sales party.
(Ord. 1065 § 1, 2020; Ord. 713 § 1 (part), 2001: Ord. 690 § 2 (part), 2000)
5.20.040 Application—License—Fee.
A. Every solicitor and canvasser, other than those persons exempted under this chapter, whether principal or agent, before commencing selling or canvassing activities in the city, shall make a written application on a form to be provided by the business license clerk. The application shall include:
1. The applicant’s name, date of birth, and physical description; and
2. The applicant’s permanent home address, a local address, and the applicant’s work and residence telephone numbers; and
3. A detailed description of the nature of the applicant’s business, and of the goods and/or services offered. If canvassing, the application shall also contain a detailed description of the purpose of the canvassing; and
4. If employed by another, the name, address, and telephone numbers of the applicant’s employer, and a statement of the exact relationship between the applicant and the employer; and
5. The place of manufacture or production of goods to be offered for sale, the present location of such goods, and the proposed method of delivery; and
6. The applicant’s fingerprints; and
7. The names of three reliable persons, residing in this state, to act as references to the good character and business responsibility of the applicant. In lieu of such references, the applicant must provide the means of obtaining evidence as to the applicant’s good character and business responsibility; and
8. An authorization allowing the release of any and all of the applicant’s local and national criminal history record information, including arrest information, and driving record; and
9. A statement that a license, if granted, will not be used or represented as an endorsement by the city for solicitations thereunder; and
10. A declaration under penalty of perjury under the laws of the state that the information contained in the application is true and correct, signed by the applicant.
B. Acceptance or Denial of Application.
1. If, as a result of the investigation, the applicant is found not to have committed any of the acts requiring denial listed hereinbelow, the business license clerk shall, upon payment of the prescribed fee, issue the license to the applicant.
2. The business license clerk shall deny the applicant the license if the applicant has:
a. Committed any act consisting of fraud or misrepresentation; or
b. Committed any act which, if committed by a licensee, would be grounds for suspension or revocation of a license; or
c. Within the previous ten years, been convicted of a gross misdemeanor or felony directly relating to his or her fitness to engage in the occupation of solicitor or canvasser, including, but not limited to, those gross misdemeanors and felonies involving moral turpitude, and the following crimes: unlawful issuance of bank checks, fraud, perjury, misrepresentation, embezzlement, theft, burglary, arson, malicious mischief, sexual crimes, weapons crimes, harassment, stalking, intimidation, and threatening or assaultive behavior; or
d. Been refused a license under the provisions of this chapter; provided, however, that any applicant denied a license under the provisions of this chapter may reapply if and when the reasons for denial no longer exist; and
e. Made any false or misleading statements in the application.
3. The business license clerk shall delay issuance of the license if the applicant has been charged with a gross misdemeanor or felony directly relating to his or her fitness to engage in the occupation of solicitor or canvasser, including the type of offenses described in subsection (2)(C) herein, pending final disposition of the charge. If conviction of a felony or a gross misdemeanor directly relating to the applicant’s fitness to engage in the occupation of solicitor or canvasser (including but not limited to the offenses listed in subsection (2)(C) herein) is the final disposition of the charge, the business license clerk shall deny the license application.
4. The business license clerk shall issue the license after payment of a license fee, in the same manner as provided in Section 5.02.060, et seq. of the Ocean Shores Municipal Code. Licenses shall be valid for one year from date of issuance.
(Ord. 713 § 1 (part), 2001: Ord. 690 § 2 (part), 2000)
5.20.050 Financial responsibility.
A. Each applicant for a solicitor’s and canvasser’s license shall submit to the Ocean Shores city manager for filing with the business license clerk a surety bond from a surety company authorized to do business in this state, naming himself or herself as principal, and conditioned that any person who may suffer any loss or damage by reason of any malfeasance, misfeasance, negligence, fraud, or deceptive practice in the conduct of such solicitation or canvass shall have the right to institute an action for recovery against the licensee and the surety upon such bond in Grays Harbor County, Washington. The bond shall further require that the licensee shall fully comply with all provisions of federal, state, and local law, and specifically, city ordinances regulating the business of solicitors or canvassers, or business in general, and that all moneys paid as a down payment or donated will be accounted for and applied in exact accordance with the representation of the solicitor or canvasser, and further that the property ordered or sold will be delivered or the services will be performed in exact accordance with the representation of the solicitor or the canvasser. Any person injured by the licensee’s failure to account for moneys received, deliver the goods ordered or sold, or perform the services promised, shall have in his or her own name, a right of action on such bond against both the principal and the surety. The amount of such bond shall be established by the city manager or designee by assessing the risk of loss to the public in case of the solicitor’s or canvasser’s default, or in the event the product sold injures any person.
B. In the place of the bond required in Section 5.20.050(A), any person employing solicitors or canvassers shall file with the city manager, before a license may be issued to any of such person’s employees, a surety bond from a surety company authorized to do business in this state, naming himself or herself and all of his or her agents as principals, and conditioned that any person who may suffer any loss or damage by reason of any malfeasance, misfeasance, negligence, fraud, or deceptive practice in the conduct of such solicitation or canvass shall have the right to institute an action for recovery against the licensee and the surety upon such bond in Grays Harbor County, Washington. The bond shall further require that the licensee shall fully comply with all provisions of federal, state, and local law, and specifically, city ordinances regulating the business of solicitors or canvassers, or business in general, and that all moneys paid as a down payment or donated will be accounted for and applied in exact accordance with the representation of the solicitor or canvasser, and further that the property ordered or sold will be delivered or the services will be performed in exact accordance with the representation of the solicitor or the canvasser. Any person injured by the licensee’s failure to account for moneys received, deliver the goods ordered or sold, or perform the services promised, shall have in his or her own name, a right of action on such bond against both the principal and the surety. The amount of such bond shall be established by the city manager or designee by assessing the risk of loss to the public in case of the solicitor’s or canvasser’s default, or in the event the product sold injures any person.
C. The applicant’s or licensee’s failure to obtain and/or maintain the bond described in Sections 5.20.050(A) and 5.20.050(B) herein shall be grounds for denial of the application or revocation of the license.
(Ord. 713 § 1 (part), 2001: Ord. 690 § 2 (part), 2000)
5.20.060 License—Identification, display, and disclosure.
A. The license shall be endorsed with a statement of the type of product or service sold by the licensee. The license is valid only for the product or service specified thereon. Each solicitor or canvasser or agent shall, immediately upon contacting a prospective buyer, disclose to the prospective buyer his/her name, company, and the product or service represented. If requested to do so, he/she shall leave the premises immediately.
B. Each licensee who employs others as agents shall procure solicitor’s or canvasser’s agent identification for each such agent, which shall be identical to the licensee’s license, except that additionally, the agent’s name shall appear on the identification license.
C. All licensees and agents shall conspicuously display on their outer clothing their residential sales licenses or residential sales agent licenses when selling. If selling involves use of the telephone, information adequate to identify the licensee must be disclosed on demand.
(Ord. 713 § 1 (part), 2001: Ord. 690 § 2 (part), 2000)
5.20.065 Commercial handbills.
A. No person shall throw or deposit any commercial or noncommercial handbill in or upon any vehicle; provided, however, that it shall not be unlawful in any public place for a person to hand out or distribute without charge to the receiver thereof, a handbill to any occupant of a vehicle who is willing to accept it.
B. No person shall throw or deposit any commercial or noncommercial handbill in or upon any private residence or other private property which is temporarily or continuously uninhabited or vacant.
C. No persons shall throw, deposit or distribute any commercial or noncommercial handbill upon any private residence or other private property, if requested by anyone thereon not to do so, or if there is placed on such residence or property a sign bearing the words: “No Trespassing,” “No Peddlers or Agents,” “No Advertisement,” “No Solicitors” or any similar notice, indicating in any manner that the occupants of such residence or property do not desire to have their right of privacy disturbed, or to have any such handbills left upon such premises.
D. No person shall throw, deposit or distribute any commercial or noncommercial handbill in or upon a private residence which is inhabited, except by handing or transmitting any such handbill directly to the owner, occupant, or other person then present in or upon such private residence; provided, however, that in case of inhabited private residences which are not posted, as provided in this chapter, such person unless requested by anyone in or upon such residence not to do so, may place or deposit any such handbill in or upon such inhabited private residence, if such handbill is so placed or deposited as to secure or prevent such handbill from being blown or drifted about such residence or sidewalks, streets, or other public places, and except that mailboxes may not be so used when prohibited by federal postal law or regulations.
E. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the distribution of mail by the United States Postal Service, nor to newspapers, except that newspapers shall be placed on private residences or other private property in such a manner as to prevent their being carried or deposited by the elements upon any street, sidewalk or other public place, or upon private residences or other private property.
(Ord. 713 § 1 (part), 2001)
5.20.070 Receipt and notice to buyer.
A. Every sale made or order taken by a licensee, having a price or value of ten dollars or more, shall be evidenced by a signed receipt, contract, or other signed memorandum of the transaction which shall be given to the purchaser. Such receipt, contract, or memorandum shall state the date and terms of the transaction, the amount of any payment made, the name and address of the licensee, and in immediate proximity to the space reserved in the contract for the signature of the buyer or on the front page of the receipt if a contract is not used and in bold face type of a minimum size of twelve points, the following notice:
NOTICE TO BUYER
YOU, THE BUYER, MAY CANCEL THIS TRANSACTION AT ANY TIME PRIOR TO MIDNIGHT OF THE THIRD BUSINESS DAY AFTER THE DATE OF THIS TRANSACTION. SEE THE ATTACHED NOTICE OF CANCELLATION FORM FOR AN EXPLANATION OF THIS RIGHT.
B. The licensee must furnish to each purchaser, at the time he/she signs any sales contract or otherwise buys or agrees to buy goods or services from the licensee, a completed form in duplicate, captioned “NOTICE OF CANCELLATION,” which shall be attached to the contract, receipt, or memorandum and easily detachable, and which shall contain in bold-face, twelve point type the following information in the same language, e.g., English, as that used in such contract, receipt, or memorandum:
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION
_________________________
(Date of Transaction)
YOU MAY CANCEL THIS TRANSACTION, WITHOUT ANY PENALTY OR OBLIGATION, WITHIN THREE (3) BUSINESS DAYS FROM THE ABOVE DATE.
IF YOU CANCEL, ANY PROPERTY TRADED IN, ANY PAYMENTS MADE BY YOU UNDER THE CONTRACT OR SALE, AND ANY NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENT (i.e., CHECK) EXECUTED BY YOU WILL BE RETURNED WITHIN TEN (10) BUSINESS DAYS FOLLOWING RECEIPT BY THE SELLER OF YOUR CANCELLATION NOTICE, AND ANY SECURITY INTEREST ARISING OUT OF THE TRANSACTION WILL BE CANCELLED. IF YOU CANCEL, YOU MUST MAKE AVAILABLE TO THE SELLER AT YOUR RESIDENCE, IN SUBSTANTIALLY AS GOOD CONDITION AS WHEN RECEIVED, ANY GOODS DELIVERED TO YOU UNDER THIS CONTRACT OR SALE; OR YOU MAY, IF YOU WISH, COMPLY WITH THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THE SELLER REGARDING THE RETURN SHIPMENT OF THE GOODS AT THE SELLER’S EXPENSE AND RISK.
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO RETURN THE GOODS TO THE SELLER AND IF THE SELLER DOES NOT PICK UP THE GOODS WITHIN TWENTY (20) DAYS OF THE DATE OF YOUR NOTICE OF CANCELLATION, YOU MAY RETAIN OR DISPOSE OF THE GOODS WITHOUT ANY FURTHER OBLIGATION. TO CANCEL THIS TRANSACTION, MAIL OR DELIVER A SIGNED AND DATED COPY OF THIS CANCELLATION NOTICE, OR ANY OTHER WRITTEN NOTICE, OR SEND A TELEGRAM TO:
_________________________
(NAME OF LICENSEE/SELLER)
AT:_________________________
(LICENSEE’S / SELLER’S ADDRESS)
NOT LATER THAN MIDNIGHT OF
_________________________
(DATE)
I HEREBY CANCEL THIS TRANSACTION.
_________________________
(DATE)
_________________________
(BUYER’S SIGNATURE/s)
C. The sending of any notice of cancellation within the specified period shall operate to cancel the purchase made or contract entered into, and the licensee/seller shall thereupon, without request, refund to the purchaser any deposit or payment made, and in accordance with the notice of cancellation, may reclaim from the buyer at the place of delivery any goods received by the buyer under such purchase or contract.
(Ord. 713 § 1 (part), 2001: Ord. 690 § 2 (part), 2000)
5.20.080 Illegal acts—Penalties.
A. Illegal Acts. It is unlawful for any solicitor, canvasser and/or licensee to:
1. Make any untrue, deceptive, or misleading statement about the product or services sold, for the purposes of procuring a sale or offer for sale; and
2. Make any untrue, deceptive, or misleading statement regarding the purpose of the licensee’s contact with a potential customer; and
3. Sell or canvass before ten a.m. or after two p.m. of any business day, or on weekends; and
4. Attempt to gain admittance for the purpose of selling or canvassing at any residence with a posted sign bearing the words “no solicitors,” “no peddlers” or words of similar import; and
5. Refuse to leave a residence, premises, or property after being requested by the resident and/or property owner to do so; and
6. Insert any body part or other object into a resident’s doorway, window, or other residential entryway in order to stop the resident thereof from closing said entryway.
B. Penalties.
1. The first violation of this section and/or Section 5.20.030(A) shall be a Class C offense pursuant to Ocean Shores Municipal Code, Section 7.01.040(B)(2), with a maximum penalty of a five hundred dollar fine, and immediate license revocation.
2. Any subsequent violation of this section and/or Section 5.20.030A shall be a Class B offense pursuant to Ocean Shores Municipal Code, Section 7.01.040(B)(1), with a maximum penalty of ninety days in jail, a one thousand dollar fine, and immediate license revocation.
3. The filing of any criminal complaint, the issuance of any criminal citation pursuant to this section, or the filing of any civil antiharassment or fraud action against the seller or canvasser shall be grounds for immediate revocation of the seller’s or canvasser’s license.
C. Unclassified Offenses. In the event that any person violates this chapter, and the offense is not specifically classified herein, the offense shall be deemed to be a Class B offense as defined in Section 7.01.050 of this code.
(Ord. 713 § 1 (part), 2001: Ord. 690 § 2 (part), 2000)