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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 70-40ORDINANCE NO. 4 -Lt) ENTITLED AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 27 OF THE CITY OF BEAUMONT CODE OF ORDINANCES, BEING A CHAPTER REGULATING SOLICITATIONS FOR CHARIT- ABLE PURPOSES IN THE CITY OF BEAUMONT. PRO- VIDING FOR THE CREATION AND OPERATION OF A CHARITABLE SOLICITATIONS COMMISSION; REQUIRING A PERMIT TO CONDUCT CHARITABLE SOLICITATIONS ON ANY PUBLIC STREET, IN ANY PUBLIC PLACE OR BY HOUSE TO HOUSE CANVASS; PROVIDING DUE NOTICE AND HEARING; EXEMPTING CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS; PROVIDING FOR THE FILING OF AN APPLICATION FOR A CHARITABLE SOLICITATIONS PERMIT; LIMITING FUND RAISING EXPENSE TO TWENTY- FIVE' -PERCENT OF THE AMOUNT COLLECTED; PROVIDING THAT THE PERMIT SHALL BE ISSUED UNLESS THE AP- PLICANT FAILS TO MEET PRESCRIBED STANDARDS; LIMITING PERMIT TO THREE MONTHS; MAKING PERMITS NON -TRANSFERABLE; PROVIDING STANDARDS FOR RE- VOCATION OF PERMITS; PROVIDING FOR APPEAL DE NOVO TO THE CITY COUNCIL; REQUIRING FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNT REPORTS FROM PERMIT.,HOLDERS; PRO- VIDING ACCOUNTING STANDARDS; PROHIBITING CER- TAIN METHODS OF SOLICITATION; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING A PENALTY. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF BEAUMONT, TEXAS: Section 1. 13 That Chapter. 27 of the Code of Ordinances, City of -- Beaumont, Texas, is hereby amended and, after being so amended, the same shall read as follows: ARTICLE I. - CHARITIES Sec. 2771. Charitable Solicitations Commission - Created; Composition, Term of Members. There is hereby created for the administration of this ordinance a Charitable Solicitations Commission which shall be composed of five members who shall serve without remuneration for their services and who shall be appointed by the City Council. Each member of the Commission shall hold office for a term of three years or until his successor is appointed and confirmed. Sec. 27-1.1 Same - Internal Organization; Duties. The Commission shall elect a Chairman and a Vice -Chairman from its members and shall adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of its business. The City Clerk or his delegate shall /6A c;( , ? G - serve as Secretary of the Commission. Three members of the Commission, exclusive of the Secretary, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. No application for a permit to conduct a charitable solicitations campaign on the streets and in public places in the City of Beaumont, Texas, shall be either granted or refused without due notice and hearing. No hearing on any such application shall be held unless and until the applicant shall have been given at least ten days notice in writing of the date, time, place and purpose of such hearing. All parties tes- tifying at such hearing shall be placed under oath by the Chairman or the Secretary of the Commission. In general, the rules of evidence in force in the District and County Courts in the State of Texas shall be followed. Each party at such hearing shall be given full opportunity to present evidence and witnesses to sup- port his contentions and he shall have the right of cross-examina- tion of all other witnesses. No ex parte testimony given by witnesses not under oath and not subject to cross-examination by other parties shall be admitted or considered by the Commission. The findings of the Commission must conform to the evidence ad- duced at the hearing. Each ruling of the Commission must be supported by adequate factual findings based upon the evidence. Sec. 27-1.2 Permit - Required. As used in this chapter, the term "charitable solicitations campaign" shall mean any course of conduct whereby any person, or- ganization, society, association, corporation or any agent, member y or representative �0thereof shall solicit property or financial as- sistance �a� any article, tag, service, emblem, publication, ticket, advertisement, subscription or anything of value on the plea or representation that such sale or solicitation or the proceeds therefrom are for a charitable, educational, patriotic or philanthro- pic purpose. It shall be unlawful to conduct any charitable solici- tations campaign on the streets or in any public place or by house -2- ���'�� t�� ( if '1/`-•,/��.� canvass or by telephone in the City of Beaumont unless the person, organization, society, association or corporation conducting same and responsible therefor shall first have obtained a permit in compliance with the terms of this chapter; provided, however, that the provisions hereof shall not apply to: (a) Any church, congregation, religious society, sect, group or order which solicits funds for religious purposes; or (b) Any organization which solicits funds solely from its own assemblies not using public street or public places for such purposes. Sec. 27-1.3 Same - Application; Information To Be Contained. A permit to conduct a charitable solicitation campaign on the streets or in any public place or by house to house canvass or by telephone in the City of Beaumont shall be granted only after notice and hearing upon an application for such permit filed in triplica`a e with the City Clerk not less than forty-five days prior to the initiation of the proposed charitable solicita- tions campaign and not less than ten days prior to the date of the hearing. Such application shall be sworn to by the applicant and shall contain the following information: (a) The full name of the organization applying for a permit to solicit and the address of the head- quarters in.the city; if the organization is a chapter or other affiliate of an organization having its principal office outside the city, the name and address of the parent organization. (b) The names and addresses of all officers and directors or trustees of the organization and the name and city of residence of all officers, directors or trustees of the parent organization, if any. (c) The purpose or purposes for which the gross receipts 119M o derived from such solicitations or other activities are to be used. (d) The name of the person or persons by whom the receipts of such solicitation shall be disbursed; if the receipts are transmitted to a parent or- ganization for further disbursement, detailed infor- mation on the methods of handling and disbursement of all funds and a detailed and complete financial statement of the parent organization for the last preceding fiscal year. (e) The name and address of the person or persons who will be in charge of conducting the charitable solicitations campaign. (f) An outline of the method or methods to be used in conducting the charitable solicitations campaign. (g) The period within which such charitable solicitations campaign shall be conducted, including the proposed dates for the beginning and ending of such campaign. (h) The total amount of funds proposed to be raised. (i) The amount of all salaries, wages, fees, commissions, expenses, and costs to be expended or paid to anyone in connection with such campaign, together with the manner in which such wages, fees, commissions, expenses and costs are to be expended, and the maximum percent- age of funds collected which are to be used to pay such expenses of solicitation and collection. (j) The names of all officers, directors or trustees present when the decisions were made in reference to sub -sections (h) and (i) above. (k) A. detailed and complete statement.of the funds (if any) collected by the applicant during the preceding -4- 4_0 year from solicitations or other activities des- cribed in Sec. 27-1.2, which were the same or sub- stantially the same as those for which the applicant is seeking a permit, such statement to show the gross amount collected, all costs of collection or solicita- tion, and the final distribution thereof. (1) A full statement of the character and extent of the charitable, educational, patriotic or philanthropic work done by the applicant within the city during the preceding year. (m) If the applicant is a corporation, a copy of its charter or articles of incorporation from its state of incorporation; if the applicant is a foreign corporation, a copy of its certificate to do business in Texas. (n) If the applicant is a charitable corporation or other organization, proof of its current status as an or- ganization to which contributions are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. Sec. 27-1.4 Same - Notice of Hearing; Conditions of Approval; Certs i.cation to City. Upon receipt of a proper application as provided in Sec. 27-1.3, the City Clerk shall set a time and place for hearing of said application, and such time for hearing shall be at least ten days after the date on which the application is received. The City Clerk shall notify the applicant of the time and place set for hearing. In the absence of notice acknowledged by the applicant, the City Clerk shall give written notice to the applicant by deposit- ing same in the United States mail in a sealed envelope with suffi- cient postage attached, addressed to applicant at the address shown on the application. Such mailed written notice shall be sufficient if deposited in the United States mail at least ten days prior to the date of the hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing on any -5- such application, the Charitable Solicitations Commission shall authorize and direct the City Clerk to issue the permit applied for unless the Commission finds from a preponderance of the credible evidence adduced at such hearing that one or more of the following facts exists: (a) One or more of the statements made in the application are not true. (b) The applicant or person in charge of the charitable solicitations campaign has been convicted in a court of competent jurisdiction of a crime involv- ing moral turpitude, or that the applicant or such person has made or caused to be made false state- ments or misrepresentations to any member of the public with regard to the charitable solicitations campaign or other activities described in the permit, or has made or caused to be made false statements or misrepresentations in the application or at the hearing on the application, or has in any way publicly re- presented that the permit granted hereunder is an endorsement or recommendation of the cause for which the charitable solicitations campaign is being con- ducted or has otherwise violated any of the terms of the permit or this chapter. (c) The applicant's fund-raising expense in any charit- able solicitations campaign conducted by it during any of the three years immediately preceding the date of application exceeded twenty-five percent (25%) of the gross amount collected. (d) The expected fund-raising expense of applicant in the charitable solicitations campaign which applica- tion for permit is being made will exceed twenty- five percent (25%) of the gross amount collected based upon accounting data concerning prior campaigns of the applicant and such other evidence as may be adduced at the hearing, unless the ap- plicant can show that such excess above twenty- five percent (25%) is not unreasonable. (e) Applicant has failed to keep or observe any pro- mise, agreement, representation or commitment with regard to the allocation of funds or methods of fund-raising or solicitation made to the Charitable Solicitations Commission in connection with any previous application. Sec. 27-1.5 Same - Issuance. Upon receipt of written authorization and direction from the Charitable Solicitations Commission as provided in Sec. 27-1.4 or upon notification of action by the City Council of The City of Beaumont in connection with any appeal from a decision of the Charitable Solicitations Commission as provided in Sec. 27-1.9, the City Clerk shall issue a permit to conduct a charitable solicitations campaign for the period and in the manner authorized by the Charitable Solicitations Commission or the City Council. Sec. 27-1.6 Same - Duration. The Charitable Solicitations Commission shall determine from the application and from a preponderance of the credible evidence adduced at the hearing the period during which the applicant shall be permitted to conduct its charitable solicita- tions campaign; provided., however, that such period shall not. exceed three calendar months. Any extension of such period shall be granted only upon the filing of an application and after notice and hearing of the same kind and character as is required for the original permit. -7- Sec. 27-1.7 Same - Nontransferable. Any permit issued hereunder shall be personal to the applicant and shall not be assigned or transferred to any other person, firm, corporation or association. Any such attempted assignment or transfer shall render the permit void. However, nothing in this Section shall prohibit a permittee from using the number of solicitors and representatives specified in the permit. Sec. 27-1.8 Same - Revocation. if, after notice and hearing, the Charitable Solicitations Commission shall determine and make findings of fact that any permit holder or any agent or.representative of a permit holder is making or has made any false statements or misrepresentations to any member of the public with regard to the campaign of solicita- tions or other activities described in the permit, or has made false statements or misrepresentations in the application or at the hearing on the application, or has in any way publicly re- presented that the permit granted hereunder is an endorsement or recommendation of the cause for which the charitable solicitations campaign is being conducted, or has violated any of the terms of the permit or has otherwise violated the provisions of this chapter, then it shall be the duty of the Charitable Solicitations Commission to revoke the permit; provided, however, that the permit holder shall be given at least twenty-four hours written notice that a hearing on the revocation is to be. held, and provided further that such hearing on the revocation shall be conducted under the same rules as the hearing on the application. Section 27-1.9 Same - Appeal -From Decisions of Charitable �n'f i ri to i -i nn s U.nmmiq q i nn _ Every applicant shall have the right to appeal to the City Council from any adverse decision or ruling of the Charitable Solicitations Commission. Such appeal,'if taken, must be in writing addressed to the City Council and filed with the City Clerk within ten days after the date of the decision or ruling ap- pealed from. The City Council shall hold an open public hear- ing on such appeal at either a regular or special meeting of that body after furnishing notice of such hearing to the ap- plicant and appellant as provided in Sec. 27-1.4 for the original hearing. The appeal shall be de novo, and the hearing shall be conducted by the City Council in accordance with the same rules as are prescribed for the hearing before the Charit- able Solicitations Commission. Sec. 27-1.10 Same - Reports to be filed. All persons or organizations issued permits under this chapter shall furnish to the Commission, within thirty days after the charitable solicitations campaign has been completed, a detailed report and financial statement showing the amount of funds raised by the charitable solicitations campaign, the amount expended in collecting such funds, including a detailed report of the wages, fees, commissions and expenses paid to any person in connection with such solicitation, and the disposition of the balance of the funds collected by the campaign; provided, how- ever, that the Commission may extend the time for filing of the report required by this Section for an additional period of thirty days upon proof that the filing of the report within the time specified will work unnecessary hardship on the permit holder. The`permit holder shall make available to the Commission, or to any person designated in writing by the Commission as its re- presentative for such purpose, all books, records and papers whereby the accuracy of the report required by this Section may be investigated: Sec. 27-1.11 Agents and Solicitors for Charitable Solicitation Permit Holders. All persons to whom permits have been issued under this chapter shall furnish proper credentials to their agents and M rj� r solicitors for such charitable solicitations campaign. Such credentials shall include the name of the permit holder, the date, a statement describing the holder's charitable, educational, patriotic or philanthropic activity, a description of the purpose of the solicitation, the signature of the permit holder or of the holder's chief executive officer, and the name, address, age, sex, and signature of the solicitor to whom such credentials are issued and the specific period of time during which the solicitor is authorized to solicit on behalf of the permit holder. No person shall solicit under any permit granted under this chapter without the credentials required by this Section and a facsimile copy of the permit .in his possession. The credentials and facsimile'copy of the permit shall be shown, upon request, to all persons solicited and to any police officer of the city. No agent or solicitor shall conduct or participate in any charitable solicitations campaign except under a valid permit issued in compliance with this chapter. Sec. 27-1.12 Responsibility for Acts of Solicitors. The recipient of a permit for a charitable solicitations campaign shall be responsible for the acts of his authorized representatives in connection with such campaign. Sec. 27-1.13 Public Inspection of Records. All applications, all records of hearing, all permits or rulings of either the Charitable Solicitations Commission or the City Council, and all instruments filed in connection with any application or hearing shall be public records. Sec. 27-2 Certain Methods of Solicitation Prohibited. The following methods of solicitation are and shall be prohibited within the city: (a) Solicitations by telephone by persons employed and paid primarily for that purpose. (b) Solicitation by means of coin or currency boxes or -10- r receptacles, except (1) When each such box or receptable is serially numbered and the Commission advised of the number and location of each; and, (2) When each box or receptable is the responsi- bility of a bona fide member, agent or solicitor of the soliciting organization; and, (3) When such responsible person is required to pick up each box or .receptacle at the end of the solicitation period; and, (4) When the use of such boxes and receptacles in the solicitation is expressly authorized by the Commission; and, (5) When such responsible person has no more than a reasonable -,:;number of such boxes or receptacles for which he must account. Section 2. That all ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed. Section 3. That any person, firm or corporation violating any pro- vision of this ordinance shall, upon conviction, be punished as provided in Section 1-8 of the Code of Ordinces of the City of Beaumont, Texas. Section 4. That if any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance or the application of same to a parti- cular person, group of persons, firm, associations or corpora- tion, or to a particular set of circumstances should for any reason be held to be invalid, such invalidity shall in no wise affect the remaining portions of this ordinance, and to such end the various portions and provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. Wiits 0 L 6T -T0 6-ep, ;, auk s- up TTouno0 SqTo a-qq -�q Qassvd V� tj f,..f ' iij