2016 -- H 7590

========

LC004093

========

     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

____________

A N   A C T

RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- ITINERANT VENDORS

     Introduced By: Representatives Serpa, and Fellela

     Date Introduced: February 12, 2016

     Referred To: House Small Business

     (General Treasurer)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Chapter 5-15 of the General Laws entitled "Itinerant Vendors" is hereby

repealed in its entirety.

CHAPTER 5-15

Itinerant Vendors

     5-15-1. Persons subject to chapter. -- For the purposes of this chapter, "itinerant

vendors", is construed to mean and include all persons, both principals and agents, who engage in

a temporary or transient business in this state, either in one locality or in traveling from place to

place selling goods, wares, and merchandise, and who, for the purposes of carrying on that

business, hire, lease, or occupy any building or structure for the exhibition and sale of goods,

wares, and merchandise.

     5-15-1.1. Conducting of business. -- Every itinerant vendor licensed under the

provisions of this chapter shall conduct that business from the confines of a building or a portion

of a building specifically hired, leased, and occupied for the purpose of selling the goods, wares,

and merchandise covered by the license.

     5-15-2. Duty to take out license. -- It is the duty of every itinerant vendor, whether

principal or agent, before commencing business, to take out a state license and local licenses in

the manner subsequently prescribed.

     5-15-3. Deposit with treasurer -- Issuance of license -- Acts permitted. -- (a) Every

itinerant vendor desiring to do business in this state shall deposit with the general treasurer:

      (1) The sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) as a special deposit, and, after that deposit,

upon application in proper form, which includes proof that the itinerant vendor has been issued a

permit to make sales at retail by the division of taxation, and the payment of a further sum of five

hundred dollars ($500) as a state license fee, the general treasurer shall issue to him or her an

itinerant vendor's license, authorizing him or her to do business in this state, in conformity with

the provisions of this chapter, for the term of three (3) months from the date of the issuance; or

      (2) The sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) as a special deposit, and, after that deposit,

upon application in proper form, which includes proof that the itinerant vendor has been issued a

permit to make sales at retail by the division of taxation, and the payment of a further sum of fifty

dollars ($50.00) per day for each day the itinerant vendor proposes to do business in this state as a

state license fee, the general treasurer shall issue to him or her an itinerant vendor's license

authorizing him or her to do business in the state, in conformity with the provisions of this

chapter, for the number of days from the date of issuance for which the state license fee has been

paid.

      (b) Every license shall contain a copy of the application upon which it is granted. That

license is not transferable and does not give authority to more than one person to sell goods as an

itinerant vendor either by agent or clerk, or in any other way than in his or her own proper person.

Any licensee may have the assistance of one or more persons in conducting his or her business,

who have authority to aid their principal but not to act for or without him or her.

     5-15-4. Contents of application -- Records of licenses. -- All applications for license

shall be sworn to, shall disclose the names and residences of the owners or parties in whose

interest the business is conducted, and shall be kept on file by the general treasurer; and a record

shall be kept by him or her of all licenses issued upon those applications. All files and records,

both of the general treasurer and of the town or city clerks, shall be in convenient form and open

for public inspection.

     5-15-5. Local licenses -- Recording and endorsement of state license. -- (a) At least

fourteen (14) days prior to selling under a state license, every itinerant vendor shall exhibit the

state license to the clerk of each town or city where the itinerant vendor proposes to make sales,

and upon: (1) payment to the clerk of each town or city having a population of less than fifteen

thousand (15,000), of a further local license fee of one hundred dollars ($100) and to the clerk of

any city or town having more than fifteen thousand (15,000) inhabitants, a further license fee of

three hundred fifty dollars ($350); (2) the proof of payment of all other license fees, if any, that

are legally chargeable upon local sale; and (3) making an application, in writing, and under oath

showing all the facts as to the sale which the itinerant vendor proposes to conduct and the place

LC004093 - Page 2 of 7

and manner of conducting the sale including an inventory of the goods, wares, and merchandise

to be sold at the sale together with the established retail price of the goods, wares, and

merchandise, and a statement, as far as possible, of the names of the persons from whom the

goods, wares, and merchandise to be sold were obtained, the date of the delivery of the goods,

wares, and merchandise to the person applying for the license and the place from which the

goods, wares, and merchandise were last taken and all details to fully identify the goods, wares,

and merchandise so to be sold, the clerk shall record the state license in full, endorse upon its

words "Local License, Fees Paid", and affix his or her official signature, together with the date of

the endorsement. The clerk shall then issue a local license authorizing sales within the limits of

the town or city; provided, that no local license shall issue without proof that the itinerant vendor

has been issued a permit to make sales at retail by the division of taxation. Any failure to obtain a

local license and have proper endorsements made on the state license is subject to the same

penalty as though no state license had been issued.

      (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, this chapter does not

apply to those individuals involved in retail selling or the retail sale of farm produce; provided,

that the Town of Bristol has the power to license and regulate itinerant vendors selling cut

flowers, potted plants and nursery stock including Christmas trees in the Town of Bristol.

     5-15-6. False statements -- Failure to comply with requirements. -- Any false

statement in an application, either original or supplementary, for a license, and any failure on the

part of any licensee to comply with all the requirements of § 5-15-12 shall subject the itinerant

vendor to the same penalty as if he or she had no license, and to the further and additional penalty

of a fine of two hundred dollars ($200), paid to the person first filing the complaint with the

prosecuting officer.

     5-15-7. Duration of state licenses. -- All state licenses expire by limitation three (3)

months from the date of issuance, and may be, if desired, surrendered at any time prior to

expiration for cancellation.

     5-15-8. Cancellation of license -- Return of deposit. -- Upon the expiration and return

or surrender of each state license, the state treasurer shall cancel the license, endorse the date of

delivery and cancellation on it, and place the license on file. He or she shall then hold the special

deposit of each licensee, as provided in this chapter, for the period of sixty (60) days; and after

satisfying any and all claims made upon the deposit under § 5-15-9, shall return the deposit or any

portion of it remaining in his or her hands to the licensee depositing it.

     5-15-9. Enforcement of claims against deposit. -- Each deposit made with the general

treasurer is subject, as long as it remains in his or her hands, to attachment and execution in

LC004093 - Page 3 of 7

behalf of creditors whose claims arise in connection with business done in the state, and to the

payment of any fines and penalties incurred by the licensee through violations of this chapter.

Claims under civil process shall be enforced against the general treasurer as garnishee or trustee

by action in the usual form. All claims upon each deposit shall be satisfied after judgment in the

order in which notice of the claim is received by the general treasurer, until all those claims are

satisfied, or the deposit exhausted; but no notice filed after the expiration of the sixty (60) days

limit referred to in § 5-15-8 is valid. No deposits shall be paid over by the general treasurer to

licensees so long as there are any outstanding claims or notices of claims against them

respectively, unless he or she finds that there is unreasonable delay in enforcing those claims.

     5-15-10. Penalty for vending without license. -- Every itinerant vendor who sells or

exposes for sale, at public auction or private sale, any goods, wares, and merchandise without

required state and local licenses, issued as provided in this chapter, is guilty of a misdemeanor

and shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than one

thousand dollars ($1,000), and by imprisonment of not less than thirty (30) nor more than ninety

(90) days.

     5-15-11. Advertising unlicensed sale. -- All persons, both principals and agents, who, by

circular, handbill, newspaper, or in any other manner, advertise any sale referred to in § 5-15-10

before proper licenses are issued to the vendor shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon

conviction shall be fined not more than fifty dollars ($50.00) or be imprisoned not more than

sixty (60) days.

     5-15-12. Disclosures as to special sales. -- No itinerant vendor may advertise, represent,

or represent any sale as an insurance, bankrupt, insolvent, assignee, trustee, estate, executor,

administrator, receiver, wholesale or manufacturer's or closing-out sale, or as a sale of any goods

damaged by smoke, fire, water, or otherwise, or in any similar form, unless he or she, before so

doing, states under oath to the general treasurer, either in the original application for a state

license, or in a supplementary application subsequently filed and copied on the license, all the

facts relating to the reasons and character of that special sale advertised or represented, including:

      (1) A statement of the names of the persons from whom the goods, wares, and

merchandise were obtained;

      (2) The date of delivery to the person applying for the license;

      (3) The place from which those goods, wares, and merchandise were last taken; and

      (4) All details necessary to exactly locate and fully identify all goods, wares and

merchandise to be sold.

     5-15-13. Enforcement -- Failure to produce license as evidence -- Seizure. -- (a) It is

LC004093 - Page 4 of 7

the duty of the officers in each town and city in this state to see that the provisions of this chapter

are complied with and to prosecute for violations of those provisions. All of those officers shall

have power to demand the production of the proper state and local licenses from any itinerant

vendor advertising or actually engaged in business, and any failure to produce those licenses shall

be prima facie evidence against the vendor that he or she has none.

      (b) Property held out for sale by any itinerant vendor in this state without a permit to

make sales at retail issued by the division of taxation is subject to seizure, without a warrant, by

the tax administrator, his or her agents or employees, or by any deputy sheriff, or police officer of

the state when directed by the tax administrator to do so. Any property seized may be offered by

the tax administrator for sale at public auction to the highest bidder after advertisement to

discharge any tax liability owed to the state; provided, that any property seized in that manner is

not released until the tax administrator is satisfied that all taxes owed to the state are paid and the

retailer is in compliance with the sales/use tax law.

     5-15-14. Jurisdiction of prosecutions. -- Prosecutions under this chapter may be heard

and determined by any court having criminal jurisdiction over other offenses punishable by law to

the same extent as previously provided.

     5-15-15. Exempt sales. -- The provisions of this chapter do not apply to sales made to:

      (1) Dealers by commercial travelers or selling agents in the usual course of business;

      (2) Bona fide sales of goods, wares, and merchandise by sample for future delivery;

      (3) Hawkers on the streets;

      (4) Peddlers from vehicles;

      (5) Sheriffs, constables, or public officers of the state selling goods, wares, and

merchandise according to law;

      (6) Bona fide assignees, for the benefit of creditors residing within this state;

      (7) Receivers appointed in this state, selling goods, wares, and merchandise in this state;

      (8) The owner or owners or the occupants of any land, building, or structure upon which

a tax is annually assessed by the city or town in which it is located, selling goods, wares, and

merchandise during the course of any fair, exposition or similar public event; or

      (9) Sales made within the confines of an enclosed shopping mall.

     5-15-16. Towns to which chapter inapplicable. -- The provisions of this chapter do not

apply to the towns or cities of Narragansett, New Shoreham, South Kingstown, Westerly or

Newport. The town or city councils of those towns or cities shall be authorized and empowered to

make ordinances licensing itinerant vendors, and those town or city councils may prescribe

penalties for the violation of those ordinances; provided, that the ordinance does not include the

LC004093 - Page 5 of 7

licensing of hotels and inns as itinerant vendors; and provided, that the cities and towns

mentioned in this section do not issue a license to any vendor without the vendor providing proof

that the itinerant vendor has been issued a permit to make sales at retail by the division of

taxation.

     5-15-17. Prohibited sales. -- (a) No itinerant vendor, except an authorized

manufacturer's representative, shall offer for sale any of the following items:

      (1) Food manufactured and packaged for sale for consumption by a child under the age

of two (2) years; or

      (2) Drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics as defined in § 21-31-2.

      (b) Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be punished by a fine of

up to one hundred dollars ($100) for each item offered for sale or sold.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

========

LC004093

========

LC004093 - Page 6 of 7

EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- ITINERANT VENDORS

***

     This act would repeal the chapter of the general laws regulating itinerant vendors and

their various licensing requirements, responsibilities, and duties.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

========

LC004093

========

LC004093 - Page 7 of 7