HomeMy WebLinkAbout03087 ORD - 07/10/1951WRAnderson:el
6/13/51
AN ORDINANCE
A -4d'7
REGULATING THE SOLICITATION OF MONEY AND GIFTS
FCR RELIEF 'DR FOR -ANY CHARITABLE PURPOSES BY ANY
PERSON OR PERSONS, INSTITUTION -OR ORGANIZATION
WITHOUT FIRST OBTAINING A PERMIT FROM THE CITY
OF CORPUS CHRISTI] MAKING IT UNLAWFUL FOR ANY
PERSON, PERSONS, OR ORGANIZATION TO HOLD BENEFIT
DANCES, RUMGE SALES, OR SALES FOR CHARITY,
PRII.ANTHROSr OR PATRIOTIC PURPOSES WITHOUT FIRST
OBTAINING A PERMIT FROM THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI;
MAKING IT UNLi1WFUL FOR ANY PERSON OR PERSONS TO
TO SOLICIT GIFTS OR MONEY OR MERCHANDISE BY MIS-
REPRESENTATION; PROVIDING FOR A SWORN STATEMENT
TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE CITY SECRETARY BY EACH
APPLICANT;PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A
CITY SOLICITATIONS 00MMISSION;PROVIDING THAT
FERMITS,TO SOLICIT FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES MAY
BE GRANTED BY THE CITY SECRETARY ONLY ON APPROVAL
OF THE CITY SOLICITATIONS COMMISSION AND THAT SAID
PERMITS SHALL BE, GRANTED FOR A PERIOD NOT IN EXCESS
OF THIRTY (30) DAYS; PROVIDING THAT AT TILE CLOSE OF
SOLICITATION THE APPLICANT SHALL FILE AN AUDIT OF
THE SOLICITATION WITH THE CITY SECRETARY: PROVIDING
THAT IN TEE EVENT THE CITY SECRETARY HAS REASON TO
BELIEVE THAT THE SOLICITATION IS BEING CARRIED ON
IMPROPERLY A HEARING MAY BE CALLED BEFORE TEE CITY
SOLICITATIONS COMMISSION, PROVIDING THAT THE
DECISION OF THE CITY SOLICITATIONS COMMISSION BE '1
FINAL,EXCEPT FOR AFPEAL-TO THE CITY COUNCIL; AND
PROVIDING'PENALTIES"FOR THE VIOLATION OF THIS
ORDINANCE. _..
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CORPUS
CHRISTI, TEXAS:
Section 1. No person, firm, corporation, or association
of any type whatsoever shall be permitted to solicit or to accept alms
or gifts in money, checks, money orders, merchandise, trade or any
other thing or article representing monetary value, directly or
indirectly, for or on behalf of any person or persons or charitable,
patriotic, social, religious or philanthropic organization-in the
City of Corpus Christi; nor shall ary person, firm, corporation or
association of any kind whatsoever promote or participate in any
entertainment, benefit dance, fair, bazaar or any other type of
organized social entertainment in the name of charity, patriotism,
religion, or philanthropy; nor shall any person, firm, corporation or
association of any kind whatsoever sell or seek to sell by telephone
solicitations, hand bills, advertisements, house -to -house contacts, or
any other manner, articles or products of any nature whatsoever in the
JDO /
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name of and for the alleged benefit of handicapped, disabled or
underprivileged citizens of the City of Corpus Christi, but pro-
vided, however, that any such person, firm, corporation or associa-
tion may do or tarty on any of the activities herein, if a permit is
first secured under the terms and regulations herein stated. This
article shall not be conatrued so as to prohibit any organization
from soliciting funds from its own membership at any time or at any
place within the City of Corpus Christi, Texas.
Section 2. It shall be unlavful for any person, persons,
organization or association to hold a benefit dance, for the general
public, a public rummage sale, or to sell or offer for sale any pro-
perty which has been given for sale or charity, philanthropy, or pa-
triotic purposes, vithout first obtaining a permit as hereinafter pro-
vided.
Section 3. It shall be unlawful for any person or persons,
firm or association, to solicit or obtain alms or gifts in money or
merchandise directly or indirectly, by the misrepresentation of names,
occupation, financial condition, social condition or residence.
Section 4. Each applicant for a permit to solicit funds in
the City of Corpus Christi shall submit to the City Secretary a state-
ment sworn to and containing the following information:
1. Name and address of the organization sponsoring solicitation.
2. Name and address of the officers of its Governing Board.
3. The amount to be solicited.
4. The percentage of collection to be paid solicitors.
5. The charity to be benefited.
6. The name of soliciting organization and its representatives.
7. Nature of solicitation.
Section 5. A City Solicitations Commission is hereby established
and charged with responsibility for screening all applicants for permits
made to the City Secretary under this ordinance. This coffiiesion shall
consist of nine members appointed by the City Council, with the initial
appointments to be for staggered terms, three members appointed for a
term of one year, three members, for a term of two years, and three
members, for a term of three years. Each year thereafter three mem-
bers shall be appointed for a term of three years.
3.
The decision of the Commission shall be final in regard to the,
granting of a permit to solicit, except that appeal may be taken
to the City Council.
Section 6. The City Secretary shall keep such appli-
cation on file and a record of the action by the City Solicitations
Commission thereon in a well bound book, subject to inspeotion by any
person at any reasonable time.
Section 7. The City Secretary shall present to the
City Solicitations Commission those matters which in the City
Secretary's judgement shall properly receive the attention of the
City Solicitationa Commission, and upon decision by the City
Solicitations Commission, the City Secretary will then either grant
orieihse the solicitation permit.
Section 8. Said solicitation permits when granted by
the City Secretary shall be valid for the period specified and no
longer, and in no case shall they exceed a period of thirty days
thereafter; unless same shall be renewed in due course by the City
Secretary.
Section 9. All applicants receiving permits shall
supply their solicitors with proper credentials and the recipient of
such permit shall be responsible for the overt acts of his, or its
authorized representatives in connection with this solicitation.
Section 10. The solicitation permit herein prescribed
shall be nontransferable; and may be revoked at any time by the
City Secretary and shall never operate as a grant or privilege or
mature into a right.
Section 11. The person, persons, firm or association
receiving a permit to solicit funds in the City of Corpus Christi, at
the close of the solicitation shall file with the City Secretary an
audit made by a certified public accountant, or in lieu thereof, a
sworn official statement containing an accounting of the hinds received.
and the disbursement thereof. The list of subscribers and the amounts
paid shall be open to inspection by the City Secretary.
Bastion 12. In all oases where the City Secretary,
is of the opinion that the funds of, any institution or organization
operating under a permit from the City Secretary have been, or are
being diverted from the purpose for Wiich they are collected, or
have been secured by misrepresentation, such person, persons,
institutions or organizations, shall be subject to investigation by
said City Secretary, and if the City Secretary deems it warranted,
may require such person or organization to file an immediate account
of its receipts and expenditures with the City Solicitations Commission
and shall summon such witnesses to appear before the Commission as shall
be necessary to ascertain the truth or falsity as to the facts of such
representation, or of such divertinb of funds from their proper
purposes and the Commission upon hearing the witnesses and after
investigating all the facts shalic-nder his decision as to whether
or not the solicitation permit shell then and there be cancelled and
the City Secretary shall be so instructed.
Section 13. The decision of the City Solicitations
Commission shall be final except that a now hearing can be granted by
said Commission in its discretion upon request of the City Secretary,
or upon application of the interested parties seeking a permit, and
provided that appeal may be taken to the City Counoil within ten days
of the decision by notice given by said Council.
Section 14. No solicitation or contribution as provided .
herein shall be asked, demanded or received by any person, or the
representatives of any person, firm, institution, organization or
association, until the provisions herein are fully complied with and
until a permit therefor as herein provided, shall be issued by the
City Secretary authorizing such solicitation in the City of Corpus
Christi. Nothing in this ordinance shall be deemed to grant a right
to solicit or ,bag upon the streets or in public places of the City
of Corpus Christi, without first scouring from the City Secretary a
permit specifically for this purpose after due application for same
in the manner above prescribed has been made to the City Secretary and
such application has been granted. -- ,
5..
Section 15. That if any part of this ordinance shall
be found to be in conflict with any law of the State or to be for
any reason void or unenforceable such defeat shall extend only in
so far to avoid such conflict or other objection, and shall not in-
validate any other provision or any other and lawful application
of the same provision or any other and lawful application of the same
provision of this ordinance.
Section 16. This ordinance shall take effect from and
after its publication one time in the official publication of the
City of Corpus Christi, which publication shall be sufficient if
it contain the caption sand title hereof, and state in summary the
purpose of the ordinance and penalty for violation thereof.
Section 17. In case a corporation is the violator
of any provision of this ordinance, the president, vice - president,
secretary, treasurer, manager or any agent or employee of such
corporation shall be also severally liable for the penalties here-
in prescribed, provided further, that should a different punish-
ment be prescribed in any case by state law for any offense includ-
ed in this ordinance, and should the punishment prescribed by state
law be the only punishment which can lawfully be adjudged for any
such offense, then the punishment prescribed by stage law shall be
adjudged by the corporation court against such offender in lieu
of the penalty herein provided in Section 18.
The imposition of one fine for any violation of this
ordinance shall not excuse the violation or permit it to continue;
and all such persons, firma, partnerships or corporations shall be
required to correct or remedy such violations or defects within a
reasonable time; and when not otherwise specified, each day that
prohibited conditions are maintained shall constitute a separate
offense. The application cc the above penalty shall not be held
to prevent the enforced removal of prohibited oonditions.
6.
Section 16. Any person violating any of the provisions of
this ordinance shall be dee—d guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction
shall be subject to a penalty of not to exceed $200.00 for each offense.
Section 19. In accordance with the City Charter of the City
of Corpus Christi, Texas, the foregoing ordinance was read the first time
and passed to the second reading on the.&—doy by the
following vote: ^
LESLIE WASSERMAN CIA—,
_,
JACK DEFORREST
BARNEY COTT
SYDNEY HERNDON �AD
GEORGE LOPlMAi]
The foregoing ordinance was read the second time end passed
to the third reading on the,Z(. day o 1951, by the following vote.
LESLIE WASSERMAN Lw,�
JACK DEFORREST
HARVEY COTT
SYDNEY HERNDON _
GEORGE LOMIAN
The foregoing 'ordinance was read time and passed
finally and passed and approved on the 16 of ,L 1951, by the
following vote:
LESLIE WASSERMAN
JACK DEFORREST a^ l
BARNEY COTT
SYDNEY HERNDON
GEORGE LOYMliN
APPROVED, This the�day of , 1951-
REM
ATTEST: THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI
City Secretary,
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM.
Ulty orney
0077