§ 5-11-18 - Local licensing – Fees – Persons exempt.
SECTION 5-11-18
§ 5-11-18 Local licensing – Fees– Persons exempt. – (a) The board or bureau of police commissioners in any city or town where aboard or bureau of police commissioners is established, and if no board orbureau of police commissioners is established then the town or city council, isauthorized to provide, by ordinance in the case of any city or town council:
(i) For the issuing and revocation for just and good cause oflicenses to all hawkers and peddlers;
(ii) In the same manner to fix a penalty, not exceeding afine of two hundred dollars ($200) for any one offense or imprisonment notexceeding ten (10) days, for selling or offering for sale any goods, wares, ormerchandise, including food or beverages, as hawkers and peddlers within thattown or city without a license; and
(iii) For charging and collecting fees for those licenses;provided, that the fee charged by any board or bureau of police commissionersor city or town council, for any one license for any one year, for selling oroffering for sale, as a hawker and peddler, shall not exceed the sum of fiftydollars ($50.00).
(2) No license is required of any person selling religiousbooks and publications on behalf of bible, tract, or other religious or moralsocieties for the purpose of promoting religious or moral improvement, andwhich are sold for that purpose and not for pecuniary profit; nor of any personpeddling or selling any articles of wearing apparel manufactured with his orher own hands.
(b) The following provisions as to the issuance andrevocation of licenses apply to the city and town councils specified:
(1) Woonsocket. The city council of the city ofWoonsocket is authorized to provide, by ordinance, for the issuing andrevocation at pleasure of licenses to hawkers and peddlers, pursuant to theprovisions of this section, on a weekly basis and to establish a fee not toexceed five hundred dollars ($500) per year;
(2) Middletown, East Greenwich and Glocester. Towncouncils of the towns of Middletown, East Greenwich, and Glocester areauthorized to provide, by ordinance, for the discretionary issuance andrevocation of licenses to hawkers and peddlers, pursuant to the provisions ofthis section on a daily or weekly basis, to establish reasonable fees for theissuance and revocation, and to promulgate, by ordinance, reasonable rules andregulations as to the placement, duration, location, number, and operation ofthose licenses within the town;
(3) Cumberland and Bristol. The town councils of thetowns of Cumberland and Bristol are authorized to provide, by ordinance, forthe discretionary issuance and revocation of licenses to hawkers and peddlerson all state highways within the town on July 4 in any year and on a daily orweekly basis, and to establish reasonable fees for the issuance and revocation,and to promulgate, by ordinance, reasonable rules and regulations as toplacement, duration, location, number, and operation of those licenses withinthe town;
(4) Smithfield. The town council of the town ofSmithfield is authorized to provide, by ordinance, for the discretionaryissuance and revocation of licenses on a daily, weekly, monthly or annualbasis, to establish reasonable fees for the issuance and revocation not toexceed five hundred dollars ($500) per year and to promulgate, by ordinance,reasonable rules and regulations as to the placement, duration, location,number, and operation of these licenses within the town of Smithfield;
(5) Providence. The city council of the city ofProvidence is authorized to provide, by ordinance, for the issuance andrevocation of licenses to hawkers and peddlers and to provide for thepromulgation of reasonable rules and regulations as to the placement, duration,location, number and operation of those licenses within the city of Providence,and to establish reasonable fees for the issuance and revocation that mayexceed the sum prescribed in this section;
(6) Pawtucket. The city council of the city ofPawtucket is authorized to provide, by ordinance, for the discretionaryissuance and revocation of licenses to hawkers and peddlers on a daily, weekly,monthly, or annual basis and to promulgate, by ordinance, reasonable rules andregulations as to the placement, duration, location, number, and operation ofthose licenses within the city of Pawtucket and to establish reasonable feesfor the issuance and revocation that may exceed the sum prescribed in thissection;
(7) Tiverton. The town council of the town of Tivertonis authorized to provide, by ordinance, for the discretionary issuance andrevocation of licenses to hawkers and peddlers on a daily, weekly, monthly orannual basis, to establish reasonable fees for the issuance and revocation notto exceed five hundred dollars ($500) per year, and to promulgate, byordinance, reasonable rules and regulations as to the placement, duration,location, number and operation of these licenses within the town of Tiverton;
(8) Warwick. The city council of the city of Warwickis authorized to provide, by ordinance, for the discretionary issuance andrevocation of licenses to hawkers and peddlers on a daily, weekly, monthly, orannual basis and to promulgate, by ordinance, reasonable rules and regulationsas to the placement, duration, location, number, and operation of thoselicenses within the city of Warwick and to establish reasonable fees for theissuance and revocation that may exceed the sum prescribed in this section;
(9) West Warwick. The town council of the town of WestWarwick is authorized to prescribe through ordinance reasonable rules andregulations as to the placement, duration, location, number and operation ofthose licenses within the town of West Warwick and to establish a fee not toexceed five hundred dollars ($500) per issuance. The town council is alsoauthorized to establish by ordinance a penalty for violation of the ordinancenot to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) enforced through the West Warwickmunicipal court; and
(10) Burrillville. The town council of the town ofBurrillville is authorized to provide, by ordinance, for the discretionaryissuance and revocation of licenses to hawkers and peddlers on a daily, weekly,monthly or annual basis, and to promulgate, by ordinance, reasonable rules andregulations as to the placement, duration, location, number and operation ofthose licenses within the town of Burrillville, and to establish reasonablefees for the issuance and revocation that may exceed the sum prescribed in thissection. The town council is also authorized to establish, by ordinance, apenalty for violation of the ordinance not to exceed one thousand dollars($1,000) enforced through the Burrillville municipal court.
(c) No license shall be issued under this section without thehawker or peddler providing proof that he or she has been issued a permit tomake sales at retail by the division of taxation. Each applicant shall providetwo (2) forms of identification containing the applicant's address prior to theissuance of that peddling license. If the applicant is a resident of a homelessshelter or other transitional housing program, a letter certifying thisresidency from the homeless shelter or transitional housing program isacceptable in lieu of the two (2) forms of identification containing theapplicant's address.