Revision: May 13, 2010, midnight
HB 1267-LOCAL – AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
03Mar2010… 0628h
05/12/10 1882s
2010 SESSION
08/04
HOUSE BILL 1267-LOCAL
AN ACT relative to applications for hawkers and peddlers licenses.
SPONSORS: Rep. Gandia, Hills 27
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
This bill requires applicants for hawkers and peddlers licenses to submit to a state and federal criminal background check.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03Mar2010… 0628h
05/12/10 1882s
10-2480
08/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to applications for hawkers and peddlers licenses.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Hawkers and Peddlers Licenses. Amend RSA 320:8, I to read as follows:
I. Upon compliance with this section and upon payment of $50 for a state license, the secretary of state may grant special state licenses. Applications for such licenses shall be made upon blanks prepared by the secretary of state requiring such information regarding the applicant’s character and qualifications as the secretary shall deem pertinent. All applications shall inform the person so applying: “Any person so licensed by the secretary of state may do business as a hawker or peddler in any municipality in this state, provided the licensee complies with all local ordinances, by-laws, and regulations which may include a state and federal criminal background check.”
2 Hawkers, Peddlers and Vendors. RSA 31:102-a is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
31:102-a Hawkers, Peddlers and Vendors.
I. All hawkers, peddlers, and vendors licensed by the secretary of state pursuant to RSA 320:8 shall submit to the municipality where the hawker, peddler, or vendor seeks to transact business, a New Hampshire department of safety, division of state police, notarized criminal record release authorization form which authorizes the release of his or her criminal history record, if any, to the municipality. The applicant shall also include the location of all municipalities in which the hawker, peddler, or vendor seeks to transact business. Such municipalities shall have access to the results of the criminal history record check and the New Hampshire division of state police shall release copies of the criminal history records to such municipalities. The hawker, peddler, or vendor shall be responsible for any additional fees for any administrative costs incurred by the New Hampshire division of state police under this section.
(a) The municipality may request that an applicant submit with the release form a complete set of fingerprints taken by a qualified law enforcement agency or an authorized employee of the department of safety. In the event that the first set of fingerprints is invalid due to insufficient pattern, a second set of fingerprints shall be taken when necessary in order to complete the criminal history records check. If, after 2 attempts, a set of fingerprints is invalid due to insufficient pattern, the municipality may, in lieu of the criminal history records check, accept police clearances from every city, town, or county where the person has lived during the past 10 years. If the municipality has reason to suspect an applicant of serious wrongdoing, the municipality may submit the criminal history records release form and fingerprint form to the division of state police which shall conduct a criminal history records check through its records and through the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Upon completion of the records check, the division of state police shall release copies of the criminal history records to the local law enforcement agency of the municipality which shall maintain the confidentiality of all criminal history records information received pursuant to this section. The municipality may charge a fee to recover the costs of such investigation.
(b) The local law enforcement agency of a municipality in possession of the criminal convictions records of an applicant shall maintain the confidentiality of all criminal history records information received pursuant to this section.
II. The governing board of a municipality may adopt, by ordinance or regulation, provisions for the licensure and regulation of itinerant vendors, hawkers, peddlers, traders, farmers, merchants, or other persons who sell, offer to sell, or take orders for merchandise from temporary or transient sales locations within a town or who go from town to town or place to place within a town for such purposes. Any person who violates any provision of such ordinance or regulation shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor, and each continuing day of violation after notice shall constitute a separate offense. A municipality shall be specifically prohibited, however, from licensing or regulating a candidate for public office in the process of obtaining signatures on nomination papers, who seeks to have the candidate’s name placed on the ballot for the state general election by submitting nomination papers under RSA 655:40. Provisions adopted under this section shall be in addition to any requirements imposed by the state under either RSA 320 or RSA 321 and may include, but shall not be limited to:
(a) Classification of licensees consistent with constitutional requirements of equal protection;
(b) Imposition of reasonable requirements, including fees, for the issuance of a license;
(c) Restrictions as to the areas of the municipality open to licensees and the hours and days of their operation; and
(d) Other reasonable conditions and terms deemed necessary for public convenience and safety as the governing board of the municipality, in conjunction with the local law enforcement agency determines including the denial of such license or application based on the results of the criminal background check as described in this section.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.