08-07-2017 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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RELEVANT LINKS: League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: 1/4/2016 Regulating Peddlers, Solicitors and Transient Merchants Page 9 D.Licensing—authority See Handbook, Chapter 11. See Part V-section C Applications – background checks. A license is a regulatory device used to ensure compliance with regulations governing a specific occupation, profession, commercial trade, or other activity. The authority to regulate includes the power to establish standards and minimum requirements for meeting those standards. Licensing is typically a formal process with an application, fee, and council or city administration determining whether the applicant meets all licensing requirements. Background checks are common. Licensing is an exercise of police power (protecting and promoting the public welfare). Cities have adequate authority for licensing as long as it is: •Constitutional. •Reasonable. •Not specifically pre-empted by state or federal regulations. Minn. Stat. § 329.10. Minn. Stat. § 329.17. It is unlawful for transient merchants to operate without first obtaining a county-issued license. Failure to obtain a county license, or violation of any licensing requirement, is a gross misdemeanor offense. Minn. Stat. § 412.221, subd. 19. Minn. Stat. § 329.11. Minn. Stat. § 329.15. Minn. Stat. § 437.02. Minnesota cities have authority from statutes and from court decisions to regulate peddlers, solicitors, and transient merchants. Statutory cities and counties have the express statutory authority to license and regulate transient merchants, including peddlers and solicitors. Home rule charter cities also have the express authority to regulate these activities (charters themselves often provide specific authority as well). When a county license is required, cities may regulate above and beyond the requirements for county licensure. E.Licensing—exceptions There are several particular trades or activities that are exempt from local licensing based upon the U.S. Constitution, the Minnesota Constitution, state statute, or judicial decisions. 1.Farm products Minn. Const. art. XIII, § 7. The Minnesota Constitution prohibits the licensing of farmers selling the products cultivated from their own farms. This constitutional exemption would apply to individuals who go door-to-door in a manner typically associated with the normal operations of a peddler. This farm-product exemption also applies to transient merchant operations and prohibits local licensing requirements for those farmers who are operating roadside fruit or vegetable stands.