[HISTORY: Adopted by the Rockland County Legislature 4-24-1984 by L.L. No. 3-1984. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Retail sales — See Ch. 331.
Sales tax — See Ch. 355, Art. V.
It is hereby declared and found that, because of recent experiences by the public regarding the failure of certain transient merchants to conduct their businesses in an orderly and peaceable manner and to abide by fair and ethical business practices, it is necessary to enact a local law which will require transient merchants in Rockland County to obtain a license and to subject themselves to regulation.
Whenever in this chapter the following terms are used, they shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section:
DIRECTOR
The Director of the Department of Weights and Measures of the County of Rockland.
PERSON
An individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation or other legal entity.
TEMPORARY
Any such business transacted or conducted in the County of Rockland for which definite arrangements have not been made for the hire, rental or lease of premises for at least one year in or upon which such business is to be operated or conducted.
TRANSIENT
Any such business as may be operated or conducted by persons, or by their agents or employees, who reside outside of Rockland County or who have fixed places of business in places other than this County or who have their headquarters in places other than this County or who move stocks of goods, merchandise or samples thereof into this County with the purpose or intention of removing them or the unsold portion thereof away from the County before the expiration of one year.
TRANSIENT MERCHANT
Includes any person, as well as his agents and employees, who engages in the County in the temporary or transient business of purchasing, selling or offering for sale any goods or merchandise or price lists for the purpose of taking orders for the sale thereof and who, for the purpose of carrying on such business or conducting such exhibits thereof, hires, rents, leases or occupies any room or space in any building, structure or other enclosure, vacant lot or any other property whatever in the County, in, through or from which any goods or merchandise may be purchased, sold, offered for sale, exhibited for sale or exhibited for the purpose of taking orders for the sale thereof.
TRANSIENT RETAIL BUSINESS
A business conducted in a store, hotel, house, building or structure for the purchase or sale, at retail, of goods, wares or merchandise, and which is intended to be conducted for a temporary period of time and not permanently.
This chapter shall not apply to ordinary commercial travelers who sell or exhibit for sale goods or merchandise to parties engaged in the business of buying and selling and dealing in goods or merchandise in Rockland County, nor shall it apply to mobile food unit operators licensed pursuant to Section 4 of Article 6 of the Rockland County Sanitary Code.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The Rockland County Sanitary Code is on file in the office of the County Clerk.
Except as provided in § 369-3, no person, firm, association or corporation shall, within the County of Rockland, establish, engage in or carry on, directly or indirectly, the business of transient merchant without first having obtained and having in full force and effect a license as provided herein.
A. 
The fees for licenses required by this chapter shall be as follows:
[Amended 9-4-1990 by L.L. No. 7-1990]
(1) 
One year: $700.
(2) 
Six months: $500.
(3) 
One month: $300.
B. 
No fee for the required license shall be charged if the transient merchant activity is conducted by or is solely for the benefit of a not-for-profit New York corporation which has a permanent place of operation in the County and is tax-exempt under the Internal Revenue Code as a charitable, educational, religious or cultural organization.
Every person desiring to obtain a license shall file with the Director of Weights and Measures, hereinafter referred to as the "Director," an application, supplied by the Director, containing the following information:
A. 
The name and a description of the applicant. Individuals operating under a trade name shall present a certified copy of the trade name certificate filed in the Rockland County Clerk's office. A partnership conducting business, whether or not under a trade name, shall submit a certified copy of the partnership certificate filed in the Rockland County Clerk's office when the partnership was formed. A corporation shall furnish a photostatic copy of its certificate of incorporation and, if a foreign corporation, its certificate of authority to do business in New York State and, if operating under a trade name, a certificate of doing business filed with the Secretary of State of the State of New York.
B. 
The address of the applicant.
C. 
That the applicant is of legal age.
D. 
A statement as to whether or not the applicant has within the past 10 years been convicted of any crime or violation of any municipal ordinance, the nature of the offense and the punishment or penalty assessed therefor and such other facts or evidence as is deemed necessary to establish that the applicant is a person fit and capable of properly conducting the activity or business for which the license is sought.
E. 
A description of the type of transient merchant business the applicant intends to conduct.
F. 
The name and address of the owner or owners of the business premises and the nature of the right of occupancy of the applicant to the use of the premises.
G. 
A corporate applicant shall furnish the name, address and title of the officer of the corporation or the designated agent of service upon whom process or other legal notice may be served.
A. 
Upon receipt and approval of the license application and the payment of the license fee, the Director shall prepare and deliver to the applicant his license.
B. 
The Director shall keep a record of all licenses issued, as well as any matters herein described.
C. 
Conditions for issuance and renewal.
(1) 
No license shall be issued or renewed under this chapter to any applicant:
(a) 
Who has been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor within the last 10 years, except for any misdemeanor under the Vehicle and Traffic Law of this state.
(b) 
Who has been found, within the last 10 years, by any court of the state to have practiced a civil fraud, deceit or misrepresentation in the business of selling goods or merchandise, unless the Director shall decide in any particular case, upon the facts there presented, that it is proper to issue the license applied for.
(c) 
Whose license under this chapter has been revoked as provided in § 369-11 of this chapter.
(d) 
Who has made false statements of a material nature in the application, or who has been found by the Director to have engaged in fraudulent or deceptive practices in securing said license.
(2) 
Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the Director, in his discretion, may grant a license as provided herein to any applicant who has been convicted of a crime within the last 10 years, upon the finding by the Director that said applicant is of good moral character and has demonstrated reliability and trustworthiness in finance and commercial transactions and would not compromise or jeopardize the public in the carrying on of a transient merchant business.
A. 
All annual licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter shall expire one year from the date of its issue. Other than annual licenses shall expire on the date specified in the license. Each licensed transient merchant shall be responsible for displaying his license in a conspicuous place at his place of business, and a separate license shall be secured for each place of business.
B. 
Every agent or duly authorized representative offering or selling merchandise at retail shall conspicuously post the true name of the corporation, business and/or individual; the legal mailing address, including street, Town, state and zip code; and the New York State sales tax identification certificate.
No license under the provisions of this chapter shall be transferred or assigned to any person or used by any person other than the licensee to whom it was issued, his agents, employees or duly authorized representatives, said agents, employees or duly authorized representatives having been approved by the Director.
Any police officer or officer of the Department of Weights and Measures shall have the power and authority to enter any store or building in which such transient retail business may be carried on at any time during business hours for the purpose of ascertaining the actual conduct of business and goods stated in the application.
A. 
Licenses issued under the provisions of this chapter may be revoked by the Director for cause for any of the following reasons:
(1) 
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statements contained in the application for license.
(2) 
Fraud, misrepresentation or false statements made in the course of carrying on his business as transient merchant.
(3) 
Any violation of this chapter.
(4) 
Conviction of any crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude.
(5) 
Conducting the business of transient merchant in an unlawful manner or in such a manner as to constitute a breach of the peace or to constitute a menace to the health, safety or general welfare of the public.
(6) 
Misrepresenting the license as an endorsement of the commodities, foods, goods, wares, merchandise or any article of sale by the County of Rockland.
B. 
Whenever any license shall be revoked, no refund of unearned portion of the license fee shall be made.
C. 
Any person aggrieved by the Director in revoking a license or in refusing to grant a license or the making of any other decision or determination may take an appeal therefrom to the Legislature of Rockland County within 30 days after said decision or determination has been made. Such appeal shall be taken by filing with the Clerk to the Legislature a notice of appeal specifying the grounds therefor and the person from whom the appeal is being taken. The Clerk to the Legislature shall forthwith forward to the Legislature the notice of appeal and shall direct the person whose decision or determination is being appealed from to forthwith transmit to the Legislature all papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken. The Chairman of the Legislature shall designate three Legislators to hear appeals. A time shall be fixed for the hearing of the appeals, and the notice of the hearing shall be mailed to the appellant and the person whose decision or determination is being appealed at least five days before the hearing date. Upon the hearing, any party may appear in person or by his attorney. The three Legislators designated to hear appeals may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the decision, determination or action appealed from and shall make such decision or determination as, in its sole opinion, ought to be made in the premises and to the end shall have the powers of the person from which the appeal is taken. Any person or persons aggrieved by any determination made upon an appeal may apply to the Supreme Court of the State of New York for a review by a proceeding under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules, provided that the proceeding is commenced within 30 days after the filing of the decision in the office of the Clerk to the Legislature.
When taxable commodities, whether edible or inedible, are sold at retail, the seller shall, upon completion of each sale, deliver to the purchaser a register tape or sales slip, clearly and legibly printed, accurately showing the current or currently advertised selling price of the commodity purchased, the appropriate sales tax and the total.
A. 
Any person who shall, directly or indirectly, engage in or work at the business of transient merchant in the County of Rockland without a license as required by this chapter or who, having had his license revoked, shall continue to engage in or work at the business of transient merchant shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
B. 
A failure to comply with the other sections of this chapter shall be punishable by a fine not less than $100 nor more than $250 or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. The continuation of an offense shall constitute a separate and distinct violation hereunder for each day the offense is continued.
C. 
The Director, as defined herein, and his employees shall have the power to issue an appearance ticket as the same is defined in Article 150 of the Criminal Procedure Law.