§ 5-11-18. Local licensing — Fees — Persons exempt.
(a)(1) The board or bureau of police commissioners in any city or town where a board or bureau
of police commissioners is established, and if no board or bureau of police commissioners
is established then the town or city council, is authorized to provide, by ordinance
in the case of any city or town council:
(i) For the issuing and revocation for just and good cause of licenses to all hawkers
and peddlers;
(ii) In the same manner to fix a penalty, not exceeding a fine of two hundred dollars ($200)
for any one offense or imprisonment not exceeding ten (10) days, for selling or offering
for sale any goods, wares, or merchandise, including food or beverages, as hawkers
and peddlers within that town 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 commissioners or city or town council, for any one
license for any one year, for selling or offering for sale, as a hawker and peddler,
shall not exceed the sum of fifty dollars ($50.00).
(2) No license is required of any person selling religious books and publications on behalf
of Bible, tract, or other religious or moral societies for the purpose of promoting
religious or moral improvement, and which are sold for that purpose and not for pecuniary
profit; nor of any person peddling or selling any articles of wearing apparel manufactured
with his or her own hands.
(b) The following provisions as to the issuance and revocation of licenses apply to the
city and town councils specified:
(1) Woonsocket. The city council of the city of Woonsocket is authorized to provide, by ordinance,
for the issuing and revocation at pleasure of licenses to hawkers and peddlers, pursuant
to the provisions of this section, on a weekly basis and to establish a fee not to
exceed five hundred dollars ($500) per year;
(2) Middletown, East Greenwich, and Glocester. Town councils of the towns of Middletown, East Greenwich, and Glocester are authorized
to provide, by ordinance, for the discretionary issuance and revocation of licenses
to hawkers and peddlers, pursuant to the provisions of this section on a daily or
weekly basis, to establish reasonable fees for the issuance and revocation, and to
promulgate, by ordinance, reasonable rules and regulations as to the placement, duration,
location, number, and operation of those licenses within the town;
(3) Cumberland and Bristol. The town councils of the towns of Cumberland and Bristol are authorized to provide,
by ordinance, for the discretionary issuance and revocation of licenses to hawkers
and peddlers on all state highways within the town on July 4 in any year and on a
daily or weekly basis, and to establish reasonable fees for the issuance and revocation,
and to promulgate, by ordinance, reasonable rules and regulations as to placement,
duration, location, number, and operation of those licenses within the town;
(4) Smithfield. The town council of the town of Smithfield is authorized to provide, by ordinance,
for the discretionary issuance and revocation of licenses on a daily, weekly, monthly,
or annual basis, to establish reasonable fees for the issuance and revocation not
to exceed 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 of Providence is authorized to provide, by ordinance,
for the issuance and revocation of licenses to hawkers and peddlers and to provide
for the promulgation 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 may exceed the sum
prescribed in this section;
(6) Pawtucket. The city council of the city of Pawtucket is authorized to provide, by ordinance,
for the discretionary issuance and revocation of licenses to hawkers and peddlers
on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis and to promulgate, by ordinance, reasonable
rules and regulations as to the placement, duration, location, number, and operation
of those licenses within the city of Pawtucket and to establish reasonable fees for
the issuance and revocation that may exceed the sum prescribed in this section;
(7) Tiverton. The town council of the town of Tiverton is authorized to provide, by ordinance, for
the discretionary issuance and revocation of licenses to hawkers and peddlers on a
daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis, to establish reasonable fees for the issuance
and revocation not to exceed 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 Tiverton;
(8) Warwick. The city council of the city of Warwick is authorized to provide, by ordinance, for
the discretionary issuance and revocation of licenses to hawkers and peddlers on a
daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis and to promulgate, by ordinance, reasonable
rules and regulations as to the placement, duration, location, number, and operation
of those licenses within the city of Warwick and to establish reasonable fees for
the issuance and revocation that may exceed the sum prescribed in this section;
(9) West Warwick. The town council of the town of West Warwick is authorized to prescribe through ordinance
reasonable rules and regulations as to the placement, duration, location, number,
and operation of those licenses within the town of West Warwick and to establish a
fee not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500) per issuance. The town council is also
authorized to establish by ordinance a penalty for violation of the ordinance not
to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) enforced through the West Warwick municipal
court;
(10) Burrillville. The town council of the town of Burrillville is authorized to provide, by ordinance,
for the discretionary issuance and revocation of licenses to hawkers and peddlers
on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis, and to promulgate, by ordinance, reasonable
rules and regulations as to the placement, duration, location, number, and operation
of those licenses within the town of Burrillville, and to establish reasonable fees
for the issuance and revocation that may exceed the sum prescribed in this section.
The town council is also authorized to establish, by ordinance, a penalty for violation
of the ordinance not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) enforced through the
Burrillville municipal court; and
(11) Richmond. The town council of the town of Richmond is authorized to provide by ordinance for
the licensing of any person over the age of eighteen (18) who sells, or attempts to
sell, merchandise at the home or business of a customer having not been invited to
the home or business by the occupant for purposes of the sale, in the same manner
that hawkers and peddlers are licensed and the town is further authorized to provide
by ordinance for the licensing of these sellers as well as hawkers and peddlers on
a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis for a fee not to exceed five hundred dollars
($500) per year.
(c) No license shall be issued under this section without the hawker or peddler providing
proof that he or she has been issued a permit to make sales at retail by the division
of taxation. Each applicant shall provide two (2) forms of identification containing
the applicant's address prior to the issuance of that peddling license. If the applicant
is a resident of a homeless shelter or other transitional housing program, a letter
certifying this residency from the homeless shelter or transitional housing program
is acceptable in lieu of the two (2) forms of identification containing the applicant's
address.