CHAPTER 27 - OCCUPATIONAL LICENSES
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 6 OF THE REVISED CODE OF DELAWARE, 1915, IN REFERENCE TO OCCUPATIONAL LICENSES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met:
Section 1. That Section 180 to Section 188, inclusive, of Chapter 6 of the Revised Code of Delaware, 1915, be amended by striking out all of the said Sections and inserting in lieu thereof the following new sections:
Sec. 180. For the purposes of this Act occupations shall be of two classes, viz: Service Occupations and Business Occupations.
Sec. 181. The occupations that are listed "service occupations," embracing any individual, co-partnership, firm or corporation, or any other association of persons acting as a unit, hereinafter termed "person", and subject to the license fees in Section 182 set forth, are hereby specifically defined:
Architect embraces every person engaged in the business of designing, planning and technically supervising the construction of, any building, edifice or other structural unit.
Attorney-At-Law embraces every individual duly admitted to the Bar of any Court of the State of Delaware and engaged in the active practice of such profession.
Auctioneer embraces every person engaged in the business of crying sales of real or personal property on behalf of other persons for profit except as otherwise provided by the provisions of Chapter 6 of the Revised Code of Delaware, 1915, as amended.
Certified Public Accountant embraces every person authorized under the laws of this State to engage in the business of accountancy and actively engaged therein.
Chiropodist embraces every person engaged in the practice of caring for the feet of human beings.
Chiropractor embraces every person engaged in the practice of treating human ailments by means of muscular or bone manipulation.
Conveyancer embraces every person engaged in the business of conveying real property and drafting legal instruments for so doing except attorneys-at-law having a license to practice such profession in this State.
Dentist embraces every person qualified under the laws of the State of Delaware to practice dentistry and engaged in active practice of such profession.
Distributor embraces every person engaged in the business of distributing samples, hand-bills or posters for compensation or on commission.
Drayman embraces every person engaged in the business of transporting for profit tangible personal property of other persons by means of motor-propelled or horse-drawn vehicles.
Employment Agent embraces every person engaged in hiring or securing positions for other persons for profit.
Engineer embraces every person engaged in the practice of the profession of technical engineering, consultant or otherwise, who accepts retainments from the general public for profit including civil, electrical, mechanical, chemical or other branch of technical engineering.
Factor embraces every person engaged in the business of buying and selling, or receiving for sale, merchandise for other persons on a commission basis or for profit not coming within the provisions of Section 160 of Chapter 6 of the Revised Code of Delaware, 1915, as amended.
Incorporator embraces every person engaged in the business of procuring corporate charters, or acting as resident, registration or transfer agent of domestic corporations and not subject to payment of franchise taxes to the State of Delaware except attorneys-at-law having a license to practice such profession in this State.
Manicurist embraces every person engaged in the practice of caring for the hands.
Keeper of Stallion or Jack embraces every person engaged in the business of keeping and/or traveling stallions and/or jacks for breeding purposes.
Keeper of Public Baths embraces every person engaged in the business of maintaining or operating for the use of the general public for profit an establishment for baths of any kind or description.
Keeper of Livery Stable embraces every person engaged in the business of maintaining for the use of the general public for profit a place wherein horses and other animals of like nature are taken care of.
Mercantile Agency embraces every person engaged in the business of investigation of financial ratings and credits and/or the collection of commercial accounts for other persons except attorneysat-law having a license to practice such profession in this State.
Optometrist embraces every person qualified under the laws of the State of Delaware to practice optometry and engaged in active practice of such profession.
Osteopath embraces every person qualified under the laws of the State of Delaware to practice osteopathy and engaged in active practice of such profession.
Physician and/or Surgeon embraces every person qualified under the laws of the State of Delaware to practice medicine and surgery and engaged in active practice of such profession.
Real Estate Agent embraces every person engaged in the business of buying selling or renting real estate or collecting rents thereon for the account of other persons upon a commission or for profit.
Transportation Agent embraces every person engaged in the business of selling tickets, on behalf of other persons, for transportation by common carriers on a commission basis or for profit.
Textile Renovator embraces every person engaged in the business, other than in a private capacity, of pressing, cleaning, washing, scouring, bleaching, dyeing, or otherwise reconditioning any article of clothing, or of any woven or knitted fabric of every form and nature, whether the actual reconditioning is done within or without the State of Delaware.
Warehouseman embraces every person engaged in the business of public storage of tangible personal property, including all services in connection therewith.
Sec. 182. Any individual, 0-partnership, firm or corporation, or other association of persons desiring to engage in, prosecute, follow or carry on any service occupation named in the next preceding Section may apply to the Clerk of the Peace of any county in this State for a proper license authorizing or empowering him, her, it, or them to engage in, prosecute, follow, or carry on such service occupation which he, she, it, or they may desire to engage in, prosecute, follow, or carry on, and upon his, her, it or they paying to the said Clerk of the Peace, for the use of the State, a license fee of Ten Dollars (10.00), and also a fee of fifty cents to the said Clerk of the Peace, for the use of the county, it shall be the duty of such Clerk of the Peace to issue him, her, it or them a proper license for service occupations.
Sec. 183. If any individual, co-partnership, firm or corporation, or any association of persons acting as a unit shall engage in, prosecute, follow, or carry on any service occupation, as is herein set forth at Section 181 of this Act; within the limits of this State, without having first obtained a proper license therefor, he, she, or they, and the individuals composing such firm or association of persons, and each of them, and the President and Directors of such corporation, and each of them, for every such offense shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof by indictment, or on information filed, besides being liable to the payment of the license fees, shall be subject to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or both, in the discretion of the court.
Sec. 184. The occupations that are listed "Business Occupations," embracing any individual, co-partnership, firm or corporation, or any other association of persons acting as a unit, hereinafter termed "person", and subject to the license fees in Section 185 set forth, are hereby specifically defined.
(1) Advertising Agency embraces every person engaged in the business of displaying advertising matter by bill boards, posters or circulars, or shall undertake the writing or composition of advertisements for other persons on a commission, rental or flat basis.
(2) Amusement Conductor embraces every person engaged in the business of conducting or maintaining mechanical devices for the entertainment of the general public for which a charge is made for the use thereof.
(3) Amusement Park Operator embraces every person engaged in the business of exhibiting in an arena, park, or other open spaces any two or more amusements, as in this Section defined, including theatrical performances and moving pictures and eating houses but not in the conducting or exhibiting of a circus.
(4) Barber embraces every person engaged in the business of shaving the beard and cutting, trimming, washing, waving or otherwise dressing the hair of human beings.
(5) Bottler embraces every person engaged in the business of bottling from the bulk all beverages -commonly known as soft drinks, whether said beverages shall be prepared in whole or in part by said bottler.
(6) Broker embraces every person engaged in the business of buying and selling for the account of other persons for a commission, or for profit, stocks, bonds, currency, negotiable paper, securities, and any other intangible personal property.
(7) Circus Exhibitor embraces every person engaged in the business of exhibiting in a tent, arena, or other open spaces feats of horsemanship, acrobatic stunts, freaks, trained or wild animals, and other forms of entertainment commonly known as circus.
(8) Contractor embraces every person engaged in the business of the construction, alteration or repairing of buildings, roads, bridges, viaducts, sewers, water and gas mains, and every other type of structure coming within the definition of real property, including all sub-contractors.
(9) Dairyman embraces every person engaged in the business of buying and selling dairy products excepting such persons as sell their own products or are engaged in the manufacture of such products.
(10) Eating House Keeper embraces every person engaged in the business of operating a public place for the sale of food, prepared and/or consumed on the premises, and/or soft drinks, for the accommodation of casual visitors.
(11) Finance Acceptor embraces every person engaged in the business of lending money on automobiles, radios and other articles of tangible personal property, the title to which is taken as security by the lender and repayments of the loans are made by installments or otherwise.
(12) Hairdresser embraces every person engaged in the business of cutting, trimming, washing, waving, curling, and/or otherwise dressing the hair of human beings, or of massaging and otherwise treating the body of such to enhance their physical appearance.
(13) Laundry Operator embraces every person engaged in the business of operating a laundry where steam and/or electric power is used or employed on custom work, and/or of securing goods or fabrics to be laundered whether the actual work of laundering such goods or fabrics is done within or without the State of Delaware.
(14) Motor Vehicle Servicemen embraces every person engaged in the business of repairing, rebuilding, repainting, or otherwise reconditioning, or storing (exclusive of the rental of individual garages) of motor vehicles or their parts, and the selling of any of the accessories thereof.
(15) Operator of Pool Tables, Billiard Tables, Shuffle Boards or Bowling Alleys embraces every person engaged in the operation and/or management of pool tables, billiard tables, shuffle boards and/or bowling alleys for the use of the general public anywhere within the State of Delaware.
(16) Operator of Taxicabs embraces every person engaged in the operation of motor vehicles in transporting persons for hire in the accommodation of the general public.
(17) Pawnbroker embraces every person engaged in the business of lending money on pledge of tangible personal property, or purchasing the same on condition of returning it to the seller at a stipulated price, and of selling said property in default of the pawner.
(18) Photographer embraces every person engaged in the business of taking, making and/or developing photographs, or pictures by action of light, for profit or reward.
(19) Sea Food Dealer embraces every person engaged in the business of buying and selling fish, oysters or other sea food at an established place of business and not from cart, wagon, motor vehicle or other means of conveyance excepting persons who sell or offer for sale sea food caught by themselves.
(20) Showman embraces every person engaged in the business of conducting or operating a public theatre, house, or place for the exhibition of stage and/or floor shows, moving pictures, animal shows, or carnivals for private profit, and all other amusements of like character conducted for profit exclusive of boxing and wrestling matches.
(21) Undertaker embraces every person engaged in the business, and qualified under the law of the State of Delaware to be so engaged, of undertakers and in active conduct thereof.
(22) Junk Dealer embraces every person engaged in the business of buying and selling old iron, brass, lead, copper, or other metals, or combinations thereof, paper, old automobile tires, second-hand personal property of any kind or description whatever.
In the application of the provisions of the foregoing definitions, no auctioneer shall be authorized by virtue of the license granted to employ any other person to act as auctioneer in his behalf, except in his own store or warehouse, or in his presence, nor shall the term "auctioneer" apply or extend to judicial or executive officer making sales in pursuance of any execution, judgment, or decree of any court, nor to public sales made by executors or administrators.
Sec. 185. Any individual, co-partnership, firm or corporation, or other association of persons acting as a unit desiring to engage in, prosecute, follow, or carry on any business occupation, as in the preceding Section defined, within the limits of this State, may apply to the Clerk of the Peace of any county in the State for a proper license authorizing and empowering him, her, it or them to engage in, prosecute, follow, or carry on such business occupation which he, she, it, or they may desire to engage in, prosecute, follow, or carry on and upon his, her, it, or they paying to the said Clerk of the Peace, for the use of the State, the license fee, as hereinafter set forth for the various business occupations, and also a fee of fifty cents to the said Clerk of the Peace, for the use of the county, it shall be the duty of such Clerk of the Peace to issue him, her, it or them a proper license for a business occupation:
For each license as an advertising agency, the sum of Twenty-five Dollars; for each license as an amusement conductor, the sum of Fifty Dollars; for each license as an amusement park operator, the sum of Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars, for each license as a barber, the sum of Five Dollars for the first two barber chairs and One Dollar for each additional chair, the said license fee not to exceed Ten Dollars; for each license as a bottler, the sum of Twenty-five Dollars; for each license as a broker the sum of One Hundred Dollars; for each license as a circus exhibitor within the corporate limits of any city in this State, having a population of over fifty thousand people, the sum of Five Hundred Dollars; for each license as a circus exhibitor within one mile of the corporate limits of any city in this State having a population of over fifty thousand people, Three Hundred Dollars; for each license as a circus exhibi. for not within one mile of the corporate limits of any city in this State having a population of over fifty thousand people, the sum of One Hundred Dollars; for each license as a contractor, not classed as a manufacturer, the sum of Twenty-five Dollars; for each license as a dairyman, not classed as a manufacturer, the sum of Ten Dollars; for each license as an eating house keeper, the sum of Ten Dollars; for each license as a finance acceptor, the sum of Twenty-five Dollars; for each license as a hairdresser, the sum of Five Dollars for the first two chairs used in the process of hairdressing and treatment of the body, and One Dollar for each additional such chair, the said license not to exceed Ten Dollars; for each license as a junk dealer, the sum of Ten Dollars; for each license as a laundry operator, the sum of Twenty-five Dollars; for each license as a motor vehicle serviceman, the sum of Ten Dollars; for each license as an operator of pool tables, billiard tables, shuffle boards or bowling alleys, the sum of Fifteen Dollars for the first table, board, or alley, ten dollars for the second table, board or alley, and Five Dollars for each additional table, board or alley, provided that each such license shall be obtained from the Clerk of the Peace of the county in which it is desired to have, keep, conduct, or operate such table, board, or alley; for each license as an operator of taxicabs, the sum of Ten Dollars for the first motor vehicle and Two Dollars for each additional motor vehicle; for each license as a pawnbroker, the sum of Ten Dollars; for each license as a photographer, the sum of Twenty Dollars; for each license as a seafood dealer, the sum of Ten Dollars; for each license as a showman in the conduct or operation of a public theatre, house, or place for the exhibition of stage and/or floor shows and moving pictures within the corporate limits of any city in this State, having a population of over five thousand people, a fee of One Hundred Dollars, and in the conduct or operation of such theatre, house, or place for the exhibition of stage and/or floor shows and moving pictures within the corporate limits of any city, town, or village in this State, having a population of less than five thousand people, the sum of Twenty-five Dollars; and for each license as an undertaker, the sum of Ten Dollars; for each license as a showman not hereinbefore referred to, the sum of Fifty Dollars.
Section 186. If any individual, co-partnership, firm or corporation, or any association of persons acting as a unit shall engage in, prosecute, follow, or carry on a business occupation, as is herein set forth in Section 184 of this Act, within the limits of this State, without having first obtained a proper license therefor, he, she, or they, and the individuals composing such firm or company, and each of them, and the President and Directors of such corporation, and each of them, for every such offense, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof by indictment or on information filed, besides being liable to the payment of the license fees, shall be subject to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or a fine not exceeding Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or both, in the discretion of the court.
Section 187. Every license issued under this Act shall contain and set forth, in the case of service occupations, the name and place of abode of the individual, co-partnership, firm or corporation or other association of persons, the fact that such individual, co-partnership, firm or corporation, or other association of persons is engaged in a service occupation as defined in Section 181 of this Act, and the amount of the license fee paid to the State and County together with the date of the issuance of the license, said license shall expire annually upon the first day of June next succeeding the date of issue.
Every license issued under this Act shall contain and set forth, in the case of business occupations, the name and place of business of the individual, co-partnership, firm or corporation, or other association of persons, the fact that such individual, co-partnership, firm or corporation, or other association of persons is engaged in a business occupation as defined in Section 184 of this Act and naming therein the trade, business, pursuit, or occupation for which such license is granted, and the amount of the license fees paid to the State and County together with the date of the issuance of the license, said license shall expire annually upon the first day of June next succeeding the date of issue with the exception of the circus exhibitor, whose license shall continue in force for three months from the date of issuance thereof and no longer. A license granted for a business occupation shall not authorize the individual, copartnership, firm or corporation or other association of persons to engage in, prosecute, follow, or carry on any trade, business, pursuit, or occupation specified in such license in any other place than the place of business set forth in such license, provided, that if the tenant of such place of business be changed during the year, it shall be lawful for the new tenant to keep such place of business under said license until the expiration of the term for which it was granted. In every case where more than one of the service occupations set forth in Section 181 of this Act and/or the business occupations set forth in Section 184 of this Act shall be pursued or carried on by the same individual, co-partnership, firm or corporation, or other association of persons at the same time, a license must be taken out for each according to the rues prescribed in Section 182 and 185 of this Act. Every circus exhibitor who shall procure a license to conduct a circus shall be authorized and empowered during the term for which such license was granted, to exercise and carry on such business occupation in every county of this State, subject, however, to the provisions and restrictions contained in said license. Every other individual, co-partnership, firm or corporation, or other association of persons, who shall procure either a service occupation or business occupation license shall be authorized and empowered, during the term for which such license was granted, to exercise and carry on such service occupation or business occupation in any county of this State, subject, however, to the provisions and restrictions in this section set forth.
Section 188. The licenses granted under the provisions of this Act shall be signed by the Governor and Secretary of State or by the use of facsimile signatures of the Governor and the Secretary of State, with the official seal of the office of said Secretary affixed thereto; and it shall be for the sole use and benefit of the licensee to whom it is issued, and shall not be transferable; provided that in case of the death of any licensee, his, her, their, or its personal representative shall succeed to all rights thereunder until the date of expiration of the license issued.
It shall be the duty of the Clerk of the Peace of the respective counties of this State to cause public notice to be given in at least two newspapers in the County in which the said Clerk resides for one month preceding the first day of June in each and every year of the time when the license provided in Sections 182 and 185 shall be procured. The expense of giving such notice shall be paid from the State Treasury, from moneys not otherwise appropriated, upon warrants approved by the aforesaid Clerk of the Peace.
Section 2. That nothing in this Act shall be held to relieve any person or persons, firm, company, association of persons, or corporation, as described in Sections 180 to 188, inclusive, of Chapter 6 of the Revised Code of Delaware, 1915, or as described in any of the said Sections, from liability for the failure to take out a license as therein provided, for the year ending June 1, 1935, or any previous year, or for any part of said year or years, and the payment of all fees and taxes in connection therewith, as therein provided; and no offense committed, and no failure to perform any act or duty, and no penalty or penalties or forfeiture or forfeitures incurred, and no prosecution commenced under any laws repealed by this Act, and before the time when such repeal shall take effect, shall be affected by this Act.
Section 3. That all laws and parts of laws inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed to the extent of and only to the extent of any such inconsistency.
Approved April 6, 1935.