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HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-08462M�:eb A..S68 ORDI MAMCE gos 8462_ ._ . AN ORbINAMCE REpEALIMC CHAPTER 53i 68OLICITIM ; Off` THE CCOM OFF TEE CITY OE MIAMI IM ITS EMTIRETY; PORTMER pROVIDIMC AM. tPPBCTIVB BATE. WHEREAS, the laat session of the Legislature amended and strengthened Florida Statute 496 which supersedes the City Ordinance on soliciting: and WHEREAS, the. State of Florida has personnel enforcing the State Statute, and additionally there is no City certification for soliciters at the present time; and WHEREAS, the Building Department recommends that Chapter, 53,be repealed in an effort. to avoid complicating the administration of charitableorganizations; g nations; NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: Section 1. Chapter, 53, "Soliciting", of the Code of the City of Miami be, and it is hereby, repealed in its entirety. effective Section 2. The provisions of this on THE 6TH DAY OF OCTOBER ordinance shall become , 1975. PASSED ON FIRST READING, by title only, this .:�•<' (77,.6 - , 1975. PASSED AND ADOPTED on Second and final reading, this day of SFPTFMBFR' APPROVED AS ,TO FO , 1975. Ait.26 frif CItY or MIAMI. PLibt#tbA Et .O1=F1ct MtMoRA NUM t. 7U Mr. Pt W. Andrews City MaalFer FROM t5 $u i.reCtor DATE SL'HJ°:.Ci REFERENCES EtJCLOSURES: September 3, 1975 rILE Soiiditations by Telephone Deletioft Of Chapter 53 fr%m the City Code This concerns an article which appeared in the Miami Herald on Monday, September 1, 1975. Due to the appearance on the September 4th City Commission Agenda on the deletion of Chapter 53 of the City of Miami Code, it is felt that perhaps questions may be asked concern- ing the City's position and the applicability of Chapter 53 to the types of solicitations which were set forth in the Herald article. Two points are important when viewing the situation: 1. The Secretary of State's office has a wider field of jurisdiction than the City has; and 2. Its laws are more encompassing concerning the type of operation that was described in the Herald article. As an example, a person solicited for donations from one of the boiler -room operations might live in the City of Miami and report the solicitation to our offices here in the City. Through our investigation, or placing solicitors on notice that City of Miami ordinances are being violated, we alert them and they simply divert their activities to the county areas or to another municipality. We, therefore, receive no more complaints nor can we collect evidence for prosecution, and yet, the operation continues and in reality, other persons are still victimized. Page 1 of 2 Nt. P. W. Aftdrewt Page 2 of 2 September 19Th AA tet forth in other corretpondence on this tubject, the Secretary of State't office it adequately staffed and haa widerfields of jurisdiction than the City has and therefort# more adequately prepared to deal with he operators. REP:ROMIgj cc: Duilding Director's file Solicitations file Reading file CITY oI MtAM LorzlbA I N'tEr2-OFFICE t•AzIk-10kANbUNI The Honorable Members of the City Commission "°" P. W. Andrews City Manager Lvt i. AUG 2 9 1375 rtLt. r Changes to the City COde Recommending the beletiOn Of Chapter 53 (Charitable runds I[ Act) /t is the recommendation of the City Manager that Chapter sa be deleted from the Code of the City of Miami, inasmuch as the State Statutes have been strengthened so that the provisions of the state law are closely equivalent to those of the City of Miami. At the present time, the regulations to allow municipalities and counties to have laws more strengent than the State of Florida prevail. However, in conversation with representa- tives from the Secretary of State's office, it was determined that proposed legislation would remove this prerogative from cities and counties. The coordinator of charitable solicitations for the Secretary of State's office is located in the regional office in Coral Gables and is adequately staffed to control local solicitation activity. It is felt by both the Secretary of State's office and the City of Miami administrative personnel that the duplication of state and city regulations in this area presents a disservice to the legitimate charitable organizations, inasmuch as the added complexity of compliance means additional expense and, hence, renders less effective, their work. Following the transfer of the Trades Standards Division from the City of Miami Building Department to the county, there was no reestablisnment of a fulltime section to enforce cnapter 53. Enforcement was carried out as an offshoot of the Administrative Division of the Building Department. The City of Miami receives no revenue from this activity. For the above reasons, it is recommended that Chapter 53 be deleted from the Code of the City of Miami.