Huntington Park Municipal Code Ch. 5 Fortune-Telling

Note: Prior history: Sections 5-5.01 and 5-5.02, codified from Ordinance No. 1297, and Section 5-5.03, as added by Emergency Ordinance No. 112-NS, effective September 16, 1974, and reenacted by Ordinance No. 113-NS, effective November 6, 1974, amended in their entirety by Ordinance No. 397-NS, effective February 1, 1986.

No person shall conduct, engage in, carry on, participate in, or practice fortune-telling, or cause the same to be done for pay, without having first obtained a permit therefor and without having posted and maintained in full force and effect a surety bond as required by this section.

(a) Definitions. For the purposes of this section:

"For pay"

shall mean for a fee, reward, donation, loan, or receipt of anything of value.

"Fortune-telling"

shall mean and include the telling of fortunes, forecasting of future events, or furnishing of any information not otherwise obtainable by the ordinary process of knowledge by means of any occult or psychic power, faculty, or force, including, but not limited to, clairvoyance, clairaudience, cartomancy, psychology, psychometry, phrenology, spirits, tea leaves, or other such reading, mediumship, seership, prophecy, augury, astrology, palmistry, necromancy, mind reading, telepathy, or other craft, art, science, card, talisman, charm, potion, magnetism, magnetized article of substance, crystal gazing, oriental mystery, or magic of any kind or nature.

(b) Permit applications. Every natural person who, for pay, actively conducts, engages in, carries on, or practices fortune-telling shall file a separate verified application, under penalty of perjury, for a permit with the Director of Finance. The application shall contain:

(1) The name, home and business address, and home and business telephone number of the applicant;

(2) The record of any conviction for fraud, theft, moral turpitude, deceit, or misrepresentation within a period of five years prior to the making of an application for a permit;

(3) The fingerprints of the applicant on a form provided by the Police Department;

(4) The address, city and state, and the approximate dates where and when the applicant practiced a similar business, either alone or in conjunction with others, within the past five years; and

(5) A nonrefundable application fee of $100.

(c) Investigations. Upon the filing of the application, it shall be referred to the Police Department for an investigation, report, and recommendation. The investigation shall be conducted to verify the facts contained in the application and any supporting data. The investigation shall be completed and a report and recommendation made in writing to the Director of Finance within 14 days after the filing of the application, unless the applicant requests or consents to an extension of the time period. If the report recommends the denial of the permit to the applicant, the grounds for the recommended denial shall be set forth therein. At the time of the filing of the report and recommendation with the Director of Finance, a copy thereof shall be served personally or by certified mail on the applicant, accompanied by a notice to the applicant that he or she may request to be heard when the Director of Finance considers the application and report.

(d) Hearings and decisions by the Director of Finance. The Director of Finance shall consider the application and the report and recommendation of the Police Department at a hearing held on or before the seventh (7th) day after the filing of the report and recommendation referred to in subsection (c) of this section. Notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given to all parties by the Director of Finance at least three days prior to the hearing. The applicant for the permit shall be required to attend the hearing. Any interested party shall be entitled to be heard. The City shall have the burden of proof to show that the permit should be denied. The decision of the Director of Finance to grant or deny the permit or conditionally grant the permit shall be in writing and, if adverse to the applicant, shall contain findings of the fact and a determination of the issues presented. Unless the applicant agrees in writing to an extension of time, the Director of Finance shall make his or her order denying or granting or conditionally granting the permit within 24 hours after the completion of the hearing on the application for a permit and shall notify the applicant of his or her action by personal service or certified mail at the address given in the application.

(e) Right of appeal. If the Director of Finance denies such application, the applicant shall have the right to appeal such decision to the Council which shall conduct a public hearing on such appeal not later than the second regular Council meeting following the filing of a written appeal by the applicant. The applicant shall be notified of the date of the hearing on the appeal. After hearing the evidence presented to it, the Council shall render its decision not later than the next regular Council meeting following the conclusion of the hearing. The determination of the Council shall be final.

(f) Granting of permits. The Director of Finance shall grant the permit if he or she makes all of the following findings:

(1) That no information has been received which would indicate that the information contained in the application and supporting data is not true;

(2) That the applicant has not, within the previous five years, been convicted of any violation of this chapter or any law relating to fraud, theft, moral turpitude, deceit, or misrepresentation;

(3) That the applicant appeared in person at the bearing; and

(4) That the applicant has agreed in writing to abide by and comply with all the conditions of the permit and applicable laws.

(g) Issuance of permits. If the Director of Finance grants the permit, he or she shall thereafter issue the permit only after the applicant has paid the license fee required by subsection (b) of this section and has posted with the City Clerk a surety bond in the principal amount of $10,000 executed as surety by a good and sufficient corporate surety authorized to do business in the State and by the applicant as a principal on such bond. The form of the bond shall be approved by the City Attorney and shall be given to insure good faith and fair dealing on the part of the applicant and as a guarantee of indemnity for any and all loss, damage, theft, or other unfair dealings suffered by any patron or customer of the applicant within the City during the term of the permit.

(h) Term of permits. The term of the permit shall be for no more than the term of a regular business license. A renewal application shall be filed no later than 30 days prior to the expiration of the permit and shall be processed in the same manner as a new application. Any person who holds a valid permit and business license, and who timely files his or her application for renewal, shall be entitled to continue the operation of such business until the application for a renewal permit is acted upon. A fee of $75 shall be paid with the filing of each application for renewal.

(i) Exceptions: Entertainment. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any person engaged solely in the business of entertaining the public by demonstrations of mind reading, mental telepathy, thought conveyance, or the giving of horoscopic readings at public places and in the presence of and within the hearing of all other persons in attendance and at which no questions are answered as part of such entertainment, except in a manner to permit all persons present at such public place to hear such answers.

(j) Exceptions: Religious practices. No person shall be required to pay any fee or take out any permit for conducting or participating in any religious ceremony or service when such person holds a certificate of ordination as a minister, missionary, medium, healer, or clairvoyant (collectively referred to as minister in this subsection) from any bona fide church or religious association maintaining a church and holding regular services and having a creed or set of religious principles which is recognized by all churches of like faith; provided that:

(1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this subsection, the fees, gratuities, emoluments, and profits thereof shall be regularly accounted for and paid solely to or for the benefit of the bona fide church or religious association as defined in this subsection (j).

(2) The minister holding a certificate of ordination from such bona fide church or religious association, as defined in this subsection (j), shall file with the Director of Finance a certified copy of the minister's name, age, street address, and telephone number in the City where the activity set forth in this subsection (j) is to be conducted.

(3) Such bona fide church or religious association, as defined in this subsection (j), may pay to its ministers a salary or compensation, based upon a percentage basis, pursuant to an agreement between the church and the minister which agreement is embodied in a resolution and transcribed in the minutes of such church or religions association.

(§ 1, Ord. 397-NS, eff. February 1, 1986)