Door-to-door solicitors may be annoying, but the state of Texas has slapped restrictions on how much communities can do to help their residents, according to one Wichita Falls official.
The issue came up at a Wichita Falls City Council meeting on Tuesday when resident Mayursinh Jadeja complained that two solicitors who said they were representatives of Vivint home security pounded on the couple’s door on Tinker Trail, repeatedly rang the doorbell and disregarded a No Solicitation sign.
“This extensive disruption visibly terrified my rescue dog and woke my wife out of a dead sleep,” Jadeja said.
He said he was addressing “a critical breakdown in municipal code enforcement.”
He also said he caught the salesmen on camera openly mocking residents and waving at his camera.
But City Clerk Marie Balthrop explained the Texas Legislature amended some state codes in 2023 that hamstrung communities on enforcing local ordinances on some solicitors.
“What they effectively did is, basically, any occupation that is licensed by the state, cities can no longer require to have any permit or any other fees,” Balthrop said. “We are unable to enforce that portion of the solicitor permit law.”
The state law covers Vivint, but Balthrop said her office will be contacting the company about complaints received.
She said residents are not entirely helpless against solicitors that are protected by the state.
“You can still call police,” she said. “We can still regulate them as far as if they’re being obnoxious or knocking on your door at 10 o’clock at night. What we can’t do is require them to have our permit.”
Balthrop encouraged any residents that have problems with solicitors to contact her office at 940-761-7409.
“Let us know your complaint because we do keep a log,” she said.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Texas law hampers cities on enforcement against annoying solicitors
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News | USA TODAY Network
