ORDINANCE NO. BL2017-728

An ordinance amending Title 6, Chapter 6.81, Booting Services, to add additional application requirements for the qualification of permits and granting authorizing to the Director of the Transportation Licensing Commission and the Transportation Licensing Commission to suspend, revoke, place on probation or otherwise restrict licenses issued to booting companies.

WHEREAS, the public safety is entrusted to booting services; and,

WHEREAS, currently, criminal background checks are not a pre-requisite to the issuance of a permit to engage in the practice of installing and removing booting devices; and,

WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the people of Nashville and Davidson County and to the visitors of the area, that these background checks be conducted and taken into consideration prior to the approval of a permit to engage in booting; and,

WHEREAS, currently, neither the Director of the Transportation Licensing Commission, nor the Transportation Licensing Commission have the authority to suspend, revoke, place on probation or otherwise restrict licenses or permits issued to booting companies and their employees pursuant to Chapter 6.81 for violation of said Chapter or other Metropolitan Code provisions; and,

WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the people of Nashville and Davidson County and to the visitors of the area, that the Director of the Transportation Licensing Commission and the Transportation Licensing Commission have this authority.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:

Section 1. That Title 6, Section 6.81.020 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws shall be amended by adding the following language:

“B.

8. The applicant will be twenty-one years of age.

C. Criminal background investigation.

Upon receiving an application for a license from an applicant, the applicant must undergo an identification and background check as required by state law as more specifically provided by rule and regulations adopted by the MTLC. Upon receipt of the background check report, the MTLC Director shall determine whether the applicant’s background check disqualifies him or her from eligibility for an employee’s permit/license.

D. Application approval and disapproval.

Upon disapproval of license application by the MTLC Director, the applicant may file an appeal with the MTLC within thirty days of denial and request and appearance before the MTLC. The appeal shall be heard by the MTLC at the next available commission meeting with the appellant appearing in person for consideration of the application.

E. New application after denial.

Upon denial of an application for a license, no new application shall be considered for a period of three months.”

Section 2. That Title 6, Section 6.81.080 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws shall be amended by deleting it in its entirety and replacing it with the following:

A. Each employee of a booting service desiring to engage in the practice of installing and removing booting devices from vehicles within the area of the metropolitan government shall make an application to the commission for a permit, which application shall be upon forms to be adopted and provided by the commission. The completed application must contain all the information required by such form and must be verified under oath.

B. The applicant shall be twenty-one years of age.

C. The applicant shall have a valid Tennessee driver license that complies with all applicable requirements of state law as further specified in rules to be adopted by the MTLC.

D. Criminal background investigation.
1. Upon receiving an application for a permit from an applicant, the applicant must undergo an identification and background check as required by state law as more specifically provided by rule and regulations adopted by the MTLC. Upon receipt of the background check report, the MTLC Director shall determine whether the applicant’s background check disqualifies him or her from eligibility for an employee’s permit.
2. Additionally, the license holder shall check the National Sex Offender Database to verify whether the permit applicant is listed on the database, and shall certify under oath to the MTLC that it has conducted this check and verified that the applicant does not appear to be on the database. Any permit applicant listed on the database shall be disqualified for eligibility for an employee’s permit.
3. Any permit applicant shall, in addition to any disqualifications listed elsewhere in this chapter, be disqualified if the applicant:

a. Has been convicted, pleaded guilty, nolo contendere, placed on judicial diversion pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. Sec. 40-35-313, or been released from incarceration, probation or parole within a period of seven years prior to the date of the application for violation of any of the following criminal offenses under the laws of Tennessee, any other state, or the United States of America:
• Homicide,
• Rape,
• Aggravated Assault,
• Kidnapping,
• Robbery,
• Burglary,
• Domestic assault or domestic violence,
• Child sexual abuse,
• Any sex-related offense,
• Leaving the scene of an accident,
• Criminal solicitation or criminal attempt to commit any of the above,
• Perjury or false swearing in making any statement under oath in connection with the application for an employee’s permit,
• The felony possession, sale or distribution of narcotic drugs or controlled substances.
b. If, at the time of the application, the applicant is charged with any offense in a. above, consideration of the applications shall be deferred until entry of a plea, conviction, acquittal, dismissal, or other final disposition of the charges.
c. Has been convicted for a period of two years prior to the date of application of the violation of two more sections of the Code or other ordinances governing the operation of vehicles for hire.
d. Has failed to disclose any criminal conviction, except traffic citations, on the application for a permit.

E. Application approval and disapproval.

Upon disapproval of a permit application by the MTLC Director, the applicant may file an appeal with the MTLC within thirty days of denial and request and appearance before the MTLC. The appeal shall be heard by the MTLC at the next available commission meeting with the appellant appearing in person for consideration of the application.

F. New application after denial.

Upon denial of an application for an employee’s permit or license, no new application shall be considered for a period of three months.”

G. A permit issued by the commission to an employee of a booting service permitting such person to engage in the practice of booting shall be issued for a period of two years at a fee of one hundred fifty dollars, plus an additional forty dollars for an investigation of the person applying for the permit. The commission shall have the authority to adopt future increases in the fee to pay for the cost of the investigation of the permit applicant, subject to approval of the metropolitan council by resolution.

H. A permit issued hereunder shall not be sold, assigned, mortgaged or otherwise transferred from one person to another and shall expire immediately when the permittee is no longer employed by a booting service or upon revocation by the commission.

I. A current permit issued by the commission shall be carried by the employee at all times he/she is engaged in the act of booting.

J. All persons engaged in the act of booting shall wear an identification badge including the person's first and last name, the name of the company, and the permit number of the employee.

K. Permits issued under this chapter shall be coterminous with the permittee’s valid Tennessee driver license. Any time that an permittee’s driver's license is suspended, revoked, or cancelled, the permittee’s shall immediately self-report said action to the MTLC and their license issued by the commission shall likewise be immediately suspended, revoked, or cancelled. The license issued by the commission shall immediately be surrendered to the MTLC until such time as their driver's license is reinstated.

Section 3. That Title 6, Section 6.81.170 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws shall be amended by deleting the first sentence in its entirety and replacing it with the following language:

“It is declared that the following acts are prohibited and unlawful and the license or permit of any person and/or company doing any such acts or failing to comply with the provisions of this chapter may be revoked, suspended, placed on probation or not renewed by the MTLC Director or the Transportation Licensing Commission:”

Section 4. This ordinance shall take effect from and after its final passage, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.

Sponsored by: Jason Potts, Sharon Hurt, Doug Pardue

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Introduced:	May 16, 2017
Passed First Reading:	May 16, 2017
Referred to:	Public Safety, Beer, and Regulated Beverages Committee Traffic, Parking & Transportation Committee
Passed Second Reading:	June 6, 2017
Passed Third Reading:	June 20, 2017
Approved:	June 21, 2017
By: