The city of New Bedford has placed a one-year moratorium on the sale of used-car licenses as it attempts to create a new ordinance that will prevent "fly-by-night" operators from receiving licenses, according to the Standard-Times newspaper.

The moratorium, one of the last items in a huge ordinance recodification passed by the City Council and approved by Mayor Frederick M. Kalisz Jr. in December, states that no used-car licenses – known as Class II licenses – can be issued for a year, or until the new ordinance is approved, reported the Standard-Times.

Anyone who has a license to sell used cars is considered grandfathered, explained licensing board commissioner Steven Beauregard, and can continue to use the license.

According to the Standard-Times, anyone attempting to start a used-car business will be blocked by the moratorium. The current licenses are non-transferable, meaning the issuance of used-car licenses has officially stopped.