Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
News covering policy and issues related to city and county governments in the Ozarks.

Branson Strengthens Panhandling Law Amidst Legal Concerns

Aaron Alexander
/
(Flickr)

Just over a year after Springfield amended its panhandling ordinance, the Branson Board of Aldermen this past month approved a bill placing additional restrictions on where a person can ask for money.

The revisions to chapter 26 (Page 70) of the Branson municipal code, prohibits a person from standing in, or entering into, the roadway for the purpose of solicitation or distribution of materials.

Garrett Anderson is Branson’s director of economic development.

“We had just received a lot of complaints from the public and noticed ourselves that the number of panhandlers over the past few months into the fall of last year was increasing,” Anderson said.

The revisions are similar to an ordinance passed by the Springfield City Council in January 2014 making it unlawful to panhandle within five feet of intersections or curbs. That ordinance also prohibits solicitation within 20 feet of a business entrance.

Amanda Callaway is the assistant city attorney for the City of Springfield.

“Since the passage of the ordinance there’s been approximately 62 citations issued,” Callaway said. “It’s important to note that we also have some accompanying ordinances that were not amended that are used sometimes if a person steps off into the roadway and is blocking traffic or something of that nature.”

As was the case with Branson and last year when Springfield City Council was considering its ordinance, First Amendment rights were studied.

In a legal review (Page 57), Branson City Attorney William Duston said that any regulation in a public forum must be content neutral, must further an important or substantial governmental interest, must be narrowly tailored, and leave open ample alternative channels for communication.

In the memorandum he noted a judicial finding in ACORN v. St. Louis, a 1991 U.S. Court of Appeals decision concerning solicitation along roadways.

“Also, while the city’s police department have had to respond to multiple calls involving individuals soliciting in or around public roads, it is not necessary to wait for accidents to justify safety regulations concerning roadway solicitation bans,” said Duston.

Since the passage of its ordinance 13 months ago, the city of Springfield hasn’t been party to any civil suits concerning the ordinance. And the city of Branson isn’t expecting any legal challenges.

“The city attorney that did the research for us he did cite some other cases in Missouri where free speech issues were challenged in various ways that was similar to this,” Anderson said. “Definitely a lot of research went into it and I think the code that we have is pretty solid, I don’t think that there’s going to be any challenges to it.”

The new Branson panhandling revisions will be actively enforced by the police department. Any fines for the violation of city ordinance will be determined by the municipal judge, but will not exceed $500.