To tackle panhandling, Leon County may ban asking for money on private property

Amid what has become an almost intractable problem, Leon County commissioners are considering an ordinance that would target "solicitation," including panhandling, on private property.

At Tuesday's commission meeting, the board voted 6-1 – with Commissioner David O'Keefe opposing – to set the first public hearing for the proposed local law on Feb. 20.

"It would provide some relief to our business community," Commissioner Brian Welch said. But O'Keefe said the ordinance would hurt rather than help, by needlessly "imposing more penalties on people," he said.

This ordinance follows the county's recent, previous attempts to pass a local law that critics said amounted to criminalizing homelessness.

The proposed ordinance would make it "unlawful to solicit (in this case, ask for money) on private property without the express permission of the property owner." Doing so could lead to fines of up to $500 or detention of around 60 days.

State law allows those "convicted of violating a municipal ordinance (to) be sentenced to pay a fine, not to exceed $500, and may be sentenced to a definite term of imprisonment, not to exceed 60 days...."

If the ordinance were to pass, it would also allow businesses and private property owners to post signs citing it in an attempt to deter people from coming onto or staying on the property.

Currently, private property owners need to request for an individual to be "trespassed" off their property.

Try, try again

In 2022, the county worked to pass a broader ordinance wanting to target other issues related to homelessness, such as solicitation, public urination, and camping or sleeping in public areas.

The law included penalties such as making it illegal to hold a sign in the roadway median and $500 fines or 60 days in jail if convicted of sleeping in a public area without permission from the owner.

They backtracked, instead investing $491,000 to fund "street outreach deputies" following the urging of Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil.

“I don’t believe that we are criminalizing homelessness. I do believe there are behaviors that are expected from all of us,” then-County Commissioner Jimbo Jackson, who died in 2022, said at the time. “If we’ve got $491,000 invested on this, we deserve to see a return on that pretty quickly.”

Just last July, the county took other actions to curb panhandling and solicitation, such as putting up signs in medians scattered around both the city of Tallahassee and Leon County.

"For your safety and theirs, please do not give to persons in the roadway,” the signs say. “Contribute to solutions.”

A statewide issue

This legislative session, Republican state Rep. Alex Andrade of Pensacola has decided to tackle the issue of panhandling by filing legislation (HB 759) that could make it illegal. The bill aims to be an add-on to Florida's charitable solicitation law.

The idea is to restrict panhandling based on when and where it occurs. The bill also ups the ante by making the act a potential felony in certain circumstances.

As Andrade has explained, panhandlers are "soliciting charitable funds ... from the public" just like any traditional charity would: "It struck me as odd that the same activity for whatever reason has never been considered applicable to this statute," he said.

If made law, people would not be able to panhandle from 4 p.m. to 9 a.m., and would be banned from panhandling:

• On all roadways or public sidewalks.

• Within 50 feet of a commercially zoned property, bus stop, ATM machine or bank, parking lot, parking garage and public restroom.

• Within 100 feet of a child care facility or a school.

• Inside a public transportation facility, like a bus depot.

The bill provides for a first-time offender to be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $100 and spend as much 30 days in jail. Any violations thereafter could lead to an increased fine of $200 and extended time in jail of 60 days.

Arianna Otero is the City Solutions Reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com or on Twitter/X: @ari_v_otero.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Leon County Commission may ban asking for money on private property