Rhode Island lawmakers propose anti-panhandling crackdown

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Now that a Rhode Island city's anti-panhandling ordinance has been declared unconstitutional for violating free-speech rights, state lawmakers are looking for other ways to stop drivers from rolling down their windows to hand out money.

At least two lawmakers are drafting legislation for next year's General Assembly session that would effectively outlaw panhandling that has become increasingly visible on urban and suburban roadways.

One proposal by Cranston Democratic Rep. Charlene Lima would ban drivers who are sitting inside their cars from passing something — such as cash — to a pedestrian outside.

"It would relieve some of the guilt for people and make it a lot safer for the panhandler and the motorist," Lima said.

Another proposal by Coventry Republican Rep. Robert Nardolillo would make it a crime to linger on a median on state roads.

Nardolillo said he expects Lima's proposal will get an "extreme amount of blowback" from civil liberties defenders and contends his bill is more palatable because it doesn't target the actions of panhandlers and the people who donate money. He said he came up with the idea after driving near a Cranston mall and nearly rear-ending a car that paused for a panhandler.

"I'm putting in the legislation because I think it's a public safety hazard," he said.

Nardolillo and Lima plan to introduce their bills when lawmakers convene next month.

But both proposals will face opposition from the Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and homeless advocates who say such laws target the poor.

"We believe both attempts still raise basic First Amendment problems," said the ACLU's Steve Brown. "They're couched in terms of public safety, but we all know what is behind these efforts and that is an attempt to eliminate panhandling."

Brown said it's already illegal to obstruct traffic or harass drivers by knocking on their windows, so these bills would attempt to ban "something that's allowed, which is peaceful requests for solicitations of money."

The ACLU has already fought several local governments in Rhode Island that tried to curb panhandling, most notably the city of Cranston. The city agreed to stop enforcing its anti-panhandling statute this year as part of a U.S. District Court settlement with a panhandler represented by the ACLU. The man was awarded $1,500 in damages after the city admitted it deprived him of his rights when police cited him for soliciting donations at an intersection last year.

The Cranston case also led the cities of Providence and Warwick and the town of Johnston to back off on enforcing anti-panhandling statutes. The city of Newport also backed off after considering an ordinance similar to Lima's proposal that would have banned exchanges between drivers and pedestrians.

"We're a tourist-driven economy and it reflects badly — that here in Newport we don't take care of our own," said Newport City Councilman John Florez, who had introduced the proposal. "But there are numerous organizations addressing this issue."

To give money to panhandlers is "reinforcing a set of behaviors and keeping people from seeking more long-term viable solutions," he said.

He said the model for his Newport proposal was an ordinance in the tiny city of Desloge, Missouri. A court upheld the ordinance against a challenge by the Ku Klux Klan, which wanted its members to be able to step out into the street to hand out leaflets to motorists.

Florez said the idea was dropped after homeless residents spoke out in opposition and it was clear he didn't have enough support from fellow council members.