City of Moorpark Revokes 'Day Laborer' Law

The Moorpark City Council, at its Wednesday night meeting, unanimously voted to rescind an ordinance that made it illegal for any person to solicit employment, business or contributions while on a public right of way.

The issue came before the council after the city received a letter from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund demanding the repeal, declaring Moorpark's law unconstitutional.

A similar law in the city of Redondo Beach was found to be unconstitutional by an 11-member panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in September. The decision was a reversal of an earlier finding by a three-person panel of the same court.

Those fighting the law claimed the ordinance violated day laborers' constitutional rights to free speech and equal protection, according to a at the time.

The city appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, but in late February, the court turned down the appeal without comment.

At the Moorpark City Council meeting, Councilmember Keith Millhouse explained that the revocation of the city ordinance was simply a matter of practicality.

"This is a very emotional issue for a lot of people, but the fact of the matter is that the law that we have has been deemed unconstitutional, and if we don't take this action, the city will get sued and we will spend legal fees that will be taken from the general fund," Millhouse said.

"We're not taking an opinion on the subject," he added, "we're just saying this law is unconstitutional and we're not going to spend tax payer money defending an unconstitutional law that can't be defended."