New Pasco Panhandling Ordinance Stresses Danger Of Rights Of Way

PASCO COUNTY, FL — A new law passed by Pasco County commissioners last week is intended to eliminate dangerous and distracting panhandling in the medians of county roads.

Commissioners began discussing amending its former ordinance banning panhandling on county rights of way after similar ordinances in counties and cities around the state were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court because they infringed on free speech.

The commission, therefore, came up with a workaround based on safety considerations. The new Dangerous Use of Public Rights of Way law now makes it illegal for pedestrians to stand in medians and for drivers to interact with those pedestrians.

See related story: Pasco Commission Seeks New Ways To Get Panhandlers Off Streets

“Regulating the use of our public rights of way is a proactive way to prevent some of the
dangerous situations we’re seeing along our roads,” said commission chairwoman Kathryn Starkey. “This new law is designed to keep people out of dangerous situations and to reduce injuries and deaths on our roads.”

Regulating the use of public rights of way focuses on safety along our roads by:

• Prohibiting people from stopping or standing in a median when they are not crossing the road
• Prohibiting drivers, whose cars are not parked, from interacting with pedestrians along roads
• Prohibiting the use of any public rights of way for commercial activity
• Providing for enforcement and penalties, including a fine of up to $500 per offense
• Eliminating concerns of regulating expression protected by the First Amendment by allowing protected expression from sidewalks or private property along roads

“While the previous ordinance focused on safety, this new ordinance focuses directly on
dangerous use of the public rights of ways, regardless of the reason,” said Senior Assistant County
Attorney Patrick Moore. “The goal is to strictly aid in the free flow of traffic and create safer
roads.”

This new law applies to all major public roads in Pasco County and includes the first 440 feet of
any local roads that intersect public roads.

Click here to read the entire Dangerous Use of Public Rights of Way Ordinance.