Anti-Panhandling Law Advances in Nashua

• Subscribe to Nashua Patch news alerts

A law that would ban panhandlers from trying to collect money from drivers in Nashua passed a key vote this week.

The Personnel and Administrative Affairs Committee approved the proposed law by a 4 to 1 vote. The legislation now moves on to the Board of Aldermen, which could vote on it later this month.

Ward 5 Alderman Michael Soucy proposed the law, which would ban people from standing in public roadways and accepting items from drivers. He said panhandlers can create dangerous situations at busy intersections.

“The intent is public safety,” he told the committee.

Soucy said he based his ordinance on Concord’s anti-panhandling law, which was passed in 2013.

Several Nashua residents spoke out on the proposed law during a public hearing Monday.

Resident Dan Weeks opposes the law. He said current state statutes like disorderly conduct apply to panhandlers who create dangerous situations for drivers. He added it would further marginalize the city’s poor.

“We ought to be very careful about taking even a small step to further marginalizing people,” Weeks said.

John McAllister, president of the Nashua Firefighters Association, also opposes the law. He said it would make their annual boot drives illegal.

Resident Paula Johnson, on the other hand, said she wants to law passed.

“I’m tired of the panhandlers,” she said, adding Nashua is infamous for its panhandlers.

First-time violators of the law would receive a warning. Subsequent violations would carry a $500 fine.

Nashua Patch ran a poll last week that found about 90 percent of respondents want the anti-panhandling law passed:

Here’s the proposed law:

Photo credit: Liz Cantu Davenport via Flickr