Long Beach : Phone Soliciting Ban Lifted

Charities soon will be able to solicit donations via telephone under an amended ordinance adopted Tuesday night by the Long Beach City Council. The amended law lifts a broad city prohibition on telephone solicitations that the city legal department said “cannot withstand a constitutional challenge.”

The former ordinance came under scrutiny when organizations applying for solicitation permits to the Police Department were told they could not use telephones to ask for donations, Honda said. The new law, which takes effect at the end of next month, is based on state law.

Under the amended law, solicitors will have to provide each caller with information on the organization, including the percentage of contributions used for charitable purposes, how it will be spent and the percentage of the gift or purchase price that is tax deductable.

City Manager James C. Hankla can waive the requirements at his discretion. Hankla said he would waive them if, among other things, an organization and its purposes are “well known to the general public.”