Riordan Signs Law Limiting Panhandling

Calling abusive panhandling “a quality-of-life crime that compromises the safety and livability of our communities,” Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan on Tuesday signed one of the nation’s strictest anti-solicitation ordinances into law.

The law bans begging at bus stops, public parking lots and buildings, on street medians and freeway offramps, and within 15 feet of any bank or automated teller machine. It also prohibits panhandlers from touching people, coming within three feet of them, washing car windows without permission, using profane language and, in some cases, asking for money more than once.

“This law will make our city safe for Angelenos while they shop, drive and walk down the street,” the mayor said at a City Hall news conference. “The passage of this ordinance speaks to the very heart of our community policing philosophy and is a major step toward improving the quality of life in every segment of our community.”

The law calls for $50 fines and possible jail terms for violators, but officials say they expect to mainly issue warnings and that they hope the new regulations will be self-enforcing. In response to critics’ claims that the anti-panhandling laws criminalize poor people, the mayor in a news release encouraged homeless people to “seek services designed to provide them with needed assistance.”