§ 20-175. Pedestrians soliciting rides, employment, business or funds upon highways or streets.
§ 20‑175. Pedestrianssoliciting rides, employment, business or funds upon highways or streets.
(a) No person shallstand in any portion of the State highways, except upon the shoulders thereof,for the purpose of soliciting a ride from the driver of any motor vehicle.
(b) No person shallstand or loiter in the main traveled portion, including the shoulders andmedian, of any State highway or street, excluding sidewalks, or stop any motorvehicle for the purpose of soliciting employment, business or contributionsfrom the driver or occupant of any motor vehicle that impedes the normalmovement of traffic on the public highways or streets: Provided that theprovisions of this subsection shall not apply to licensees, employees orcontractors of the Department of Transportation or of any municipality engagedin construction or maintenance or in making traffic or engineering surveys.
(c) Repealed by SessionLaws 1973, c. 1330, s. 39.
(d) Local governmentsmay enact ordinances restricting or prohibiting a person from standing on anystreet, highway, or right‑of‑way excluding sidewalks whilesoliciting, or attempting to solicit, any employment, business, orcontributions from the driver or occupants of any vehicle. No local governmentmay enact or enforce any ordinance that prohibits engaging in the distributionof newspapers on the non‑traveled portion of any street or highway exceptwhen those distribution activities impede the normal movement of traffic on thestreet or highway. This subsection does not permit additional restrictions orprohibitions on the activities of licensees, employees, or contractors of theDepartment of Transportation or of any municipality engaged in construction ormaintenance or in making traffic or engineering surveys except as provided insubsection (e) of this section.
(e) A local governmentshall have the authority to grant authorization for a person to stand in, on,or near a street or State roadway, within the local government's municipalcorporate limits, to solicit a charitable contribution if the requirements ofthis subsection are met.
A person seeking authorizationunder this subsection to solicit charitable contributions shall file a writtenapplication with the local government. This application shall be filed notlater than seven days before the date the solicitation event is to occur. Ifthere are multiple events or one event occurring on more than one day, eachevent shall be subject to the application and permit requirements of thissubsection for each day the event is to be held, to include the applicationfee.
The application must include:
(1) The date and timewhen the solicitation is to occur;
(2) Each location atwhich the solicitation is to occur; and
(3) The number ofsolicitors to be involved in the solicitation at each location.
This subsection does notprohibit a local government from charging a fee for a permit, but in no caseshall the fee be greater than twenty‑five dollars ($25.00) per day perevent.
The applicant shall alsofurnish to the local government advance proof of liability insurance in theamount of at least two million dollars ($2,000,000) to cover damages that mayarise from the solicitation. The insurance coverage must provide coverage forclaims against any solicitor and agree to hold the local government harmless.
A local government, by actingunder this section, does not waive, or limit, any immunity or create any newliability for the local government. The issuance of an authorization under thissection and the conducting of the solicitation authorized are not consideredgovernmental functions of the local government.
In the event the solicitationevent or the solicitors shall create a nuisance, delay traffic, createthreatening or hostile situations, any law enforcement officer with properjurisdiction may order the solicitations to cease. Any individual failing tofollow a law enforcement officer's lawful order to cease solicitation shall beguilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. (1937, c. 407, s. 136; 1965, c. 673; 1973, c. 507, s.5; c. 1330, s. 39; 1977, c. 464, s. 34; 2005‑310, s. 1; 2006‑250,ss. 7(a), 7(b); 2008‑223, s. 1.)