Local attempt to rein in panhandling came before bill filing in Legislature

Lawmakers are working to crack down on panhandling with a bill that comes months after officials spent money and resources to directly target it in the capital city and county.

Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, filed legislation (HB 759) that would make panhandling illegal in most cases. If passed, it will be an add-on to Florida's charitable solicitation law, restricting when and where it occurs and could make the act a felony.

Possible statewide action follows a capital crackdown when the city of Tallahassee and Leon County tried to tackle the issue on their own.

In July, Leon County commissioners launched a road sign campaign to discourage drivers from directly donating money to people standing on the streets. The county produced 22 signs that are scattered around 11 intersections in Tallahassee and Leon County.

"For your safety and theirs, please do not give to persons in the roadway,” the signs say. “Contribute to solutions.”

The signs, which are still standing, include a link for people to donate to the Big Bend Continuum of Care, an organization that fights homelessness in eight North Florida counties.

Not long after the signs were installed, a surge of people were arrested when the Tallahassee Police Department was "directed to address this issue," according to arrest reports. TPD spokesperson Alicia Hill, when asked who directed the shift in enforcement, previously told the Tallahassee Democrat it came about as a "direct response to citizen complaints."

Nine panhandlers were arrested in the weeks following the appearance of the signs. The Tallahassee Democrat found that these nine people were the first to be arrested since 2021 and that there were more panhandler arrests in July and August alone than over the last five years combined.

Panhandlers were penalized for violating the city's ordinance that makes it illegal "to stand or remain on any median while holding or displaying any advertisement, sign, or other media that is for view by any occupant of the motor vehicle."

While the city of Tallahassee has an ordinance in place, Leon County doesn't, pointing to the law enforcement divide in jurisdictions that Andrade seeks to fix.

The county is looking to establish its own ordinance eventually, but for now, the signs are serving as one way that county leadership is trying to combat what some advocates call a homelessness crisis.

Critics of the signs said they dehumanized homeless people, but supporters like Big Bend Continuum of Care Executive Director Johnna Coleman had argued that they were an extra tool to better help people in need.

But now, Coleman has changed her tune. She said she doesn't think the signs have worked because the organization has received hardly any donations in the six months they've been in place.

"Hindsight is always 20/20," she said, but the signs were an attempt to avoid escalating to this level of statewide action. The bill is going to be detrimental, she said.

It creates a penalty for being impoverished and homeless, she added, and "right now people are just looking for a way to meet their needs."

Panhandlers are likely "low on the totem pole" of issues that officers need to address, she said, and it's likely many people won't go through the process to be able to legally ask for money.

Registering to be a charity involves many steps and paying fees, she said, and it's "kind of insane to think that someone would go through those steps as a person in need."

The bill adds a greater likelihood for arrests which will further complicate people's ability to find housing and jobs because criminal charges make it very difficult for people to rise from their current situations.

"Poverty is at the forefront right now," Coleman said. "I think that we have to, as a community, start having conversations that don't involve any type of criminalization or any type of repercussions."

Related:Florida lawmaker seeks to strictly regulate panhandling, making it illegal in most cases

Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.