The new signage will encourage drivers to donate to nonprofits instead of giving cash to panhandlers.
Nicole Ludden Pima County is gearing up to place signage at some busy intersections in an effort to dissuade panhandling.The move comes from the recommendation of the county’s Small Business Commission, which advises the Board of Supervisors on policies that affect the local business community, County Administrator Jan Lesher said.
People are also reading… Only 22 citations have been issued for violating ordinance 2016-30 since 2016, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. Violations are punishable by a fine of $140. Even though panhandling extends far beyond unincorporated county limits, the county can only enforce its own ordinances where it has jurisdiction. Tucson has its own laws against “aggressive solicitation,” but City Attorney Mike Rankin said panhandling itself is constitutionally protected under the First Amendment.
Jacobsen described the signage as an “incremental win for the community,” and a way “to start to educate the public on the danger that fentanyl plays in our community." “Narcotics, fentanyl, opiates and methamphetamine are a contributing factor to many of the issues that we face in our community, and is certainly contributing to the expansion of our mental health issues that we have in our unsheltered population,” Kasmar told Tucson City Council at its Jan. 24 meeting, adding that 271 fentanyl-related overdoses occurred in Pima County last year.
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