Solicitors Face New Restrictions at LAX
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Solicitors at Los Angeles International Airport will be restricted to marked areas in the facility’s nine terminals starting in early December under an ordinance approved 12-0 by the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday.
The law is the latest in a 28-year effort by city officials to rein in fund-raisers at the world’s fifth-busiest airport. Mayor James K. Hahn is expected to sign the measure in the next week.
The city’s airport agency will issue monthly permits on a first-come, first-served basis to charitable groups that designate areas, days and times they can request donations.
City officials argue that the law is necessary because solicitors distract travelers and impede traffic.
Civil liberties lawyers said they will seek a restraining order prohibiting the city from enacting the new law.
In 1997 the city banned fund-raising in airport terminals, on sidewalks and in parking lots. That ordinance was found unconstitutional by a federal judge last summer, but the city has appealed the ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is expected to hear the case Dec. 2.
The city considers the new law -- restricting but not banning solicitations -- a provisional measure pending outcome of the appeal.
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