Form revised February 4, 2010

FISCAL NOTE FOR NON-CAPITAL PROJECTS

Department:	Contact Person/Phone:	DOF Analyst/Phone:
Legislative	Peter Harris / 684-8368	n.a.

Legislation Title:

AN ORDINANCE relating to conduct in public places; establishing aggressive solicitation as a civil infraction, creating a new section 15.48.050 of the Seattle Municipal Code, and amending section 15.48.900 relating to penalties for aggressive solicitation and sitting or lying on public sidewalks.

· Summary of the Legislation:

This ordinance makes aggressive solicitation an infraction with a fine of $50.  Aggressive solicitation is defined as acting in an intimidating way while asking someone for money in a public place.  It includes blocking or interfering with the person being solicited, using physical gestures or profane or abusive language, repeatedly soliciting a person who has given a negative response, providing unwanted services, or soliciting a person using an automated teller machine or parking pay station.

The ordinance also gives the Municipal Court the authority to require offenders who fail to respond to citations for aggressive solicitation or sitting or lying on the sidewalk to obtain treatment or other services, perform community service, and not again commit the same infraction.

· Background: (Include brief description of the purpose and context of legislation and include record of previous legislation and funding history, if applicable):

Municipal Code Section 12A.12.015 defines aggressive begging as begging with the intent to intimidate another person into giving money or goods, and establishes it as one form of the crime of pedestrian interference.  This ordinance does not affect that section.  It makes an infraction of less serious forms of aggressive solicitation.  Recent research on deterrence suggests that the speed and certainty of a penalty are often more important than severity, suggesting that aggressive solicitation can be effectively treated as an infraction if enforcement is prompt and thorough.

· Please check one of the following:

_ X _ This legislation does not have any financial implications.  (Stop here and delete the remainder of this document prior to saving and printing.)

By creating a new infraction and implicitly asking for its enforcement, the ordinance may increase General Subfund revenue from fines, increase the work of the Police Department, Law Department and Municipal Court, and increase the City’s jail costs.  It is difficult to estimate these impacts, but it seems unlikely that they will be significant in comparison to current fines and forfeitures revenue and the current costs of these functions.  The ordinance does not change any budget appropriations.

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