ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — St. Johns County stopped enforcing its anti-panhandling ordinance early last year, but now the county has agreed to make that enforcement pause permanent.
It’s the result of a settlement reached late last month between the county and three local residents who had been warned, fined and even arrested for violating the panhandling ban.
Ray Taseff, Senior Attorney with the Florida Justice Institute, helped litigate the case.
“I mean the law is really on our side and I think that reflects a couple things. I think it reflects the fact that we live in a very special place because of the First Amendment,” Taseff said.
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The ordinance prohibited people from physically interacting with the occupants of vehicles on roadways and made it illegal to stand on medians for extended periods of time.
The restrictions are nearly identical to those found in Jacksonville’s anti-panhandling ordinance, which was passed in 2022.
Despite the St. Johns settlement occurring in the same federal court district that encompasses Jacksonville, Taseff explained that, because there was no final judgment, the outcome doesn’t automatically block Jacksonville’s ordinance.
According to JSO, the Jacksonville ordinance is active and “the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office would enforce violations when applicable”.
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Taseff’s organization also sued, challenging Jacksonville’s ordinance back in 2024, but allowed the case to be dismissed due to external issues not related to the merits of the case.
He said while there are not active plans to refile a challenge in Jacksonville specifically, the St. Johns outcome could inspire a new challenge in the future.
“Government can’t target a specific type of speech or a particular type of request,” Taseff said. ”If a politician stands along the roadway and asks for a vote, that’s legal. If a poor person stands in the same place and asks for charity, that can’t be made a crime as it has in many, many jurisdictions.”
In addition to the victory in St. Johns, similar anti-panhandling ordinances have been successfully challenged in at least eleven other municipalities throughout Florida in recent years, including Columbia County and Lake City in our region.
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