New law cracks down on panhandling in Mississippi
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – New laws went into effect last week in Mississippi.
This includes House Bill 1197, which is the “Safe Solicitation Act.”
Under this new law, asking for donations on a public street or sidewalk is going to require a permit.
Cities and counties will set the fee amount for the permits, which cannot exceed $25.
“The permit is good for one day, and it has to be for a particular intersection,” said Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins. “They have to designate an area where they will be out panhandling. While they’re panhandling, they have to do it in the hour of 9 am until one hour before sunset.”
Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said permits can be denied based on the application.
“We’re gonna check to see if they have applied for a permit,” Hawkins said. “If they haven’t, then we’re going to stop them from panhandling, and we can fine them. If they’re found guilty of this charge, the fine can be up to $500 or six months in jail, or both, depending on the severity of the crime.”
Hawkins said the intent is to stop people from harassing others for money.
“If someone is denied during a solicitation, and they continue to harass that person asking them for money, they can be charged with a crime, be arrested, and taken to jail,” Hawkins said.
Oftentimes, these people may be homeless or in need of help.
In that case, Hawkins said his deputies work to find people resources.
“This law was not particularly put in place to hurt people, but to offer them more assistance, get them off the street, and reduce our homeless population,” Hawkins said.
“If an individual goes and fills out the paperwork to get that permit so they can ask for donations from the public with their blessing, we can get the referral from that city or that county that’s issuing those permits, and we can assess the situation and fully help that individual get out of the poverty they are in,” said Susan Garton, President for the Golden Triangle Regional Homeless Coalition. “We really want to help people, especially in this weather where it’s so warm, you know, the temperatures are only climbing and we’re not even out of summer yet.”
Hawkins says most of the time, this activity happens within the city limits.
Another bill passed, House Bill 1203, prohibits camping or sleeping in a public place that is not designated for camping.
President of the Golden Triangle Regional Homeless Coalition, Susan Garton, said this is a great opportunity for the organization to work with law enforcement to help people.
“We can really, really try to accomplish the main goal as a community and tackle the issue of homelessness,” Garton said.
Hawkins said a statute requires counties or municipalities to set up a process to offer permits for panhandling.
There is a 6-month window to sort out the plan. Counties or municipalities can opt out of charging a fee for panhandling.
City and county leaders will make that decision.
Sheriff Hawkins said the office also partners with the Community Benefit Committee to offer assistance to people throughout the year, and the United Way is also a big help.
For more information, call the Golden Triangle Regional Homeless Coalition at (662) 549-2643.
You can also contact Golden Triangle’s United Way by calling (662) 370-1922 or visiting their website at unitedway.com.
The Community Benefit Committee can be contacted through their Facebook Page.
Sheriff Hawkins said they don’t see as big of a problem with solicitation compared to other heavily populated counties within Mississippi.
