Handbill ordinance considered

Jeffrey Libby

Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2001 | 11:07 a.m.

A proposed change to an ordinance before the Henderson City Council tonight would allow commercial handbills to be distributed anonymously in neighborhoods.

But those businesses that distribute pizza fliers, advertisements for water conditioning and maid services would still be required to register with the city. They would no longer be required to pay an annual licensing fee of $50.

Noncommercial handbills such as political and religious fliers are not addressed by the proposed changes. Political fliers are regulated by state campaign law, which requires them to include the name of the author and distributor.

That state law was central in the controversy over a handbill sent to homes in Las Vegas criticizing then-County Commissioner Lance Malone for changing his vote on a casino application in southwest Las Vegas. The law was challenged by Station Casinos, which backed the flier, with the support of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The Henderson city attorney's office initiated its handbill ordinance to comply with recent developments in constitutional law, Assistant City Attorney Ron Sailon said. The office also hopes to make it easier for businesses to work in the city.

Sailon said the impetus for the proposed changes arose while reviewing city ordinances in a related incident. Neighbors had complained about a person distributing fliers, Sailon said.

"I was reviewing city ordinance and I realized that there had been a lot of development in that area of law," Sailon said.

The specific case cited as reason to update city ordinance is from 1960.

In Talley v. California, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a city could not prohibit the anonymous distribution of commercial fliers in any public place.

Under the changes proposed by the city, authors and distributors of commercial handbills would no longer be required to print their names on publicly distributed materials.

There are 10 such businesses licensed with the city, David Lee, an administrator in the city finance department, said.

"The city has the right to regulate all trades and occupations," Sailon said. "It's just that we are going toward something less cumbersome.

"The interest we're trying to serve here," he said, "is to have a means to identify people who might be roaming through neighborhoods, and we can do that just as easily registering them as licensing them."

The concern, Sailon said, comes from the police department. He called it an issue typical across the country.

"A person can walk up to a person's door and look in the window. A person who hands out fliers knows what times people are at home. They know what times people are at work," Sailon said. "If you were a burglar, it would be a perfect opportunity."

The police department could not be reached for comment.