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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    14

    Default City Council Free Speech and Citizen Petition Limits

    I am an interested citizen who watches city council meetings on television and was wondering if a mayor, city charter or council resolution can limit citizen free speech at council meetings or restrict a citizen from resubmitting the same petition twice? One time during the public comment period of the meeting, a citizen made sarcastic and caustic comments about a councilman and his wife and at the next meeting, the councilman said that a citizen who disparages a councilman's wife/family during public comment should be banned from speaking. Can a mayor or council member ban people from speaking, censor speech or ask a citizen to stop his/her speech during the public comment time at a city council meeting assuming they are speaking on a non agendized item, since public comment in my city in Arizona is reserved for non agendized items?

    Does a city's charter have the ability to restrict citizen petitions? I have seen one citizen submit a citizen petition to the city council and after the council votes to take no action or to reject the petition, the same citizen will resubmit the same petition a few months later only to get the same result. The mayor once asked the city attorney whether there was anything in the city charter that prevents a citizen from resubmitting the same petition over the over and the city attorney said there wasn't. If there was a provision in the charter or if the council passed a resolution not allowing a petition to be resubmitted, would that violate the 1st amendment right of citizens to petition their government? What if a another citizen with the same concerns wanted to submit the same or very similar proposal with slightly different language? Would that infringe upon that person's right to petition?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Behind a Desk
    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: City Council Free Speech and Citizen Petition Limits

    City council meetings are not a free-for-all. A city council may limit the amount of time offered for public comment, and can enforce standards of decorum.

    I can think of may reasons why trying to restrict resubmission of petitions, or submission of similar petitions, would be problematic. If you identify a specific ordinance from a specific jurisdiction, we can look at its language.

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