1996 AGN SEP 17 I39 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

AGENDA REPORT CITY OF COLTON For City Council Meeting of September 17, 1996 September 10, 1996 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL FROM: Julie Hayward Biggs, City Atto 4or SUBJECT: Resolution Regarding Placement of Printed Materials in City Buildings Background As you requested, I have reviewed the,provisions of Resolution R-92-96 in light of certain complaints received from various members of the community. Resolution R-92-96 provides that only non-profit or City sponsored written materials may be placed for distribution to the public in certain public buildings. It has been called to the attention of several Councilmembers, however, that many health providers who distribute literature to senior citizens t,r-1 are private, for-profit enterprises and that as a result of Resolution R-92-96, helpful and informative publications of such companies can no longer be distributed in public buildings. You have asked that I review Resolution R-92-96 to determine whether it can be amended in some way to permit distribution of the materials in question. Legal Analysis As I have previously advised the City Council, because of constitutional limitations relating to freedom of speech and potential censorship issues, it is essential that the City policy with regard to such printed materials be content -neutral. The non-profit/for profit distinction does not involve an analysis of the content of material distributed, but merely identification of the corporate nature of the publisher. Thus, that restriction is content neutral and a valid restraint on the distribution of printed materials. Any system of control for distribution of printed materials that creates a situation in which individuals must read the material first in order to determine whether it should be removed from public buildings, however, is clearly not content -neutral. The issue that has been raised, permitting health related materials and not others, would clearly violate that constitutional requirement because a government official would have to consider the content of the materials rN distributed in order to determine compliance with City policy. ITEM NO. 39