New law lets Limestone municipalities set rules for ‘expressive activities’

Published 6:00 am Thursday, May 27, 2021

Gov. Kay Ivey on Wednesday signed into law a bill that would allow municipalities in Limestone County to designate space and require a permit for certain “expressive activities,” including protests and speeches.

Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, introduced the bill earlier this year. He told The News Courier it had nothing to do with a certain group or individual, but instead was meant to give cities and towns more options if a situation were to get out of hand.

He used a previous protest in Florence as an example, describing how protestors left their protest to approach families who were waiting on a sidewalk to enter a restaurant and how it left “potential for fighting in front of children.”

“We just don’t need that,” Melson said. “We need to make sure protestors and nonprotestors are protected. That’s the whole goal.”

Under the new law, municipalities can designate certain areas in its corporate limits as “public forum,” “limited public forum” or “nonpublic forum.” The first is defined as an area that has been devoted to “expressive activity,” such as “peaceful assemblies, speeches protests, picketing, leafleting, circulating petitions, distributing literature and similar expressive communications and activities.”

A municipality can then require a permit and fee before an organization or individual proceeds with their planned activity.

“If there’s damages done to something, that permit holder is responsible to pay those damages, and if there’s extra police protection that needs to be called in, then the city can recall that extra cost if something that requires more police to get there,” said Rep. Danny Crawford, R-Athens, who presented Melson’s bill in the Alabama House of Representatives.

Beyond requiring a permit and designating where the activity can take place, municipalities now also have the option of “enforcing reasonable regulations” on speech used in the area, though it requires the restrictions be “content-neutral with regard to time, place and manner of expression.”

The law is set to go into effect Aug. 1. The mayors of Ardmore, Athens and Elkmont each told The News Courier they plan to discuss the law with their respective town or city council members and determine what, if any, action would be taken as a result.