Bills to watch in Jacksonville City Council committees this week

Jacksonville City Hall.

The Jacksonville City Council has committees Monday and Tuesday, and there are a number of bills worth watching.

Below, a couple we will be tracking, involving an expansion of the city’s human trafficking signage, and a pause on 5G towers.

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Human trafficking awareness signs – Councilman Tommy Hazouri attempts, with 2017-450, to expand the reach of the human trafficking awareness signs that began to be posted in Jacksonville last year after a bill he carried.

2016-130-E required posting of such signs at massage parlors and adult entertainment establishments. The new legislation, to be heard in the Neighborhoods, Community Services, Public Health & Safety committee Monday and Rules on Tuesday, expands the program to hotels and motels and restaurants.

Education for impacted businesses will be provided by the Neighborhoods Department.

Cell towers on hold – A bill introduced to the Jacksonville City Council this week would impose a temporary moratorium on wireless communication devices in the city right-of-way.

Introduced on an emergency basis as a reaction to state legislation paving the way for 5G, 2017-551 would allow for a moratorium through the end of the year, as the city needs time to work out how to implement state mandates regarding “objective design standards that have been locally adopted by ordinance.”

The Jacksonville bill notes that cities have until the end of the year to work out its criteria, and the city seeks to “create appropriate local regulations and standards consistent with federal and state laws and regulations and balance the new and emerging technology with the City’s needs and requirements.”

Two committees of reference: Transportation, Energy, & Utilities on Monday; Rules on Tuesday