Jacksonville City Council mulls public comment crackdown

Jacksonville City Council ready to draw lines on commenter conduct?

The Jacksonville City Council is considering a bill that could quash demonstrations during public comment by strengthening code language for enforcement purposes.

But momentum is paused for now, due to questions about whether there is pending litigation regarding a previous Council President and public comment. The Office of General Counsel could not resolve those questions Tuesday.

“That troubles me greatly,” said Rules Chair Brenda Priestly Jackson, ahead of the two-week deferral of the legislation to strike the contents of Rule 4.505 — the “Disruption of Meeting” language in municipal code — in favor of a revamped rule with specific prohibitions.

“Several incidents in recent years have pointed to the need for greater specificity in the definition of ‘disruptive’ behavior that may be appropriately prevented or punished by the presiding officer at a meeting,” asserts the bill summary.

Council President Sam Newby said the bill was necessary to “let people know what they can say and what they can’t say.”

The legislation itemizes potential types of disruption, banning “electioneering,” along with “shouting, yelling, whistling, chanting, singing, dancing, clapping, foot stomping, cheering, jeering,” and waving signs.

“Consumption of alcohol or controlled substances” also is banned, as is the practice of making “vulgar or offensive remarks or gestures, or using threatening language or gestures, including but not limited to pantomiming, discharging a firearm, choking, or throat-cutting.”

Concerns emerged ahead of the deferral of the legislation.

Council member LeAnna Cumber, a Republican, raised concerns of a “finite list” not including potential unenumerated infractions, to which city lawyer Paige Johnston said it was necessary to clarify currently “vague” language.

“The Office of General Counsel feels very strongly that these restrictions are constitutionally permitted,” Johnston said, noting that the language is pegged to recent issues the Council has faced.

Council member Garrett Dennis cautioned against restricting public speech, with the Democrat invoking the specter of Russia’s Vladimir Putin to make his point.

“That’s the first time I was compared with Putin,” quipped Newby, before Newby and Dennis resolved the miscommunication.

Public comment has frequently been a contentious time for the Jacksonville City Council, reflecting unresolved social tensions citywide that often manifest themselves through the performances of serial public commenters. In 2021, the Council assembled to take a look at “hate demonstrations” in the wake of one such commenter flashing the “OK” sign identified with white supremacist causes.

The Council Chamber has been cleared multiple times in recent years, meanwhile, including in 2019 when locals were roiled that the Council did not want to advance a tax referendum forward.

Public comment has been tweaked in other ways over the years, including being moved up earlier in the City Council agenda and truncated to 90 minutes. The strict time allotment sometimes means that people get to speak for less than three minutes, which was the historical threshold for speeches from citizens to the Council.