Free-speech limits decried

A group of low-income Utahns whose presence on Capitol Hill during the 2006 legislative session prompted a new rule governing free-speech activities at the state complex was the first to formally object to it on Friday.

In a letter to David Hart, executive director of the Capitol Preservation Board, the Anti-Hunger Action Committee expressed concern about the proposed prohibition of leafletting and other free-speech activities at the state Capitol complex.

"Placing unnecessary restrictions on literature distribution and holding small photographs violates the First Amendment and will discourage low-income people from participating in the political process," wrote committee director Bill Tibbetts.

In its letter, the group requested that a public hearing be held on the proposed rule, which will take effect no earlier than Oct. 9.

During the 45-day session earlier this year, AHAC committee members distributed pictures of decaying and rotten teeth in a failed effort to encourage lawmakers to fund dental services for adult Medicaid patients.

Under the proposed rule, posted online Friday, such activities would only be allowed in the main foyers of each building and the outdoor plaza between the two. The Legislature is meeting in the West Building while the Capitol is being renovated. The governor and other executive branch officials are in the East Building.

Following the 2006 Legislative session, the Disabled Rights Action Committee and AHAC, and the Utah Animal Rights Coalition, each sued the state after the Utah Highway Patrol stopped them from handing out fliers to passers-by. The groups prevailed in each lawsuit.

The state has never had a rule about free speech activities, which has led to confusion about what kinds of activity were allowed and where, Hart said.

"We decided that it would probably be in the public's best interest if we put together a rule covering free speech, so that there was no question of what should or shouldn't be done or could and couldn't be done," he said.

The point is not to limit speech, Hart said, but to lay out some clear guidelines.

"We're not trying to stop that, we're just trying to make sure that it's fair and equal to everybody," he said.

Rep. Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake City, was the only member of the 11-person board to vote against the proposed rule. Becker said he has heard from others who are opposed to the new restrictions, which he believes go too far in tamping down expressive activity.