The Los Angeles City Council today approved removing criminal penalties from the city’s law banning street vending, but city attorneys say they have no way of directly granting amnesty to vendors already convicted of misdemeanors or who have ongoing cases.
The council voted 13-0 to adopt the ordinance, which includes an “urgency clause” to fast-track its enactment.
Advocates say the vast majority of street vendors – many of whom sell hotdogs, fresh fruit and other snacks to Angelenos – are undocumented and therefore vulnerable to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies that favor deportation of those with any type of criminal record.
But the city’s vote today may not be enough on their own for around 22 people who were convicted of or pled guilty to misdemeanor crimes related to street vending in the past year. City attorneys say they have no direct authority to change their records.
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In another 13 or so pending cases, as well as cases in which those charged with misdemeanors failed to appear in court, city prosecutors say the fates of the vendors are mostly out of their hands, as well.
The assessment was provided in a report to the City Council, which last month asked the city attorney to report back on how an amnesty program might work for street vendors who already have convictions or are facing legal trouble.
The attorneys wrote in their report that vendors can still try to get their convictions expunged, with prosecutors able to exercise the ability to “make a recommendation to the court.”
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Vending on sidewalks remains illegal in Los Angeles, and city leaders may take several more months to agree on a permitting program to legalize the activity.
In the meantime, the City Council voted last month to move ahead first with requesting an ordinance that would decriminalize street vending, so that tickets and fines would be the only enforcement measures.
The City Attorney submitted ordinance language, to be taken up by the City Council today, that calls for issuing citations under the city’s Administrative Citation Enforcement program. According to the city attorney’s spokesman, Rob Wilcox, this program would allow vendors to face “civil fines” rather than possible arrest, incarceration or a criminal record.
The new ordinance language also calls for removing the “potential to use a criminal remedy against a person who fails to pay” fines associated with the Administrative Citation Enforcement program.
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