Lawrence, KS Public Conduct: Aggressive Panhandling (2026)

Section 14-420 defines panhandling as any request for or solicitation of an immediate donation of money, including a request to buy an item for far more than it's worth when a reasonable person would see the sale as a disguised donation; passively sitting or standing with a sign, or performing music or another street act without a verbal request, is not panhandling. Subsection (a) lists six actions that turn ordinary panhandling into "aggressive panhandling": touching the solicited person without consent, intentionally blocking someone's path of travel, intentionally blocking a vehicle or building entrance, continuing to solicit after being refused, following or staying alongside someone who has walked away after being asked, or making a statement, gesture or communication that would cause a reasonable person to feel threatened, fearful or compelled.

Subsection (b) makes it unlawful for one person to engage in aggressive panhandling and equally unlawful for two or more people to work in concert to commit acts that would be aggressive panhandling if done alone. The same subsection separately bans any panhandling, aggressive or not, at a bus stop, inside a public transportation vehicle or facility, inside a car parked or stopped on a public street or alley, within 20 feet of an ATM or the entrance to a bank, credit union or savings and loan, or on private property without the owner's consent. 00, up to 180 days in jail, or both.