Merced, CA Public Conduct: Aggressive Panhandling (2026)

010 as any in-person request for an immediate donation of money, food, cigarettes, or items of value, including a purchase priced far above an item's worth when it functions as a donation. 08. 020 bans soliciting after sunset or before sunrise outright, an infraction regardless of manner. 030 layers on location restrictions: no solicitation within ten feet of a bus stop, inside a transit vehicle or facility, in a vehicle on the street, on private property without the owner's permission, within ten feet of most building entrances, or within fifty feet of a bank, savings and loan, ATM, or other cash-dispensing machine, and no soliciting inside a bank's parking lot at all.

040 is the aggressive-manner provision at the heart of the topic: it is an infraction to solicit by coming within three feet of a person before they indicate willingness to donate, blocking their path along a sidewalk or street, following someone who has walked away, using profane or abusive language during or after a refusal, soliciting in a group of two or more, or soliciting while under the influence of alcohol or an illegal drug. 050 separately criminalizes false or misleading solicitation, including false claims of homelessness, being stranded, or representing a nonexistent charity, and spending donated funds on something other than their stated purpose.