Pompano Beach, FL Public Conduct: Aggressive Panhandling (2026)

15, adopted by Ord. 94-62 in 1994, defines a set of terms before stating the offense. AGGRESSIVELY BEG means to beg with intent to intimidate another person into giving money or goods, and BEG means to ask or solicit money or goods as a charity for the actor or others, whether by word, bodily gesture, sign, or other means. INTIMIDATE is defined as engaging in conduct that would create a well-founded fear in a reasonable person or make a reasonable person feel compelled to give money or goods; the section lists specific circumstances that count toward intimidation, including touching the person solicited, following the person and persisting in begging after a negative response, directing profane or abusive language toward the person solicited, or using violent or threatening gestures toward the person solicited.

Subsection (B)(2) makes a person guilty of pedestrian interference if, in a public place, he or she intentionally aggressively begs, a separate prong from the section's other obstruction offense. PUBLIC PLACE is defined broadly to include alleys, bridges, driveways, parking lots, parks, plazas, sidewalks, and streets open to the general public, plus doorways and entrances to buildings. Subsection (C) carves out an explicit exception: acts protected by the First Amendment, the right to picket or legally protest, and acts authorized by a duly issued permit are not violations of this section, a limitation the city built in to keep the ordinance from reaching constitutionally protected solicitation such as charitable or political fundraising that lacks the intimidating conduct the definitions describe.