In an effort to clean up the city's protest laws, an Augusta Commission committee on Tuesday revisited recommended revisions to local ordinances governing public protest and demonstration.
Although the commission's public safety committee recommended several changes to local protest laws, the item still must go before the full commission next week.
Elected officials who voted earlier this month against amending the ordinance say they don't expect to change their minds, even though the updated amendments are less prohibitive than those suggested earlier.
"Maybe the ordinance is not the heart of what you need," said Commissioner Willie Mays, who voted against any amendments last week.
Existing city law requires protesters to secure a permit from the Richmond County Sheriff's Office before picketing on public property.
The amended law being proposed still would require obtaining a permit from the sheriff but inserts time elements into the process.
The amendments failed by a 5-5 commission vote Jan. 21. That means the city's existing ordinance - which the city's attorney has said does not comply with recent free speech court decisions - will stay on the books.
Some commissioners are saying the city should be welcoming picketers with open arms, not adding new rules and regulations to public protesting.
"I'm still interested in having some conversation with both parties involved: the protesters and the Augusta National," Mr. Mays said.
The proposal reviewed by the commission's public safety committee suggests shortening the times required for protesters to secure permit applications, including:
Requiring a permit be applied for 20 days in advance, reduced from a proposed 30-day period
Lessening the amount of time the sheriff has to review a permit application from 10 business days to seven
Reducing from 10 days to seven the city's time frame for taking a permit denial's appeal before a judge
"That brings it down to a reasonable period of time," City Attorney Jim Wall said. "We're not trying to prevent anyone from coming in and protesting ... This takes some of the pressure off the person applying for a permit."
The request to change the city ordinance comes less than three months before the annual Masters Tournament, during which Martha Burk, of the National Council of Women's Organizations, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/Push Coalition have promised to protest the Augusta National Golf Club's all-male membership.
If the city doesn't amend its ordinance and the local law is challenged in court, Augusta could lose, said Commissioner Bill Kuhlke, who proposed the new amendments Tuesday.
"We're talking about thousands of dollars it could potentially cost the taxpayers of Richmond County," Mr. Kuhlke said.
Mayor Bob Young could break a tie on the ordinance vote, but he declined to say Tuesday which way he would vote, calling the issue "hypothetical" until it reached the commission floor.
"I will always come down on the side of public safety," Mr. Young said. "But I'm still in discussions with commissioners, and it is my hope that we will have a public demonstration ordinance without the need for a tie-breaking vote."
Reach Heidi Coryell Williams at (706) 823-3215 or heidi.williams@augustachronicle.com.
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