FLINT TWP., MI – A new proposed solicitation ordinance in Flint Township addresses some concerns with a previous version, but one nonprofit is still unhappy with the changes and is asking for the process to be permit-based.

During a solicitation ordinance committee meeting on Sept. 17, Flint Township attorney Peter Goodstein proposed a different ordinance that would have nothing to do with speech.

The ordinance would make it unlawful for a "person to receive or to attempt to receive money or any other object or thing from an occupant of a motor vehicle that is operating on a public street."

The proposal would make it a civil infraction that would cost no more than $500.

Township Supervisor Karyn Miller said there are major revisions with this proposal.

"You cannot give or receive anything on a public roadway," she said about the new ordinance.

A separate ordinance would make it a civil infraction to not identify yourself to a code officer, who could enforce the solicitation ordinance, Miller said.

"No person shall fail to identify himself to a code enforcement officer who detains that person under circumstances that reasonably indicate to the code enforcement officer that the person has committed a civil infraction," it reads.

The first proposed ordinance earlier this year would have outlawed asking for money from motorists on the road, as well as anyone waiting in line to get into a home, business or athletic facility. Such requests on private property could be banned by the owner, tenant or occupant.

Also banned in the first proposal: Soliciting money within 15 feet of a public toilet facility, automated teller, pay phone or bus or taxi stop.

This new proposal is focused on safety, Miller said.

"Girl Scouts sell cookies," she said. "Places do car washes. It's just a matter of organizing it with a private business."

Apart from that, Jaime Gaskin, executive director of the United Way of Genesee County, has offered to begin the process of creating a pamphlet to give to those who are panhandling for help.

But the new ordinance still has Chris Hamilton, executive director of the Old Newsboys of Flint, concerned because it still means nonprofits cannot do annual events such as fundraising on local roads.

"I still expect the committee to come up with something different to satisfy the organizations involved," he said, adding he wants something that works for nonprofits, too.

Hamilton, a Flint Township resident, is on the commission that was asked to make a recommendation to the township board. The commission has two more meetings at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 1 and Oct. 8 at the township hall, 1490 S. Dye Road. The meetings are open to the public, although the commission already held an open forum for residents to express concerns.

While conversations continue, Hamilton wants to see a permit policy for solicitation, which would allow the township to know who is asking for money.

"There's nothing wrong with a permit policy," he said. "With a fee to do that, they might just find they've eliminated the panhandlers."

Flint Township is not the only local municipality to consider a solicitation ordinance.

Burton officials have considered a similar ordinance but are waiting to make a decision until Flint Township has completed its ordinance.

As other municipalities discuss similar ordinances, Hamilton said he's concerned for the Old Newsboys, which gathers half of its budget through a one-day annual newspaper sale. He said he's also concerned for firefighters and other organizations that solicit on the roads.

The American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to the Flint Township board hours before the Aug. 11 meeting, saying the board should not approve the original proposal, citing nine issues the group wanted addressed.