PRINTER'S NO. 1730
No. 1383 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY COHEN, SOLOBAY, BELFANTI, THOMAS, CALTAGIRONE,
DALEY, EACHUS, FREEMAN, GEORGE, JAMES, LEVDANSKY, MELIO,
OLIVER, STABACK, SURRA, BLACKWELL, CASORIO, COSTA, CRUZ,
CURRY, FABRIZIO, GALLOWAY, GERGELY, GIBBONS, GOODMAN,
GRUCELA, KULA, LEACH, M. O'BRIEN, PARKER, PAYTON, RAMALEY,
SEIP, WALKO AND J. WHITE, MAY 29, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, MAY 29, 2007
AN ACT
1 Providing for civil demonstrations at large retail
2 establishments.
3 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
4 hereby enacts as follows:
5 Section 1. Access to large retail establishments.
6 (a) General rule.--A person may have access to the
7 nonbusiness areas of a large retail establishment and of its
8 subcontractors in order to engage in noncommercial speech with
9 customers and employees on matters relating to community
10 affairs, religion, politics, collective bargaining, business
11 practices, workplace rights or topics of public concern. Such
12 speech may include distributing literature relating to such
13 matters and soliciting signatures on forms or petitions
14 addressed to public officials, government agencies, religious
15 organizations, business entities, or other community
16 institutions.
1 (b) Reasonable time, place and manner restrictions.--Such
2 speech shall be conducted in an orderly manner and may be
3 subject to any time, place and manner restrictions that the
4 management of the employer chooses to establish so long as such
5 restrictions do not discriminate based on the subject matter or
6 content of the speech. Such restrictions include:
7 (1) A restriction on the use of bright lights,
8 loudspeakers, musical instruments, radios, televisions,
9 amplifiers and similar devices.
10 (2) A restriction on littering, including a reasonable
11 charge, not to exceed $100, for cleanup costs resulting from
12 the distribution of literature.
13 (c) Enforcement.--Law enforcement personnel may not remove
14 for trespass from the premises of an employer a person or group
15 engaging in any speech activity in nonbusiness areas. Police may
16 enforce an injunction issued by a court prohibiting an
17 individual or group from entering the premises of an employer
18 for violating time, place and manner restrictions established by
19 the management pursuant to subsection (b). Police may enforce
20 any nontrespass-related violations of the law by any individual
21 or group.
22 (d) Definition.--As used in this section, the term "large
23 retail establishment" shall include, but not be limited to,
24 retail shopping malls.
25 Section 2. Effective date.
26 This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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