PROPOSED POLICY FOR PETITIONERS LARGELY UNCHANGED

RAPID CITY -- After a year of wrangling with the petition-circulation
policy at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center, the city council may end up
leaving it basically unchanged.

The policy allows people to circulate petitions outside the building
15 feet from entrances. It was challenged a year ago when Bob
Newland, a petitioner seeking the legalization of medical marijuana,
was arrested inside the civic center during the Black Hills Stock
Show & Rodeo for refusing to circulate his petitions outside. He was
charged with failure to vacate, a misdemeanor.

A jury deadlocked in September over whether Newland should be allowed
to circulate petitions inside the civic center.

Several times over the past year, the council discussed ways to allow
petitioners inside the civic center but was unable to find an
agreeable solution.

This week, the legal and finance committee approved two resolutions,
one that clarifies existing policy and one that adds an exception for
people with disabilities.

Alderman Sam Kooiker said he has "heartburn" about the petition
policy but was even more concerned about not putting something in
place to address issues regarding people with disabilities who want
to petition.

"The issue I have is the same that I've had for months: that we
should be able to find a way to allow zones within the civic center
for petitioning," he said. "That being said, I've learned by now to
pick certain battles and leave other battles for another day."

The first resolution still prohibits circulating petitions within the
civic center but does allow a petitioner inside as long as the person
is in an area leased to a civic-center tenant with the tenant's permission.

Petitioning is allowed outside the civic center, but the resolution
clarifies that the petitioner must be 15 feet or farther away from
any of the building's entrances.

The second resolution allows deviation from existing petition policy
when a person with a disability could not otherwise comply. The
disabled petitioner could request in writing a reasonable
accommodation or modification at least 10 days before an event.

The person also must provide a letter from a medical doctor
documenting the disability and stating that the person would not be
able to comply with the existing petition policy because of their
disability. The civic center manager or a designee would process
requests and determine whether it is reasonable. If not, the person
could be offered an alternative that would still allow petitioning.

The city attorney's office had recommended delaying action on the
disability resolution until the city's disability committee reviewed
it and made a recommendation. But Kooiker said the council should
approve it now, knowing that it could be modified later if necessary.

"I don't believe this is a broad loophole or anything; this is
something I believe is a reasonable accommodation," he said.

Alderman Bill Okrepkie had also hoped there could be a way to
accommodate petitioners inside the civic center, but said he didn't
want to "put an oar in the water" on the issue.

The committee's decision won't be final unless the full council
agrees to act on it Monday.