Commission holds over revised policy on public use of county buildings after First Amendment concerns

The Mobile County Commission held over a proposed replacement policy governing public use of county-owned buildings after commissioners raised several questions about how time, place and manner restrictions would be applied.

Chief Dubey described the draft as intended to “safeguard everybody’s First Amendment rights” while narrowing where indoor demonstrations or displays may be located and clarifying time, place and manner limits. Chief Dubey said the draft limits props and signage and designates ingress-and-egress-friendly areas for demonstrations so staff can manage safety and flow.

Legal staff said they tightened definitions, clarified what constitutes a disruptive activity, and removed a prior six-foot spacing rule in favor of specific permitted wall areas and a process for pre-booked displays. The draft also established a screening procedure for props and a size recommendation of 18 by 24 inches for personal signs so items can be processed through security; staff said larger items could be screened with a wand.

Commissioners asked for clearer language on what qualifies as a temporary “display,” whether easels and props would be permitted, and how limits (for example, “two signs per person”) might be applied without targeting particular individuals. One commissioner recommended removing the conflicted sentence in a subsection to remove ambiguity; legal staff agreed to make edits and return before the commission’s Dec. 18 conference meeting.

What happens next: staff and the chief will redraft the policy to address the commissioners’ questions and return it to the commission for further consideration at the Dec. 18 conference meeting.