Thanks to recent revisions to city code, panhandling is not illegal within the city of Austin. However, the new rules on the books currently ban aggressive confrontation. More specifically, unwanted contact, offensive language, blocking someone, or following someone. Aggressive panhandling or solicitation do not fall under these new guidelines.
Additionally, panhandling is allowed in public areas such as, according to the new rules, “a sidewalk, street, highway, park, parking lot, alleyway, pedestrian way, or the common areas of a school, hospital, apartment house, office building, transport facility, or shop” so long as the panhandling is not confrontational in nature.
Despite panhandling not being illegal in Austin, there remains other laws created by city council that are designed for helping to police those who are part of the homeless population. These include the following:
Aggressive Confrontation
Aggressive Confrontation: Aggressive confrontations in public areas are disturbing and disruptive to residents and businesses and contribute to the loss of access to and enjoyment of public places and to a sense of fear, intimidation, and disorder; aggressive confrontation includes people approaching or following pedestrians, repetitive attempts to confront another person despite refusals, the use of abusive or profane language with the intent to cause fear and intimidation, unwanted physical contact, or the intentional blocking of pedestrian and vehicular traffic; this section is designed to protect citizens from the fear and intimidation accompanying certain kinds of aggressive confrontations, and not to limit a constitutionally protected activity.
Public Urination
Urinating or Defecating in Public Prohibited: A person commits an offense if the person urinates or defecates in or on a public street, alley, sidewalk, yard, park, building, structure, plaza, or utility right-of-way or other public place, or in public view; it is an affirmative defense to prosecution to prosecution under this section if the person is in a restroom.
Damage to Public Water Source
Damage to, Use of, or Bathing in a Public Water Source Prohibited: Except as specifically authorized under the code, a person commits an offense if the person damages or interferes with a public well, cistern, water plug, fountain, or reservoir, takes or uses water from a public water source, or bathes in a public reservoir.
Camping in Public Area
Camping in Public Area Prohibited: In this section, public area means an outdoor area accessible to the public including a street, highway, park, parking lot, alleyway, pedestrian way, and the common areas of a school, hospital, apartment building, office building, transport facility, or business; camp means the use of a public area for living accommodation purposes including storing personal belongings, making a camp fire, using a tent or shelter or other structure or vehicle for a living accommodation, carrying on cooking activities, or digging or earth breaking activities.
Glass Containers
Glass Containers Prohibited in Certain Areas: In this section, glass container means a glass receptacle, closed or capable of being closed; glass container no. 1 means the area that begins at the intersection of the south shore of Town Lake and the east curb of IH-35 East Frontage Road, north on the east curb of IH-35 East Frontage Road to its intersection with the north curb of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, west on the north curb of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to its intersection with the east curb of Lamar Boulevard (North), south on the east curb of Lamar Boulevard (North) to its intersection with the south shore of Town Lake, east on the south shore of Town Lake with the east curb of IH-25 East Frontage Road, the place of beginning.
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