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First Amendment Activity Permits / Cost Recovery / Large Events / LAMC Section 103.111

Council File 25-1268

Introduced
2025-10-24
Last changed
2026-05-05
Status
closed
Expires
2028-05-05
Mover
HEATHER HUTT
Second
MARQUEECE HARRIS-DAWSON
References
Board Report: 26-022

Brief

Councilmember Heather Hutt moved to amend LAMC Section 103.111 governing First Amendment activity permits, focusing on cost recovery mechanisms for police services at large permitted events. The motion was initially adopted urgently in October 2025, then returned to Public Safety Committee in early 2026 after a Board of Police Commissioners referral. The committee approved the amended item on April 22, and Council adopted it again on May 5, 2026 by a 14-0-1 vote.

Full summary

This file concerns how the City of Los Angeles recovers costs for police services at large events and parades protected by the First Amendment. Councilmember Heather Hutt introduced the motion, seconded by Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Tim McOsker, to examine and strengthen the city's cost recovery strategies under LAMC Sections 41.20, 41.20.1, and 103.111. A central question was whether events whose police costs exceed $100,000 should require City Council review and approval before permits are issued. The Board of Police Commissioners studied the feasibility of that threshold approach and submitted its findings in February 2026. Rather than mandating Council sign-off on high-cost permits, the final recommendations took a different shape. The Public Safety Committee, after reviewing the BOPC report, approved three directives: filing the BOPC report on Special Events Permits; instructing LAPD to analyze First Amendment parades that cost the city less than $100,000 to determine whether cost recovery is feasible in those cases as well; and asking the City Attorney, working with LAPD, to recommend specific amendments to the relevant municipal code sections to make the city's cost recovery tools more effective overall. The file followed an unusual path. The Public Safety Committee waived initial consideration in October 2025, and Council adopted the motion on an urgent basis on October 29. The matter then returned to committee after the BOPC submitted its report in February 2026. The Public Safety Committee approved the revised recommendations on April 22, 2026, with members Lee, Price, and Soto-Martinez voting yes and McOsker and Park absent. Council adopted the amended item on May 5, 2026 by a 14-0-1 vote. The file is now closed, though the underlying work — LAPD's cost-recovery analysis and the City Attorney's proposed code amendments — is expected to generate follow-on reports.

Activity (12)

  • 2026-05-05 Council action final.
  • 2026-05-05 Council adopted item as amended, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2026-05-01 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on May 5, 2026.
  • 2026-04-22 Public Safety Committee approved item(s) .
  • 2026-04-17 Public Safety Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on April 22, 2026.
  • 2026-02-10 Board of Police Commissioners document(s) referred to Public Safety Committee.
  • 2026-02-06 Document submitted by Board of Police Commissioners, dated February 3, 2026.
  • 2025-10-29 Council action final.
  • 2025-10-29 Council adopted the matter urgent forthwith.
  • 2025-10-24 Public Safety Committee waived consideration of item .
  • 2025-10-24 Motion referred to Public Safety Committee.
  • 2025-10-24 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on October 29, 2025.

Documents (7)

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