The future of panhandling?

City Council delayed a vote this week on a proposal to ban people under the age of 16 from soliciting donations for charity on Houston streets. Instead, councilmembers decided to make the discussion broader — now it's about cutting the number of homeless window-washing panhandlers.

Councilman Michael Berry introduced a proposal last week to prohibit all minors from soliciting for charity and to ban anyone, regardless of age, from "entering roadways or obstructing traffic to get money from motorists." That means the people who approach your car at intersections to wash your windows or ask for spare change wouldn't be able to do so anymore, but (as we understand it) sidewalk panhandling would still be legal. Charity workers of legitimate age — for example, the firemen who collect money in boots at intersections — would still be allowed to do what they do.

Mayor Bill White said the revised proposal is the first step in reducing panhandling in general:

"This is just the beginning of a responsible and effective way to address the issue of solicitations and panhandling along the roadways," White said. "During this next year, there will be a process that builds on this."

The mayor told the council that his administration is developing a three-pronged plan to address noncharitable solicitations.

First, he said, he plans to urge Houstonians to give money directly to organizations that offer services to needy people, including the homeless, and not dole it out in $1 increments at red lights.

He also wants to make people who depend on street-level donations understand that changes are coming, and to figure out ways to enforce new regulations without taxing an understaffed police force.

It does make sense. Not only do the street solicitors put themselves and others at risk, but they hold up traffic and really annoy us when they wash our windows even after we tell them not to. But if Council passes the proposal, Houstonist wonders how well it'll be enforced when existing panhandling laws are often forgotten.