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A group of local tour guides is suing the city of Savannah over its licensing requirements, saying such regulations amount to an assault on their First Amendment rights.
Represented by national nonprofit law firm the Institute of Justice, the four plaintiffs say the city’s requirements are overly burdensome and should be repealed.
During a chilly Tuesday morning press conference in Johnson Square, Institute of Justice attorney Robert Johnson said their suit is really about protecting freedom of speech.
“In the city of Savannah, tour guides are required to get a license from the government to tell their stories,” said Johnson. “That would be unimaginable for any other profession that uses words for living — be that poets, journalists or stand-up comedians.”
Currently, the city requires would-be tour guides to pass a $100, 100-question multiple-choice test with 80 percent or higher as well as pass a criminal background check and physical exam. There are about 330 permitted guides in the city today, though not all are active.
“These kinds of restrictions might be OK if they were employees of the city, but they’re not. Tour guides are free and independent citizens who are exercising their first amendment right to tell a story,” said Johnson.
One of the plaintiffs, tour guide Dan Leger, who goes by “Savannah Dan,” said he does not need the city to give him permission to give a tour.
“As a veteran of the United States Army and a former police officer, I swore to uphold the Constitution to defend it against all enemies, both foreign and domestic, whether that be Islamic terrorists or the city of Savannah,” said Leger.
The other plaintiffs include Michelle Freenor, owner of Savannah Belle Walking Tours, her husband, Steven Freenor, and Jean Soderlind, who runs the tour company Ghost Talk, Ghost Walk.
Michelle Freenor said despite the fact her husband is a licensed history teacher at Jenkins High School, he cannot help her give tours because he does not have a city-issued permit. They said this is burdensome to a small mom-and-pop business.
“When she’s sick, our business shuts down because I can’t give a tour,” said Steven.
“I was in the hospital for three weeks last year, and he could’ve stepped in,” said Michelle. “He has more qualifications from the state of Georgia for history than I do, I just have a tour-guide license, but he couldn't because he didn’t take the test.”
She said she had misgivings about the licensing requirements since founding her company six years ago, including what she described as arbitrary and inaccurate information on the city’s exam.
The group’s lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Savannah, according to Johnson. This is the fourth such lawsuit pursued by the Institute of Justice, a national nonprofit law firm founded in 1991.
They won the repeal of similar licensing requirements in Philadelphia and, most recently, Washington, D.C. A challenge to New Orleans’ licensing was unsuccessful, but the group is appealing that decision to the Supreme Court.
The city has not filed a response to the lawsuit, but in an interview, Bridget Lidy, Savannah tourism administrator, said her department is in the midst of a complete overview of the tour service ordinance and has been keeping close tabs on the other cases.
“We were aware of the Washington, D.C., case and the one in New Orleans. It’s definitely something we’re in tune with,” she said.
The city’s tour service ordinance was adopted in 1978 and has remained virtually unchanged over the years, save for an update to the test in 2006. Lidy said the city is conducting a largeer tourism survey and is meeting regularly with the Tourism Advisory Committee, comprised of 13 industry and resident stakeholders, to vet these types of issues and concerns.
“We have to make sure we engage all the different factions and come up with a consensus,” said Lidy. “In the last couple of months, that’s exactly what we’ve been doing in reviewing the ordinance.”
Regardless of the lawsuit, she said, they will continue to take a holistic approach when making recommendations to City Council regarding tourism.
The tourism community is far from united over the issue of licensing. A few tour company owners said they were opposed to the lawsuit.
“The residents of the city want better tour guides, not to open up the flood gate of incompetent tour guides,” said Phil Sellers, owner of Old City Walks and the newly created Tour Guide Institute. “The city doesn’t want people lurching out from the sidewalk with offers to take them on a tour by anybody, so some degree of regulation is obviously in order.”
Sellers also called into question the funding for the Institute of Justice during the press conference.
Johnson said their firm receives funding from thousands of individual donors, including about 1 percent from the Koch brothers, the private businessmen known for funding controversial laissez faire and conservative causes across the country.
Johnson said the litigation could take up to two years, but that ideally the city would reach an agreement before then. The group is also seeking repeal of the $1 preservation fee assessed to tour company owners for each person on a tour.
“Ultimately, what this lawsuit is going to make clear is there is no tour guide exception to the Constitution,” said Johnson.