FL- Riviera Beach can now enforce its no-saggy-pants law

7-20-2008 Florida:

RIVIERA BEACH — Police can now write up people who fail to pull up in order to make them pay up.

The city council voted unanimously Wednesday night to close a legal loophole that kept police from enforcing the city's saggy pants law.

The measure hasn't been enforced since March, when voters approved the law because it lacked an ordinance number, said Rose Anne Brown, the city's spokeswoman. Police need to reference the ordinance number when writing citations to violators, Brown said.

"It's a technicality, but it's what's needed in order to make the citation legal," Brown said.

Mayor Thomas Masters pushed for the saggy pants law. The problem in part occurred as a result of how Masters went about getting the ordinance on the books.

Instead of bringing the ordinance before the city council, Masters opted to get voter approval by collecting 4,769 signatures to put the measure on the ballot. By doing so, the law never received an ordinance number because it went straight to the ballot. In March, it won 72 percent of the vote, despite a late push by critics who opposed the measure's jail provision.

Masters said that he was pleased that the law can now be enforced.

Since it was passed, he has been educating youngsters and parents in the community about its impact.

"I hope that young people will take the time to come into compliance," Masters said. "The bottom line is if you pull up your pants before you leave home, you won't have a problem."

Under the law, anyone wearing saggy pants that expose underwear or skin is deemed a violator. The first offense carries a $150 fine or community service; a second offense prompts a $300 fine or more community service.

Habitual offenders, those with three or more violations, face a possible penalty of spending up to 60 days in jail.

The saggy pants fad surfaced in jail, when juvenile offenders wore overly large prison garb that sagged, exposing their underwear. It later became a fashion statement among rappers and remains popular in urban communities across the country.

The fashion fad cause a backlash among adults who felt exposing one's boxers or thong was unfashionable and offensive. The result has been cities, like Riviera Beach, passing laws banning the practice. The city joins Opa-locka in Miami-Dade County and several Southern towns with "pull up your pants" laws. The Atlanta school district also has a similar measure. ..News Source.. by WILLIAM COOPER JR., Palm Beach Post Staff Writer