HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - February 2, 1983 (19)r' f CITY COUNCIL SING
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CONME�JIS BY PUBLIC ON NON ACJFI A IT34S
CITIZEN APPEARS Brenton Bleier appeared before the Council suggesting that tire`
BEFORE 7HE City Council actively seek a cca titive "non -pornographic"
C,JNCIL RE cable franchise for the City or that the City could take it
CABLE,, VIEWING upon itself to provide cable television service to its
MATTEJU AL residents.
LAW OFFICES OF
BRENTON A. BLEIER
1001 G STREET. SUITE 101
SACRAMENTO. CALIFORNIA 98614
19161 444-8994
January 20, 1983
Honorable Mayor
and City Council
City of Lodi
City Hall
Lodi, California 95240
Honorable Members in Session:
Last evening your Council voted to refer a Draft Ordinance
which I had prepared dealing with a requirement for parental
permission relating to the viewing of sexually exploitive
cable television programming by minors to the State Attorney
Genera). for an Opinion.
I would respectfully suggest this involves a needless expen-
diture of City time and funds for four (4) reasons.
1. All four (4) members of your Council who were present
expressed themselves as being opposed to the concent of such
an Ordinance even if it were ]-gal. Thus, assuming arguendo
that it would be the Attorney aneral's Opinion that the
Ordinance was proper and legal, your Council will clearly
not enact such an Ordinance with its present membership. In
view of your personal positions in favor of the type of
programming being offered by the Playboy channel, the
legality or illegality of the proposed Draft Ordinance is
simply irrelevant.
2. An Opinion of the State Attorney General is of no force
and effect whatever. If such an Ordinance were enacted and
legal action were undertaken by the City against an individual
for violating it, the Opinion of the Attorney General would
place no legal restraint upon the judgment of the court. As
your attorney, Mr. Stein, well knows, if the Council is in-
clined to take any action, the Opinion of the Attorney
General cannot help the City's position but can instead only
hurt it.
3. In any request from a local official for an Opinion, the
Attorney General requires a brief from the submitting official
arguing for the desired result, either affirmative or negative,
t
Honorable Mayor
and City Council
January 20, 1983
Page Two
to the question submitted. In this case, Mr. Stein has already
argued to you eloquently in a sixteen (16) page Opinion that
the proposed Ordinance is unwise. I would suspect that in
good conscience Mr. Stein could submit no other position to
the Attorney General. Thus, we would have the ungainly pos-
ition of the City asking for a negative ruling on its own
Ordinance.
4. The State has just recently elected the most liberal
Attorney General in the history of the State. In view of
his personal predilections, it is highly unl'kely that
General Van de Kamp would approve f any re raints whatever
to control pornography.
For all of these reasons, the su ission the proposed
Ordinance by your Council to the tate At rney General is
unnecessary and unavise.
y your
v
RENTON A. H TER
ttorney at Law
BAB/sk
cc: Ronald Stein, City Attorney
Henry Glaves, City Manager