City Sued Over Tour Guide Licensure Racket

There is an ongoing dispute in Charleston, South Carolina, over a licensing issue relating to tour guide services. A lawsuit has been launched against the city of Charleston over its ruling that individuals need to first seek licenses before they can offer tour guide services in the area.

A judge has recently refused to settle the case and now it's headed to a jury for them to decide.

According to current rules, no one is permitted the freedom to offer tour guide services for payment, until they first pass a written and oral test and then get the proper license.

Among the questions that need to be answered on the test, according to the training guide manual, are questions like: knowing all cities, areas, and neighborhoods, in the Charleston metro area, how many hotel rooms are in that area, the average or current enrollment numbers at roughly 10 different universities in the district, the names and years for 26 movies and TV shows that are affiliated with the city, and more.

Those interested in seeking the license need to score 80 percent or higher on the written test before they are allowed to move on to the oral test.

A few people have failed that test and those individuals launched a lawsuit against the city as a result; they believe that the current restrictions in place are a violation to their 1st Amendment rights. Not only that, but that the state might be using these rules in order to preserve and promote their own historical narrative.

Their case is being represented by lawyers from the Institute for Justice.

The state has responded to the lawsuit in alleging that their current tour guide restrictions are for the best interest of the city, its tourism industry, and for the safety of tourists. But now a jury will have to decide whether or not that's really the case.

The judge did allege that he didn't see the current rules in place as restricting the freedom of people to discuss their historical views but only that it restricted that speech in certain areas in exchange for payment.

However, shouldn't customers, just as well as those speaking, have the freedom to decide who we are willing to give our money to in exchange for what we deem to be valuable information? Yet the state in this circumstance wants to take the job of deciding for us. The lawyers representing them affirm that you shouldn't need to seek permission first before engaging in speaking and sharing information for money.

For those who don't first seek the appropriate permission and license before they start offering their historical information and tour guide services, they could receive fines up to $500, or even jail time. No court date has been set yet for the trial.

This isn't the first time that the IJ has fought in lawsuits that have specifically challenged the occupational licensing rules surrounding tour guide services. They have previously won several lawsuits pertaining to this issue, in areas like Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and Georgia.

banner thanks to @son-of-satire

Pics:
Pixabay
the noun project via thenounproject.com/term/tour-guide/977769/

Sources:
http://abcnews4.com/news/local/charleston-tour-guide-lawsuit-goes-to-federal-court
https://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/TheBattery/archives/2017/04/06/both-sides-await-judges-ruling-on-lawsuit-challenging-charlestons-tour-guide-laws
http://ij.org/case/charleston-tour-guides/
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/postandcourier.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/0f/60f4a3ba-a21b-11e7-9fb5-171d711cba90/59c9444f01aab.pdf.pdf
http://www.postandcourier.com/business/lawsuit-against-charleston-s-tour-guide-license-rule-headed-for/article_3f9422ea-a21b-11e7-8b5c-879c8a3741fc.html

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City Sued Over Tour Guide Licensure Racket

A judge has recently refused to settle the case and now it's headed to a jury for them to decide.

Those interested in seeking the license need to score 80 percent or higher on the written test before they are allowed to move on to the oral test.

The judge did allege that he didn't see the current rules in place as restricting the freedom of people to discuss their historical views but only that it restricted that speech in certain areas in exchange for payment.

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