Your Picture Could Cost You In Portland

The nanny state that is Oregon never ceases to amaze me. It seems like every week I'm finding some new regulation or law that makes even the smallest of tasks difficult to accomplish for business owners here in Oregon. Today's train wreck of a policy came from a listener, and it involves a simple service that almost every engaged couple in America will be purchasing. A wedding photographer:

My husband and I own a very small photography business. On April 27th, he was hired to photograph a wedding in the Crown Ballroom in downtown Portland. He suggested the wedding party might want to be photographed by a beautiful public fountain not far from the wedding venue. As my husband was taking photographs, a women named Alicia Hammock, Cultural and Event Programming Director for the Portland Parks and Recreation Department, interrupted him, stopping him from taking pictures. She told him that as a professional photographer he could not take photos of any object maintained by the Parks and Recreation Department without obtaining a permit $195 a year. She also told him "we have your picture now" so they could identify him if he repeated the offense. This incident embarrassed my husband in front of his clients. In 2011 our gross income from our photography business was a little over $6000.  As you are aware, "Occupy Portland" recently destroyed one park in Downtown Portland with no legal consequences. Jane

There you have it. You need to pay money to the city, that manages the PUBLIC'S parks for a permit to take pictures. Think about that for second. Don't the parks in this town belong to the public? Don't our tax dollars help with the up-keep?

We were able to speak to the photographer today on the show. Take a listen for yourself

Click here to listen

 

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