Utahns can now exercise their free-speech rights on most of the Utah State Capitol grounds.

Responding to complaints from poverty and free-speech advocates, the Capitol Preservation Board revised its proposed rules for handing out leaflets, conducting vigils, staging demonstrations and other activities protected by the First Amendment, expanding where and when these things can be done.

The first draft of rules came in response to a lawsuit brought by civil rights attorney Brian Barnard after poverty advocates were told they could not hand out leaflets in or near the building where the Legislature was meeting. Barnard's clients won their lawsuit and obtained a restraining order requiring the state to permit leafleting and demonstrations until rules were enacted.

The board's original proposal would have restricted free-speech activities to the grounds, steps and terraces, the entrances to the building, the rotunda and the foyers of the House and Senate office buildings. That, ironically, would have left many areas out-of-bounds for constitutionally protected activities within a place lawmakers call "The People's House."

Fortunately, the board reconsidered, and it has declared that free speech activities are "promoted and encouraged throughout the Capitol Hill Complex."

The rules impose some time restrictions on indoor rallies and activities: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. or when the building closes. The Capitol Grounds are open 24 hours a day for vigils, news conferences and other expressive activities.

It's a positive change. The original proposal would have made it harder for the public to get a message out to lawmakers. By being penned away in remote areas, those handing out literature or staging a rally would have to hope that a legislator would come by and hear their message. Under the new rules, demonstrators can get closer to their intended audience. The Capitol itself will be a free-speech zone. Restrictions should be imposed only to ensure public safety and smooth operations of government.

Unfortunately, there is one significant flaw. The rules do not cover the west building, where the Legislature currently meets. That building's interior is under the control of the Legislature and not subject to the rules of an executive-branch committee.

The board has urged the Legislature to adopt the rules on its own, and we join in that call. While decorum needs to be maintained in and around House and Senate chambers, there is nothing wrong with allowing people to hand out leaflets in the hallways or approaching their representatives to seek redress of grievances as long as their activities do not impede traffic.

If lobbyists can ply their trade outside the chamber doors, then individual citizens, whom the Legislature serves, should have the same right.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A5.

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