SIOUX CITY , Iowa (AP) — Tossing trash on the ground or spitting on the sidewalk will no longer carry the possibility of jail time in Sioux City. The Sioux City Journal reports the City Council recently scaled back the number of violations that specify imprisonment as an optional penalty. Before the move, littering and spitting on a sidewalk carried up to 30 days in jail. Fines for those offenses — ranging from $65 to more than $600 — remain in effect.

City attorney Nicole DuBois says a change in state law that goes into effect next year spurred the action. The change requires cities to reimburse defense costs in cases where some defendants are prosecuted for misdemeanor city ordinance violations that carry jail time as a sentencing option.