A new bipartisan bill could ban homeless encampments near “sensitive community areas” in California if shelters are available.
Proposed earlier this month by state Sens. Brian Jones, a Republican, and Catherine Blakespear, a Democrat, the goal of Senate Bill 1011 is to curb the homeless crisis in California. The legislation would prohibit homeless individuals from “sitting, lying, sleeping or storing, using, maintaining or placing personal property upon a street or sidewalk,” and if camping within 500 feet of a public or private school, open space, or major transit stop, according to the bill. If a person is found violating the law, they could receive a misdemeanor or infraction.
“What we are trying to do is compassionately clearing encampments near areas that are sensitive to the public and the public needs to have safe access to,” Jones told ABC News.
Local law enforcement would have to supply homeless people with shelter locations and mental health resources, according to the bill. Jones and Blakespear told the outlet it would also require police to yield their own policies regarding what to do with encampments when individuals are cleared out and how they will choose to enforce consequences based on violations.
California homeless shelters have had a history of being hotbeds for unsanitary conditions and harassment, a problem the bill’s creators told the outlet they are hoping to solve by following up with initiatives similar to San Diego’s implementation of the Unsafe Camping Ordinance, which the city established designated safe and cleaner camping spaces through “progressive enforcement.”
“There are lots of reasons people don’t want to be in congregate shelters — concerns about theft, lack of privacy,” Blakespear told the outlet. “I think having safe camping, along with safe parking and permanent supportive housing, and also additional emphasis on mental health and substance abuse issues and having more beds available for people there, those are all pieces of the puzzle.”
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The bill’s proposal follows the state’s increasing homeless rate, despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D-CA) $750 million Encampment Resolution Fund that helped clear homeless encampments from cities statewide. Of the people experiencing homelessness in the United States, 181,399, or 28%, are in California, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The Supreme Court decided last month that it would rule on the constitutionality of banning homeless encampments in public spaces when there are no alternative sheltering options, following the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which upheld a temporary injunction that banning homeless encampments when no other shelters are available was cruel and unusual punishment.