Florida House of Representatives passed a bill Friday that would ban homeless people from sleeping in public and require local governments to fund homeless camps.
HB 1365 passed the Republican-controlled House 82-26 on a nearly party-line vote. The bill is supported by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said it is a way to “fight homelessness and keep Florida’s streets clean.”
“We’re not going to let Florida become San Francisco, where there are homeless people everywhere,” DeSantis said last week.
According to the News Service of Florida, the bill would make it easier for residents and business owners to challenge local officials over their response to homelessness.
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Florida House of Representatives passed a bill Friday that would ban homeless people from sleeping in public. (Getty Images)
The Florida Senate is scheduled to consider a similar proposal on Monday.
House sponsor Sen. Sam Garrison (R-S.C.) acknowledged that the measure “will not end homelessness,” but said current efforts to address homelessness are not working.
“This is not a bill that is designed to blind people or render people unconscious. Quite the contrary,” Garrison said on the House floor.
Garrison said the goal is to prevent Florida cities from falling into the same homeless crisis as San Francisco and other U.S. cities.
“The status quo is unacceptable,” he said. “When a problem arises that exceeds the resources available to address it, the cost of addressing the problem on the back end is inevitably 10 times the cost on the front end.”
As of 2022, Florida will have the third largest homeless population in the United States, at approximately 26,000 people. That same year, San Francisco’s homeless population reached nearly 8,000 people.
Tampa tried to designate a homeless camp for homeless people for two months during the coronavirus pandemic. City officials told Fox 35 it costs about $60,000 per month for every 100 homeless people. At about $600 per tent, that comes out to $720,000 a year.
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A homeless man sits next to a makeshift shelter on a sidewalk in Miami. (Getty Images)
The bill would prohibit cities and counties from allowing people to sleep on public property, including public buildings and public rights-of-way. The proposal would also allow local governments to designate specific areas for sleeping and camping if they meet standards set by the Florida Department of Children and Families.
These designated areas must include restrooms and water, security, and be free of alcohol and drugs. Also, since the premises will only be available for his one year use, it must not compromise the safety or value of nearby properties.
“No safety, no basic sanitation, no access to behavioral health services for people suffering from substance abuse and mental illness…The answer is to have a home for everyone. ,” Garrison said. “If we don’t do anything for these people, that’s unacceptable.”
Rep. Ralph Masullo (R) said the bill would begin cleaning the streets while also providing safe shelter and mental health services.
“Do you guys have to come back here next year and do more work? Maybe,” Masloh said. “But when cities don’t act, the state needs to act, and that’s our responsibility.”
Democrats argue that without state funding to support the bill, it would increase costs for local governments and push homeless people into forested areas.
Rep. Lavon Bracey Davis (D) said the bill seeks to “bully municipalities and counties into doing what we want” while criminalizing homelessness.
A group of homeless people shelter from the cold with blankets and warm clothing in front of a downtown Orlando shopping street. (Getty Images)
“We have to admit that pushing unhoused people out of the picture is not the answer. Attempts to sweep social problems under the rug have failed,” Bracey-Davis said.
Rep. Anna Eskamani (D) said lawmakers should “prioritize solid investments in transitional housing and shelters. But that’s not the case. Instead, they should designate locations that are probably very difficult to identify.” I want to.”
The bill would also give residents and business owners the right to file civil lawsuits against local governments for allowing illegal sleeping or camping on public land.
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Some counties would be exempt from certain requirements under the proposal if they would cause financial hardship.
The House on Thursday rejected a series of amendments proposed by Democrats, including banning domestic violence perpetrators from designated homeless areas and allowing them to remain in those areas for more than a year.
