Following a Supreme Court ruling that allows cities and towns to outlaw homeless camps, at least two Oregon Democrats have signaled their intention to repeal a 2021 state law that limits local governments’ ability to ban camping on public land.
“Our communities need safe, clean roads not only for our residents but also for the businesses that drive our economy,” State Rep. Mark Meek said in a statement. Portland Tribune“Restrictive laws need to be reformed so communities can maintain public safety.”
A homeless man tries to keep a fire burning in the rain at a park in Salem, Oregon. (Hannah Rae Lambert/Fox News Digital)
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In a 6-3 decision last week, the Supreme Court overturned a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that had found that laws banning homeless people from sleeping in parks and on sidewalks violate the Eighth Amendment, which bans cruel and unusual punishment. The lawsuit, which began in Grants Pass, Oregon, has leaders from all political stripes on the West Coast saying it is hindering street cleanup efforts.
The new ruling gives cities more options to tackle their homelessness epidemics, but other state laws in Oregon could still tie officials’ hands.
“Right now cities have been given so many different and competing guidelines and there’s a great deal of uncertainty,” said State Assemblyman Paul Evans. According to OPB.
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Oregon lawmakers pass bill In 2021, the House passed a bill requiring that local ordinances regulating sitting, lying or sleeping on public property be “objectively reasonable as to time, place and manner.” Tina KotekThe current governor of Oregon, a Democrat, supported the legislation.
As reported by OPB, Reps. Meek and Evans were among three current Democrats who voted against the bill in 2021. After the Supreme Court’s decision, they joined the Republican minority leader in pushing for a change to the law, raising the possibility that the issue will be taken up when the state Legislature reconvenes early next year.
But they need more support from within their party, and the Democratic chairman of the House Housing and Homelessness Committee told OPB that current law “strikes a good balance” for cities and homeless people.
Leaders like Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler disagree, arguing that “reasonable” is too subjective.
A judge has blocked Portland’s 2023 ordinance that would have banned daytime camping in front of stores and on sidewalks. (Hannah Rae Lambert/Fox News Digital)
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Under state law, the judge indefinitely enjoined Portland from enforcing a 2023 ordinance that bans tents from blocking access to businesses or sidewalks between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
“The word ‘reasonable’ has not been defined by Congress. If we want to maintain the time, place and manner limitations, we want Congress to do that. The courts have refused to do that, so Congress has to define reasonable,” Wheeler said. He told KGW“We thought we defined it as reasonable.”
A watered-down version of Portland’s ordinance went into effect this week, but law professor Tan Ying KOIN 6 News He expects it will be challenged again under state law.
Homeless advocacy groups have already pledged to do just that if Oregon cities exceed their limits.
“We intend to use this law, which is now more important than ever, to protect homeless people in Oregon,” Ed Johnson, lead attorney in the Grants Pass case, said at a press conference after the Supreme Court’s decision.
Tents cover a vacant lot near Steel Bridge in Portland, Oregon, on July 7, 2023. (Hannah Rae Lambert/Fox News Digital)
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Republican attorney general candidate Will Lathrop said that if Congress doesn’t reconsider the law, “legalized tent cities” will continue to exist and become a magnet for other homeless people.
“As other states begin to clean up their streets, I am concerned that not only is Oregon failing to address its statewide homelessness problem, but that the homeless population will continue to flood into Oregon without accountability,” he said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
