A invoice to ban homeless encampments statewide close to parks, faculties and transit hubs did not get out of the identical legislative committee as final 12 months.
For the second 12 months in a row, Democrats on Tuesday voted down a invoice that sought to ban homeless encampments close to faculties, transit stops and different areas all through California.
Even though cities up and down the state are grappling with a proliferation of homeless camps, legislators mentioned they oppose penalizing down-and-out residents who sleep on public property.
“Simply because people which might be unhoused make individuals uncomfortable doesn’t imply that it needs to be criminalized. And this invoice does that,” mentioned Sen. Aisha Wahab, a Democrat from Fremont and chairperson of the Senate Public Security Committee. “The penalties will simply be added to their already tough state of affairs of paying for issues.”
Senate Bill 1011 stumbled in its first committee listening to, stalling within the Public Security Committee on a 1-3 vote. The measure by Senate GOP chief Brian Jones and Democratic Sen. Catherine Blakespear, each of the San Diego space, would have made tenting inside 500 toes of a faculty, open area or main transit cease a misdemeanor or infraction. It additionally would have banned tenting on public sidewalks if beds had been accessible in native homeless shelters.
“I’m dissatisfied within the closed-minded opposition from the bulk celebration members of the Senate Public Security Committee to new approaches and their knee-jerk assist of simply throwing extra money on the drawback with no actual plan,” Jones mentioned in a press release on Tuesday. “At present’s continued rejection of actual options throughout this well being and security disaster is immoral and irresponsible.”
After the defeat, Jones will proceed talking with committee members to see if there may be any method to negotiate a path ahead for his invoice, spokesperson Nina Krishel mentioned in an electronic mail.
Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Democrat from Oakland, mentioned whereas she appreciates that Californians don’t need to see encampments, she couldn’t assist the invoice.
“It’s sort of like attempting to make an issue invisible versus addressing the core of the issue,” mentioned Skinner, who joined Wahab and Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco, in voting “no.”
Regardless of the vote, metropolis officers might quickly acquire extra leeway to clear encampments.
Subsequent week, the U.S. Supreme Court docket is ready to think about a challenge to lower court rulings that successfully ban native governments all through the West Coast from shutting down homeless camps if shelter beds aren’t accessible. The justices will start listening to oral arguments within the enchantment introduced by Grants Cross, Oregon, on Monday.
Throughout Tuesday’s listening to, greater than three dozen individuals voiced their opposition to the invoice, talking on behalf of organizations such because the Ella Baker Middle for Human Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union California Motion.
The invoice’s supporters, who numbered far fewer, included the mayor of Vista and a consultant from town of Carlsbad.
The lone “sure” vote got here from the committee’s solely Republican, Sen. Kelly Seyarto of Murrieta.
“We had a slew of folks that got here ahead to inform us about what we shouldn’t be doing,” he mentioned. “However what the hell ought to we be doing? As a result of proper now we’re not doing something.”
Sen. Steven Bradford, a Democrat from Inglewood, abstained.
Wahab granted reconsideration, which suggests the committee might hear the invoice once more later this session. However final 12 months, a virtually similar invoice met the same fate. SB 31, additionally launched by Jones, died within the Senate Public Security Committee with one “sure” vote, one “no” vote and three abstentions. It additionally acquired reconsideration, however was by no means revived.
This 12 months’s model of the encampment ban had extra going for it. Jones discovered a Democratic co-author and narrowed the invoice’s scope. As an alternative of banning individuals from tenting inside 1,000 toes of colleges and different areas, the brand new invoice would have banned individuals from tenting inside 500 toes.
Jones additionally was leaning closely on a brand new tenting ban in San Diego, upon which he mentioned he modeled his invoice. The San Diego ordinance, which took impact on the finish of July 2023, bans camps close to faculties, shelters and transit hubs, in parks, and — if shelter beds can be found — on public sidewalks. Jones known as the ordinance a “success,” a sentiment echoed by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria.
However a CalMatters investigation paints a extra difficult image. Whereas encampments have drastically decreased in some areas, equivalent to downtown and round sure faculties, they’re nonetheless simply as prevalent — in some circumstances rather more so — alongside town’s freeways and the banks of its river. Opponents of the ordinance say it displaces individuals as an alternative of housing them.
And Jones’ invoice failed to repeat a key piece of San Diego’s method. When town began implementing its encampment ban, it additionally opened two huge “secure sleeping” websites the place about 500 individuals camp on vacant tons in tents bought by town.
Jones’ invoice wouldn’t have pressured cities to arrange lodging for individuals displaced from encampments, as a result of, he mentioned, there’s no state funding for that.
Workers author Ethan Varian contributed to this report.
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