To fine, or not to fine
Image by Elvert Barnes
SCOTUS’ Grants Pass decision in 2024 appeared to empower municipalities to enforce no-camping zones. But activists in Sacramento are trying to reverse Grant’s Pass in CA, potentially banning cities like SJ and Fremont from pursuing legal action against trespassers and bivouacking. SJ's Mayor Mahan says SJ doesn't criminalize homelessness and just enforces laws equitably. The Merc's report on Sacto proposal and Mahan's response & X thread, below.
Mercury News' report:
A proposed bill in the California Legislature barring cities and counties from fining or arresting a homeless person for sleeping or camping on the street is set to be heard by a legislative committee later this month.
The bill is partly in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that allowed local jurisdictions to ban homeless encampments, even if a city or county doesn’t have enough shelter beds.
Under the proposed Right to Rest Act, local governments would still be allowed to clear encampments; they just wouldn’t be permitted to fine or arrest a person simply for living on the streets — penalties Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez said would only make it more difficult for someone to lift themselves out of homelessness.
Her proposed legislation, SB 634, would prohibit a state agency or local jurisdiction from imposing civil or criminal penalties on a homeless person for “any act immediately related to homelessness,” or on anyone helping a homeless person “with any act related to basic survival.”
“What we’re trying to get at here is prevent people from getting fined or being put in jail for being homeless,” said Pérez, adding that people shouldn’t be criminalized for the biological need to sleep.
More than 300,000 people cycled through homelessness in California in 2024, yet the state only had 76,000 shelter beds and 79,000 units of permanent supportive housing, according to the bill.
Inner City Law Center, a legal services provider in L.A.’s Skid Row that serves people experiencing homelessness, is a sponsor of the bill.
When the Supreme Court rendered its decision on the Grants Pass case last summer and gave local jurisdictions permission to enforce anti-camping laws and ticket people for sleeping in public, it drew mixed reviews from officials in Southern California.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and L.A. County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath, who chaired the Board of Supervisors at the time, condemned the decision, saying it criminalizes homelessness. Neither the city nor the county would punish people for camping in public, they said.
On the other hand, leaders from several Orange County cities praised the court ruling.
Newport Beach officials recently called the Grants Pass decision “the single biggest game-changer for the city when it comes to dealing with the homeless.”
Two years ago, Mayor Joe Stapleton said Newport Beach had 94 homeless people; that number is now down to 11.
“There’s no compassion for leaving these people on the streets,” Stapleton said, adding that the city is spending over $4 million a year for resources, tools, services, temporary housing and permanent housing solutions to get people off the streets.
There may have been resistance to Newport Beach’s anti-camping law at first, Stapleton said, but the city has since heard from multiple people thanking it for forcing them to get the services they needed to get off the streets.
Read the whole thing here.
Mayor Mahan's response:
“Criminalizing homelessness is wrong and so is exempting people from following basic public safety and health laws — that’s why we’re not doing either. Camping outdoors cannot be a choice if we want our cities to thrive. Rather than banning homelessness or turning a blind eye, every level of government must invest in real solutions like shelter and treatment — and require people to come indoors when those resources are available.” —SJ Mayor Matt Mahan
A fuller X thread with Mayor Mahan’s thoughts here.
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