The alcove of a vacant building in downtown Raleigh provides temporary shelter for North Carolina’s homeless population. (Photo: Clayton Henkel/NC Newsline)
A bill that would make it illegal for local governments to allow or authorize camping or sleeping on public property continues to wind its way through the state House.
On Tuesday, a “committee substitute” to House Bill 781 to make “technical corrections for clarity and conformity” received a favorable report in the House Committee on State and Local Government. The bill was referred to the House Rules Committee.
“This gives local governments a chance and a vehicle in order to deal with the homeless population in a sanitary and safe way,” said Rep. Brian Biggs (R-Randolph). “Right now, we have local municipalities that really don’t have guidance.”
Biggs, one of the bill’s cosponsors, said he is still looking for ways to improve the bill.
Benjamin Horton, director of outreach for Veterans Services of the Carolinas, told the committee that Housing First, an approach to homelessness that prioritizes providing permanent, is the best strategy for addressing homelessness.
Horton noted that the Veterans Administration’s use of the Housing First model since 2010 has helped to reduce homelessness among veterans by 55.6% when proper wraparound services are provided.
HB 781 will place additional burdens on law enforcement officers by forcing them to become mental health care providers, Horton said.
“This bill will drive unsheltered veterans farther from the resources needed and farther away from sustainable recovery,” Horton said.
The N.C. Coalition to End Homelessness has also opposed the bill. On Monday, the group issued a statement condemning the bill and tech-industry capitalist Joe Lonsdale who it contends is behind the legislation and similar bills across the country.
Lonsdale founded the Cicero Institute, a conservative think tank, that has led efforts to pass similar legislation in Arizona, Missouri, Tennessee, Iowa, Georgia, Florida, Wisconsin and Kentucky.
Cicero has been a staunch opponent of the Housing First approach to addressing homelessness.
“While Cicero describes itself as a think tank, its policies promote industries that potentially profit from criminalizing poverty,” said Dr. Latonya Agard, executive director of NCCEH. “States that adopted Cicero laws find they are funneling more public money into incarceration, so while these bills could lead to the financial enrichment of out-of-state investors of privatized jails and prisons and monitoring technologies, they will worsen conditions for North Carolinians without housing.”
HB 781 would allow local governments by “majority vote” to designate local government-owned property located within its jurisdiction to be used for a “continuous period of up to one year for public camping or sleeping purposes.” Local governments can renew the one-year period.
Under HB 781, local governments would be responsible for:
Ensuring the safety and security of the designated property and the people lodging or residing on the property. Maintaining sanitation. Coordinating with the county health department to provide access to behavioral health services. Prohibiting illegal substance use and alcohol use.The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services would have to certify the designated area before it could be used by people experiencing homelessness.
To obtain certification, the local government would be required to verify:
There are not sufficient beds open in homeless shelters in the local government. The designated property is not contiguous to property zoned for residential use by the local government. The designated property would not adversely and materially affect the property value or safety and security of other existing residential or commercial property. The designated property would not affect the safety of children. The local government has developed a plan to satisfy the required minimum standards and procedures. Read More Details
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