Florida bill cracking down on public homeless camping passes House committee

Amber Cooper contributed to this story

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A Florida bill that cracks down on unauthorized public camping and sleeping passed through a House committee Wednesday.

Rep. Sam Garrison, R-Fleming Island, carried the bill, HB 1365.

Garrison’s bill passed the House Judiciary Committee by a vote of 16-6 on Wednesday.

SB 1530, the Senate version, was sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers.

Garrison explained that the bill prohibits a county or municipality from authorizing or permitting public sleeping or public camping on public property, public buildings or public rights-of-way without a lawfully issued temporary permit.

The bill also allows for a county to designate certain public property locations as homeless shelters that provides resources and a place to sleep.

“This bill isn’t perfect, but homelessness and chronic homelessness is a real problem in our nation,” he said. “What we’re trying to do with this bill is respect the dignity of every human being, every human being.”

“Including, those children of God who, because of mental illness or addiction, find themselves chronically homeless or living on the street,” Garrison added.

“And we’re going to do is not have comfortable inaction anymore and turn a blind eye and say ‘the status quo is just fine with me,'” he said. “Because the status quo is not fine.”

Lawmakers and members of the public expressed concerns with the legislation during the committee stop.

“We have a very, very complex housing issue,” said Rep. Mike Gottlieb, D-Davie. “[…] And there’s also different levels of homelessness. There are individuals who don’t work ,have significant mental health problem, have drug addiction that could really benefit from this type of solution.”

“There’s other people who need the solution my members and other members of committee are taking about,” he said. “That have jobs, that have given back to our country. I think this is a rather simple solution that rather misses the mark…”

A member of the public speaking on behalf of Florida Student Power said the bill fails to address the “root causes” of homelessness, as well as “acerbates” the existing crisis.

Gov. Ron DeSantis recently announced his support for legislation combatting homelessness.

“We cannot allow any city in Florida to become like San Francisco, where homelessness, drugs, and crime have decimated the quality of life, hurt the economy, and eroded freedom,” DeSantis said in a press release.

DeSantis said Florida will continue to enact policies that “promote accountability and community safety, unlike in California where they are promoting dangerous policies that harm their communities and economy.”