California lawmakers try to address homelessness with new encampment ban
ABC News
A new bill in California aims to ban homeless encampments near "sensitive community areas" statewide.
A new bill in California aims to ban homeless encampments near "sensitive community areas" statewide.
The bipartisan Senate Bill 1011, introduced earlier this month, would ban people from "sitting, lying, sleeping or storing, using, maintaining or placing personal property upon a street or sidewalk" if a homeless shelter is available.
It also bans people from camping within 500 feet of a public or private school, open space or major transit stop. A violation could result in a misdemeanor or an infraction but, according to the bill's sponsors, it would be up to local officials to determine how to enforce the misdemeanor violations.
State Sens. Brian Jones, a Republican, and Catherine Blakespear, a Democrat, say the bill is intended to address issues of homelessness in a state with the largest homeless population in the United States.
"What we are trying to do is compassionately clearing encampments near areas that are sensitive to the public and the public needs to have safe access to," Jones said in an interview with ABC News.
