A bill by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione (R-Southlake) that would criminalize homeless encampments across the state has stalled in the Texas House of Representatives as lawmakers debate the issues surrounding the bill.
House Bill 1925, and its counterpart Senate Bill 987, would make camping in an unapproved public place a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500, according to The Texas Tribune. Under the bill, cities and counties that pass policies contrary to the bill could lose state funding. Democratic legislators have criticized the bills for essentially criminalizing people for experiencing homelessness.
“What I’m concerned about is folks that can’t pay these fines and they are caught in the system and they get deeper and deeper in the hole,” state Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D-San Antonio) said during debate on the House floor, reported Texas Tribune. “[It’s a] fine that they can’t pay, we are setting people up for failure.”
If the bill is signed into law, it would become the latest instance of the Republican-led state government overruling local guidelines. The City of Austin lifted a similar ban two years ago and advocates of the bill say the move led to a surge of tent encampments throughout the city and an increase in local crime.
“We've seen a huge increase in not only the number of homeless living under bridges or on the streets, but also the rise in crime,” Capriglione said, reported Texas Tribune. “And really the difference has been that, at least in this case, this city has overturned their own ban.”
Capriglione's fellow Dallas-area lawmaker Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Dallas) opposes the bill and instead supports a "housing first" approach.
"Housing First is not only the moral choice to solve homelessness, it's fiscally responsible too," Crockett wrote in an April 26 Facebook post. "The data shows us that providing people with housing is cheaper than criminalization. HB 1925 does not solve homelessness. A ban is not a plan."
HB 1925 also prohibits local leaders from purchasing property to house the homeless without state approval, but does allow for designated camping areas for the homeless if those areas include access to services, according to KVUE News.
Camping bans across the country have led to expensive court battles. In February, a decade-long lawsuit against the City of Boise, Idaho resulted in a settlement requiring the city to allocate $1.3 million for homelessness efforts.
In 2017, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas sued the City of Houston for a similar encampment ban, but the lawsuit was withdrawn in 2019.