Bipartisan Bill to Ban Homeless Encampments Rejected By Senate Public Safety Comm.

A bipartisan bill that would have banned homeless encampments from many public areas across the state for reasons of safety was voted down in the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday in a 1-3 vote with 1 abstention.

Senate Bill 1011, jointly authored by Senator Brian Jones (R-Santee) and Senator Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas), would have prohibited a person from sitting, lying, sleeping, or storing, using, maintaining, or placing personal property upon a street or sidewalk if a homeless shelter is available to the person. The bill would have also prohibited sitting, lying, sleeping, or storing, using, maintaining, or placing personal property within 500 feet of a public or private school, open space, or major transit stop.

In addition, SB 1011 would have specified that a violation of this prohibition is a public nuisance that could be abated and prevented and would also have provided that a violation of the prohibition may be charged as a misdemeanor or an infraction, at the discretion of the prosecutor. The bill would have also prohibited a person from being found in violation of the bill’s provisions unless provided notice, at least 72 hours before commencement of any enforcement action.

While a similar bill, SB 31, was rejected in the same committee last year, authors of the bill altered it and modeled SB 1011 on San Diego’s encampment ban because of the success of the program there. The new bill also differed by having bipartisan support. Because of these reasons, SB 1011 was expected to have a decent chance in the legislature this year, especially as statewide homelessness problems have only grown since last year.

Strong opposition against  SB 1011

However, opposition against the bill was stronger than expected on Tuesday in the Public Safety Committee, with many Democrats charging that the bill only criminalized homelessness. Bill supporters, knowing that opposition could be strong, brought out a slew of supporters on Tuesday, including Dr. Drew Pinsky and Vista Mayor John Franklin.

“California’s homeless crisis is truly out of control. The state is allowing people to die on the streets on a daily basis,” said Dr. Drew. “The situation is not sustainable and Senator Jones’s bipartisan bill, Senate Bill 1011 will help.”

“I strongly support his efforts to compassionately clear encampments and connect people with desperately needed medical and mental health services and shelters. It is morally and bioethically wrong to leave people to die on our streets of a progressive illness. This is a social experiment that has failed and it is time to wrap it up.”

Despite a strong last push by supporters, the bill ultimately fell 1-3 after a vote, killing the bill in it’s first Committee vote.

“Just because individuals that are unhoused make people uncomfortable does not mean that it should be criminalized. And this bill does that,” explained Senator Aisha Wahab (D-Fremont). “The penalties will just be added to their already difficult situation of paying for things.”

Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Oakland) added that ” While I can appreciate that Californians don’t want to see encampments, I can’t support this bill. It’s kind of like trying to make a problem invisible versus addressing the core of the problem.”

Proponents of the bill noted their disappointment and vowed to try and find an alternate way forward for the bill.

“Today, the Senate Public Safety Committee rejected our bipartisan solution to clearing inhumane homeless encampments,” said Senator Jones on X. “California’s homelessness crisis is dangerous, inhumane, and unacceptable. Our bipartisan SB 1011 would have provided a compassionate solution for clearing homeless encampments, ensuring both the safety of our community and the dignity of homeless individuals. This is not a partisan issue, which is why we have Democrats, Republicans, homeless advocates, and mental health experts in support of this bill.”

“I’m disappointed in the closed-minded opposition from the majority party members of the Senate Public Safety Committee to new approaches and their knee-jerk support of just throwing more money at the problem with no real plan. Today’s continued rejection of real solutions during this health and safety crisis is immoral and irresponsible.”

Today, the Senate Public Safety Committee rejected our bipartisan solution to clearing inhumane homeless encampments.

California’s homelessness crisis is dangerous, inhumane, and unacceptable.

Our bipartisan SB 1011 would have provided a compassionate solution for clearing… pic.twitter.com/1E0WTzJNjN

— Brian W. Jones (@SenBrianJones) April 16, 2024

While the bill was granted reconsideration for later this year, analysts noted that it was highly unlikely to happen due to both the opposition against it in the Committee as well as SB 31 being granted the same last year and not being heard again.

“Technically it still has a shot, but it is very unlikely,” added Dana, a Capitol staffer. “The only thing still giving it hope is the large number of lawmakers from both parties who still support it. There’s also been complaints that all three who voted against it were Democrats from the Bay Area. I mean, even Democrats from LA and San Diego were on board with this. But they were the hold up. If you’re looking why a bipartisan bill like this wasn’t passed, look no further than Wahab, Skinner and Wiener being the gang of holdouts there. All three ganged up all with similar ideologies and didn’t let it move forward. You’d think we would have a more variance of senators there based on geography, but apparently not.”

SB 1011 is expected to be up for reconsideration later this year.