A bill that critics say would effectively push homeless people off public rights-of-way and state-owned land passed the Oklahoma Senate on Tuesday, despite an impassioned plea by one senator who grilled the bill’s sponsor with questions for more than 15 minutes before the vote.

By a 37-6 vote, the Senate approved Senate Bill 1854, which was cast by its author, Sen. Darrell Weaver, R-Moore, as a safety issue. The bill now can be considered by the state House of Representatives.

The bill would prohibit any “unauthorized camp” – defined as “any tent, shelter, or bedding constructed or arranged for the purpose of or in such a way to permit overnight use on a property not designated as a campsite” – on public rights-of-way or state-owned lands.

The bill would subject violators to a misdemeanor charge, but says the first violation would be considered as a warning, “and a citation may not be issued unless the person refuses any assistance offered to them by the arresting officer. Such assistance may include, but is not limited to, transportation to a shelter, food pantry, or other place where resources are made available to assist the indigent and homeless.”

Weaver, a former director of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control and an inductee into the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Hall of Fame, had a back-and-forth exchange with Sen. Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, about the bill on the Senate floor. Kirt has a passion for addressing issues involving the homeless and served as a founding member and co-chair of the Legislative Mental Health Caucus.

“What I am concerned about is criminalizing someone who doesn’t have a home,” Kirt said. “That’s not solving our problem. We talk about moving someone across the street (to non-state-owned land) but that is still in our community. We’ve not solved the challenge that that individual is facing. This is written in a very broad manner that makes it difficult to analyze who would be impacted.”

She added: “What I see is we need to flip the way we’re approaching the challenge of people who are unsheltered. If somebody is sleeping under a bridge, they have nowhere else to sleep.”

Bill’s author says it won’t apply to local municipalities, only state-owned properties

Under questioning, Weaver said the bill won’t apply to municipalities in Oklahoma, only state-owned land, although he frequently referenced people staying near highway underpasses. He specifically mentioned people who often can be seen camping around Interstate 240 underpasses in south Oklahoma City.

“We’ve had a lot of challenges in our community, one of which is safety,” Weaver said. “This has to do with safety. This is not a ‘solve all the problem for homelessness.’ That’s not what the intent of this bill is. The intent of this bill is very specifically a safety issue when it comes to these roads and … where we have jurisdiction in this body, on state-owned lands. I don’t want no member to believe that this is going to solve our homelessness (issue).”

Weaver said, “At some point, even individuals that are homeless have some level of responsibility for the safety of themselves and the people around them. … It’s something we maybe don’t want to talk about, but it’s true.”

Asked how many people would be affected by the bill, Weaver said he didn’t specifically know, saying only “several.”

According to the annual “point in time” count in Oklahoma City in 2023, the city had 1,436 homeless people counted, up about 100 from the 2022 count. About 20% of that number are families with children, about 9% are military veterans, about 28% are considered chronically homeless and 31% are unsheltered. Kirt said homeless people often wouldn’t have the financial resources to pay any fine that might be levied if the bill becomes law.

“As a general rule, criminalizing homelessness is counterproductive,” said Dan Straughan, the executive director of the Homeless Alliance in Oklahoma City. “Misdemeanors generate fines that people experiencing homelessness can’t easily pay, which leads to a failure to appear in court, which leads to needless bench warrants. All this to say, making the infraction a misdemeanor doesn’t really prevent it from leading to jail time. Once an individual has entered the criminal justice system, that creates yet another barrier to getting back into housing. Housing is the proper response to homelessness. Needless fines are simply a step backward.”

The six senators who voted against the bill included five Democrats – Kirt, Kay Floyd of Oklahoma City, Jo Anna Dossett of Tulsa, George Young of Oklahoma City and Kevin Matthews of Tulsa – along with Republican Dave Rader of Tulsa.