Tennessee bill penalizing homelessness passes legislature

Tennessee Republican lawmakers handed laws Monday to make tenting on public property a misdemeanor crime, which critics say successfully criminalizes homelessness. 

Below HB978, if an individual camps on the shoulder, right-of-way, bridge, overpass or underpass of a state or interstate freeway, they might face a misdemeanor offense and a $50 advantageous or neighborhood service requirement.

Tennessee Home Republicans on Monday superior the laws, which cleared the Senate final week after a prolonged debate. The laws will now go to Gov. Invoice Lee’s desk. 

Sponsors Sen. Paul Bailey, R-Sparta, and Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, have defended the invoice as a device native legislation enforcement may use to handle homelessness.

The laws provides the general public property provision to the Equal Entry to Property Act of 2012, which made tenting on state-owned property a felony. A fiscal assessment of the laws discovered zero convictions beneath the Equal Entry to Property act.

The 2012 legislation additionally gave native governments the power to impound and eliminate tenting tools used on public property that isn’t designated for tenting.

“This could be as much as native authorities as to whether or not they wish to implement this legislation,” Bailey stated throughout a Senate session. “This isn’t necessary, however simply provides them the power to take action.”

Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis, stated he skilled homelessness a number of occasions as a baby and criticized the laws, calling for a extra “compassionate” method.

“Thank God this legislation wasn’t in place the place I used to be dwelling,” Parkinson stated Monday on the Home ground. “These are particular person tales on the market, particular person conditions, and to criminalize people who’re in these conditions is only a horrible, horrible thought. It is not consultant of the values of our state, the values of our individuals right here in Tennessee.”

Advocates making an attempt to handle homelessness have opposed the invoice since its introduction final 12 months. 

“If you cannot be in any of these locations, then the place are you imagined to be?” requested Paula Foster, govt director of OpenTable Nashville. “If persons are being criminalized for falling asleep someplace, anyplace … What are we going to do?” 

Democrats and a few Republicans opposed the laws, which handed the Senate with a 22-10 vote. Home members voted 57-28 for the invoice, with six declining to vote. 

Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, drew widespread criticism final week for meandering feedback tenuously connecting Adolf Hitler to the laws. Niceley stated Hitler at one level lived on the streets and used the expertise as a “option to join with the plenty.”

“Individuals can come out of those camps and have a really productive life, or in Hitler’s case, a really unproductive life,” Niceley stated.

Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Nashville, called the comments “embarrassing” to Tennessee.

Melissa Brown, Adam Friedman and Arcelia Martin are reporters for The Tennessean. Attain them at mabrown@tennessean.com, afriedman@tennessean.com and amartin1@gannett.com.