DeSantis backs bills requiring Florida cities to ban public camping

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis threw his political weight behind legislation forcing cities and counties to ban public camping, an approach that runs counter to how most states combat homelessness but that he said will keep streets clean and the public safe.

In a news conference in Miami Beach on Monday, DeSantis, speaking at a lectern emblazoned with “Don’t allow Florida to become San Francisco,” endorsed the bills though he hinted they may be incomplete.

The legislation also gives local governments the ability to set up permanent encampments with requirements for security, clean restrooms, water and mental health services. And it gives the public the ability to sue cities and counties that don’t clear people sleeping on sidewalks and in parks.

“We’re going to work with the legislature. I don’t know if they have a product that is final, that is going to pass muster quite yet,” he said. “I’m confident we’re going to get a really strong product that is going to have really strong protections for the people of the State of Florida.”

While House Bill 1365 and Senate Bill 1530 have drawn fierce opposition from many advocates for the homeless, the legislation is speeding ahead. On Monday, it cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee with an 8-1 vote – Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, voted in favor – while the House bill has another hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

In Orlando alone, homelessness has increased 75% since 2019, while last year’s federal point-in-time counts found a 12% increase in homelessness nationwide last year. Experts say steep housing costs are to blame for much of the increases, as median rents have increased $459 in Central Florida in the past four years.

Central Florida, and much of the country, has a “housing first” approach to combatting homelessness, which seeks to place people in permanent housing rather than temporary shelter. Advocates of the approach say it’s a cheaper and more effective approach to ending homelessness, and it is endorsed by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Advocates say proposals like those in the Florida legislature criminalize homelessness. Neither bill has a criminal penalty associated with it.

The bills stipulate that any permanent encampments created for the homeless must be in a place that doesn’t harm property values of residential or commercial lands.

Such encampments also come with a host of requirements ranging from 24-hour security, mental health counselors, clean water and restrooms and a ban on drugs and alcohol.

Speaking in opposition to the Senate Bill Monday, Martha Are, CEO of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, said housing costs are to blame for rising homelessness.

Sanctioned encampments allowed under the bills would be a heavy expense for local governments if they could even find a location meeting the bills’ requirements, she said.

“We know that if you took all the funds that we receive from the state for our continuum of care, it would probably cost more than 10 times that to make any kind of encampment functioning and safe,” she said. “Ultimately what we know we need is housing and services.”

In his remarks, DeSantis said he’d be open to the state providing financial help for cities to put toward sheltering the unsheltered or providing mental health support.

Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, who’s carrying the legislation in the Senate, said he wants to talk to local governments and advocates across the state to help get the bill across the finish line.

“The goal here is to help,” he said. “This is going to move us in the right direction with a very big step and is going to put less stress on the not-for-profits and continuums of care.”

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