State senator pledges to fight against criminalizing homelessness in bill
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana's Senate Bill 197 as it stands Wednesday afternoon makes "street camping" illegal and a jailable offense, said state Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette.
"It's coming out," Alting said Wednesday afternoon about the House's amendment to make sleeping on public land or on sidewalks a Class C misdemeanor. "(The bill's author) agrees with me that is not the correct way to handle homelessness.
"We're a society of compassion."
As the bill currently reads, sleeping or camping on publicly owned property becomes a Class C misdemeanor.
An officer can warn those found sleeping or camping on publicly owned land. If the person is living on a sidewalk or a public right of way, they have 24 hours to move, based on the current version of the bill. If they are camped on publicly owned lands that are not on a right of way, the person must move within 72 hours of being warned.
Failure to move is a Class C misdemeanor, and a conviction can carry a possible sentence up to 60 days in jail and a fine up to $500, according to Indiana law.
Officers who sense there is a mental health issue can take the person to be evaluated. They also can give the homeless a ride to facility that will help the person such as a crisis intervention center, according to the version of the bill as of Wednesday afternoon.
Originally, the bill addressed problems surrounding unsafe buildings and the property owners' responsibilities. But after the House amendment, it criminalizes homelessness, Alting said.
"For whatever reason, these folks are homeless," Tippecanoe County Sheriff Bob Goldsmith said Wednesday morning. "Now they want to criminalize homelessness.
"I foresee this being a problem when we're filling our jails with homeless people," Goldsmith said. "That's not good use of our resources."
Alting said the Senate likely will vote in the coming days to remove the "street camping" portion of the bill.
When that happens, the bill will go to reconciliation, where members of both chambers of the General Assembly will hammer out their differences so that the bill can be approved and sent to the governor's desk for his signature or his veto.
Alting is on the reconciliation committee for the Senate.
He said he's hearing that the House members on the reconciliation committee might push for wording that makes it illegal to sleep on the street or sidewalk, while not pushing the issue of homelessness camps on publicly owned lands.
Alting said we're a free society, and homelessness should not be criminalized.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Sen. Alting pledges to fight against criminalizing homelessness in bill
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
17 minutes ago
- The Hill
House Republicans tee up tweaks to Trump megabill
House Republican leaders on Tuesday teed up changes to the 'big, beautiful bill' of President Trump's tax cut and spending priorities that are slated to come up for a vote of the full chamber this week. The tweaks come after the Senate parliamentarian reviewed the sprawling package and identified provisions that do not comply with the upper chamber's procedural requirements for using the budget reconciliation process, which allows Republicans to circumvent a Democratic filibuster and approve the legislation by simple majority. Leaving the language in the bill risks losing the ability to pass the bill under budget reconciliation. The parliamentarian's process is known as the 'Byrd bath.' One House Republican described the House tweaks as preventing 'fatalities' from remaining in the bill when it hits the Senate. 'There are a small number, I mean, could count them on one hand, of fatalities that have been identified by the parliamentarian,' the GOP lawmaker said. 'Of course we can't transmit the bill with fatalities so those fatalities will be cured through a rule this week.' While the lower chamber is planning to strip those terms from the bill, party leaders are not giving up on the policy: House Minority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Senate Republicans will fight for the provisions when the bill hits the floor. 'We disagree; ultimately we're gonna try it again on the Senate floor,' Scalise told reporters. 'We disagree with the parliamentarian… but you can't take the risk on any of them. You cannot take the risk because if any one of them is ruled on the Senate floor to be fatal, it's a 60-vote bill. The whole bill is a 60-vote bill — you can't take that risk.' The full House will vote on approving those changes this week, with the adjustments tacked on to a 'rule' resolution — a procedural measure that governs debate for legislation. The rule making the fixes to the megabill will also tee up the terms of debate for unrelated legislation to claw back $9.4 billion in funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting. It advanced out of the Rules Committee on a party-line, 8-4 vote Tuesday evening. Rule resolutions are typically passed along party lines and are tests of party loyalty, but Republicans sometimes buck leadership and vote against the procedural rules in protest of process or policy. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) — one of two House Republicans who voted no on the bill when it passed the Hoise last month — voiced his disapproval of making the changes to the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' via a rule in a post on X. 'Nancy Pelosi once said the House needed to vote for a bill to find out what was in it. Today @SpeakerJohnson said 'hold my beer.' He just announced he's using the Rules Committee to change the text of the Big Beautiful Bill a week after we voted on it!' Massie said. While House Republicans have already passed the bill in the lower chamber they have not officially transmitted it to the Senate — enabling them to make the fixes via the rule mechanism. Republicans are using the special budget reconciliation to push the megabill through Congress while avoiding the Senate's 60-vote cloture rule, enabling them to pass the bill on party lines without support from Democrats. The tweaks in the House come as party leaders are holding out hope that they can enact the package by July 4, which was their self-imposed deadline. Trump, however, opened the door to the process blowing past that timeline, saying 'if takes a little longer, that's okay.'
The Hill
36 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump says FEMA will ‘give out less money'
The Big Story President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem detailed changes they hope to make to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), indicating they intend to eliminate the agency 'as it exists today' and dole out less money to states that are hit by disasters. © Greg Nash 'We want to wean off of FEMA and we want to bring it down to the state level…we're moving it back to the state so the governors can handle it,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. 'We're going to give out less money…It's going to be from the president's office,' Trump said. 'As an example, I just gave out $71 million to a certain state. They were looking to do about 120 [million], they were very happy with the $71 million.' Trump also indicated that changes could come after the current hurricane season, which lasts from June through November. Both Trump and Noem have called for axing the disaster agency, which helps coordinate responses to hurricanes, wildfires and more. Noem reiterated those calls on Tuesday, telling Trump 'You've been very clear that you want to see FEMA eliminated as it exists today, so I'm preparing all of these governors that they will have more control over the decisions on how they respond to their communities so that it can happen faster.' She added that the administration was 'building communication and mutual aid agreements among states to respond to each other so that they can stand on their own two feet with the federal government coming in in catastrophic circumstances with funding.' Read more at Welcome to The Hill's Energy & Environment newsletter, I'm Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future: Granholm: Democrats would 'welcome' Musk 'helping us out' Former Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Tuesday that Democrats would 'welcome' tech billionaire Elon Musk 'helping us out' after an intense clash between Musk and President Trump last week. Hardline House conservatives swing for fences in asks to Senate GOP on megabill Hardline conservatives in the House are making a broad swath of recommendations to make the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' of President Trump's tax cut and spending priorities even more conservative. High Seas Treaty gains momentum as 18 new countries pledge support NICE, France (AP) — Eighteen countries ratified the High Seas Treaty on Monday, bringing the total to 49 — just 11 short of the 60 needed for the ocean agreement to enter into force. The surge in support, occurring during the U.N. Ocean Conference in Nice, France, adds momentum to what could become a historic shift in how the world governs the open ocean. What We're Reading News we've flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics: White House looks to freeze more agency funds — and expand executive power (E&E News) Offshore wind power company asks to cancel its New Jersey project (Asbury Park Press) EPA Drops Legal Case Against the GEO Group, a Major Trump Donor, Over Its Misuse of Harmful Chemicals in ICE Facilities (ProPublica) On Tap Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: Vote of Note What Others are Reading Two key stories on The Hill right now: Judge declines to block Trump's Corporation for Public Broadcasting firings but allows board members to stay Correction: A previous version of this article gave incorrect names of the fired CPB board members. They are Laura Ross, Diane Kaplan and Thomas Rothman. Read more Stephen Miller wages war on the GOP's libertarians The Movement is a weekly newsletter tracking the influence and debates steering politics on the right. Sign up here or in the box below. Read more You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here
New York Post
37 minutes ago
- New York Post
House votes to overturn DC law allowing noncitizens to vote
WASHINGTON — House Republicans voted Tuesday to scrap a Washington, DC, law permitting noncitizens to vote in local elections and overturn another local law curtailing law enforcement liability protections. In a 266 to 148 vote with one present, the House moved to nix the 2022 Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act and ensure that only US citizens can vote in DC elections. 'Free and fair elections are a prerequisite for a healthy republic,' Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), who introduced the bill, said in a statement. 'The radical DC Council's decision to allow noncitizens—including illegal aliens and foreign agents—to vote in local elections dilutes the voting power of the citizen voter.' Advertisement 'That power must be defended, and I am thrilled House Republicans took action today to do so.' 3 Rep. August Pfluger accused Washington, DC, of diluting the voting power of American citizens. Getty Images Under the DC Home Rule Act of 1973, the nation's capital has certain authority, such as the ability to elect its own mayor and city council, but Congress can scuttle local laws. Advertisement Congress had gone over 30 years without meddling in DC affairs, but ended that streak in 2023 when it nixed a local law that rolled back penalties for certain felonies, such as armed robbery. Former President Joe Biden backed the overturning of that law, despite initially signalling a veto. Last year, House Republicans attempted to nix the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act, but were unable to get it through the Senate, which has since flipped into GOP control. DC is not the only municipality that allows noncitizens to vote in local election contests. There are cities in California, Vermont, and Maryland that also allow it. Advertisement 3 DC Mayor Muriel Bowser has opposed congressional meddling in city affairs. AP The nation's capital allows noncitizens to vote for mayor, attorney general, city council, city ballot measures and more. Noncitizens are also allowed to run for office in DC. Proponents of the policy have argued that DC is home to noncitizens who have lived in the city for decades and pay taxes but haven't been able to vote. Under current law, noncitizens are forbidden from voting in federal elections. Pfluger has been a staunch opponent of the law and argued that it undermines the rights of American citizens. Advertisement 'Anyone who voted against this legislation voted for the transfer of political power away from legal voters,' Pfluger told The Post. 'With the House passage of my legislation today, we are one step closer to restoring the sanctity of the voting process to ensure that only American citizens are voting in our nation's capital.' Another bill, titled the 'Protecting Our Nation's Capital Emergency Act,' introduced by Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), also cleared the lower chamber in a 235-178 vote with one lawmaker voting present. 3 Rep. Andrew Garbarino introduced a bill to restore liability protections for Washington, DC, police. Newsday via Getty Images 'The Metropolitan Police Department is facing a public safety crisis brought on by reckless policies that have stripped officers of basic protections and left the force dangerously understaffed,' Garbarino said in a statement. 'This legislation helps right that wrong by giving MPD the tools and support they need to recruit, retain, and protect. Congress has a duty to ensure our nation's capital is safe.' The DC Police Union, which includes some 3,000 members, had endorsed the bill that rolls back DC's Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act of 2022, which limited Metropolitan Police Department officers' ability to collectively negotiate disciplinary actions. Garbarino's measure also restores a statute of limitations on claims against DC police. 'Mayor Bowser continues to oppose all congressional interference in the lives and affairs of Washingtonians. DC will continue to fight to protect our home rule and self-determination,' the DC mayor's office said in a statement to The Post. Advertisement Later this week, the House is expected to take up a third bill targeting the nation's capital, titled the 'District of Columbia Federal Immigration Compliance Act,' which axes city policies to limit compliance with immigration enforcement authorities. DC is still lobbying Congress to pass legislation to fix an inadvertent $1 billion cut in its budget from a stopgap measure to prevent a partial government shutdown in March. 'If Congress wants to be helpful, they should pass the District of Columbia Local Funds Act to fix their damage to DC's FY25 budget,' the DC mayor's office added.
