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Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NC House approves camping ban bill despite concerns about costs, criminalizing homelessness
People experiencing homelessness were forced to move from an encampment off of U.S. 70 near Garner. (Photo: Greg Childress) Opponents of a bill that would ban unauthorized camping and sleeping on public property took one last, unsuccessful swing Wednesday to prevent House approval of legislation critics contend will criminalize homelessness. In the end, the House voted 69-42, largely along partisan lines with Republicans voting in favor of sending House Bill 781 to the Senate just ahead of Thursday's crossover deadline, after which only bills that have passed at least one chamber can be considered. HB 781 would allow local governments by 'majority vote' to designate local government-owned property located within its jurisdiction to be used for a 'continuous period of up to one year for public camping or sleeping purposes.' Local governments can renew the one-year period. Rep. Brian Biggs (R-Randolph) pushed back against claims that HB 781 criminalizes homelessness while introducing the bill. 'This bill does not criminalize homelessness,' Biggs insisted. 'It addresses unauthorized public property camping and sleeping without prohibiting homelessness itself.' Biggs has said the HB 781 grew out of conversations with municipal leaders who asked for guidance around handling the state's growing homeless crisis. He said the state can no longer wait to address the problem. Total homelessness across the state jumped 19% to 11,626 in 2024, according to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report documenting homelessness in America. That was 1,872 more homeless people than the 9,754 counted in 2023. 'Some people want to kick it down the road two years, five years, but how long are we going to wait until we deal with our homeless population in our own house,' Biggs said. 'We need to deal with it now. We need to give guidance.' Under HB 781, local governments would also be responsible for ensuring safety, maintaining sanitation, policing illegal substance use and alcohol use and coordinating with health departments to provide behavioral health services at designated sites. The HB 781 debate was collegial. Some bill opponents thanked Biggs for taking on a difficult issue that has vexed cities and towns. 'It [HB 781] falls short in a lot of ways, but it took an act of courage to actually put it out there,' said Rep. Laura Budd (D-Mecklenburg). 'Maybe this is a solution we should consider because doing nothing is not an option. The solutions we're currently trying to employ in our communities across the state are either ineffectual or not meeting the needs of those they are seeking to house.' Budd, however, said she could not vote for the bill because it's tantamount to an unfunded mandate that would create financial and strategic hardships for local governments. 'We cannot ask our local governments to foot this bill because when we do that, you know where they get the money, they get it out of the pockets of taxpayers living in their communities and most of those citizens can't afford that either,' Budd said. Rep. Abe Jones (D-Wake) agreed the state should provide local governments with financial assistance if HB 781 is approved. 'I think we're going to have to put our money where our mouths are, otherwise, we would be just as guilty as the feds who do this all time; shove it down the line, beat their chest, act as though they did something and they're sending us no money,' Jones said. Rep. Jordan Lopez (D-Mecklenburg) spoke forcibly against the bill, contending it would criminalize homelessness. 'It's not a misconception that House Bill 781 will require local governments to not only punish those that are unhoused, but in a state where affordable housing remains increasingly harder to find, it's contributing to a rising homeless rate, basically requires local governments to push away or outright hide unhoused people as well,' Lopez said. Rep. Sarah Stevens (R-Surry) reminded colleagues of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 ruling in the case of Grants Pass v. Johnson that there is 'no specific right to housing on public property.' The Court ruled that cities can punish unhoused individuals for sleeping outside in public even if they have nowhere else to go. 'It [the Court decision] said there's no constitutional right to living on a public park, a public property, so this does encompasses that and said you don't have the right to live on public property but if a city or county wishes to establish a place for people to live, they need to at least provide sanitation, they need to provide a space and give them some guidelines,' Stevens said. After the Court ruling, Grants Pass designated camps for people experiencing homelessness. City policy restricts camping to specific locations. Stevens argued that HB 781 is not an unfunded mandate because the problem of homelessness already exists. 'This is an attempt to start moving forward and getting the cities and counties to say, 'Yes, this is an issue and we're going to deal with it,'' Stevens said. 'We didn't create the problem on the state level, so it's not up to us to fix it. Each of the cities and counties are going to have to do their own thing.' Rep. Deb Butler (D-New Hanover) questioned a provision in the bill that prohibits selected sites from negatively affecting property values of neighboring properties. 'Well, who's going to determine that?' Butler asked. 'Who's going to do the valuations?' Like other bill opponents, Butler thanked Biggs for taking on a challenging subject but said HB 781 leaves her with more questions than answers. 'You [Biggs] are well intentioned with this bill, but I think homelessness, being unhoused, is a very tough issue and people in that advocacy space have been trying to figure it out,' Butler said. 'Until we can figure it out, and until we commit the dollars and resources to solve some of the underlying challenges, I don't think we're going to get there, and I think this bill is going to impede our progress on tackling homelessness.' Lawmakers' concerns about HB 781 largely mirrored those that have been expressed by advocates for people experiencing homelessness. 'Absent state fiscal support, the NC bill diminishes local autonomy while making cities and counties both fiscally responsible and legally liable for the implementation of state-sanctioned encampment policies,' the NC Coalition to End Homelessness [NCCEH] said in a statement earlier this week. The NCCEH also expressed concern that the bill is being pushed by the Cicero Institute, a conservative think tank, that has led efforts to pass similar legislation in Arizona, Missouri, Tennessee, Iowa, Georgia, Florida, Wisconsin and Kentucky. The institute was founded by tech-industry capitalist Joe Lonsdale, who is critical of the 'housing first' approach to ending homelessness. That model prioritizes providing individuals and families with permanent, affordable housing as the first step in ending their plight. 'While Cicero describes itself as a think tank, its policies promote industries that potentially profit from criminalizing poverty,' said Dr. Latonya Agard, executive director of NCCEH. 'States that adopted Cicero laws find they are funneling more public money into incarceration, so while these bills could lead to the financial enrichment of out-of-state investors of privatized jails and prisons and monitoring technologies, they will worsen conditions for North Carolinians without housing.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill seeks to curtail homeless camps
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways RANDOLPH COUNTY — An area legislator said that he's shepherding a bill through the N.C. General Assembly that's meant to address concerns expressed by cities and counties and their residents about homeless camps. Rep. Brian Biggs, R-Randolph, is a primary cosponsor of House Bill 781, which would prohibit unauthorized homeless encampments on public property in the state. Exemptions to the proposal would have to come with the acceptance of local government officials and meet specific requirements. 'I saw some of the problems that local municipalities were having with long-term encampments and the damage that they were causing to the areas that they occupied,' Biggs told The High Point Enterprise. 'I felt the need to do something to protect the communities that were being affected by these camps. Municipalities reached out for guidance, surrounding property owners worried about their property values and communities worried about the cleanliness, dignity and the safety of the people inhabiting these camps.' House Bill 781 would set parameters for cities, towns and counties to allow for homeless camps, which could only remain in place for up to a year. A local government would have to show that there aren't enough local shelter beds available for its homeless population to allow for an encampment. The camp site wouldn't be allowed adjacent to property zoned residential and couldn't 'adversely or materially affect the property value or safety' of any residential or commercial property, the bill states. A municipal or county government would have to address public safety and accommodations, such as access to well-maintained restrooms, options for mental health treatment and enforcement of prohibitions on substance abuse. House Bill 781 would require the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to review the local government plan before a municipality or county could allow for a homeless camp. Critics of the proposal argue that banning homeless camps statewide on public property would lead to the criminalization of homeless people from enforcement of the law and further complicate the lives of people on the margins of society. Biggs saide that his goal is to help people in homeless camps who can be in desperate situations. 'The hope is that we can help the people who are living in these situations through some of the remedies in the bill and also help the municipalities respond to a growing problem in the state,' he said. pjohnson@ | 336-888-3528 | @HPEpaul
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Carolina advocacy groups react to bill proposing rules for homeless camps
(WGHP) — From Greensboro to Thomasville, homeless camps have been a concern with citizens for years. The solutions vary as to how leaders believe the problem can be addressed. Randolph County Representative Brian Biggs is proposing a unique solution, but not everyone agrees with it. This new bill would move the homeless population to designated the advocates say this could lead to bigger problems. 'There's so many tents. There's so many homeless there, and it's unsanitary … This bill … Does it criminalize homelessness? No. It addresses the use of public property for camping and sleeping without prohibiting homelessness itself,' Biggs said. Biggs is sponsoring House Bill 781. That bill would allow local leaders to designate city-owned properties for those who are unhoused to live. This would only take effect if the indoor shelters run out of space, and it's meant to be a temporary fix, only allowing up to a year. Ryan Ross is the director of Open Door Ministries, which is a non-profit organization in High Point that helps the homeless. He says the proposal can cause more issues. 'People are then just going to move around and instead of congregating in one area where you can control it a little, they are going to spread out even more,' he said. Janise Hurley, director of Davidson Medical Ministries, a non-profit organization that serves as a gateway to community resources for those facing homelessness, says other states have gone down a similar path with no luck. 'It hasn't benefited the people in general. It has only continued to increase the significant issue we've already been seeing, and it could be crime, trash. It could be personal hygiene issues,' she said. FOX8 brought these concerns to Biggs. 'I strongly believe in the importance of listening to those directly impacted by our policies … Input from affected individuals and service providers should be part of that conversation at the local level,' he said. The organizations say they are on the front lines working with the homeless population every single day, and they believe policies like this one often forget the real people. 'Know the population you are dealing with before you make these decisions,' Ross said. 'We have to look at each person as an individual, and we know we treat people with problems. We don't treat people as problems,' Hurley said. According to Biggs' office, the bill passed out of a North Carolina House committee on Tuesday and could be up for a vote as early as Wednesday. If it becomes law, it will go into effect in October. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX8 WGHP.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill to ban phones during classes clears NC Senate
RALEIGH — The state Senate passed bipartisan legislation Tuesday directing schools to ban the use of cellphones, laptops and other wireless devices during classes, with a series of exceptions including educational use. Senators voted 41-1 to approve Senate Bill 55 and send it to the House, where lawmakers have advanced a bill of their own. The House's bill is less restrictive and only covers cellphones, unlike the Senate's bill, which covers tablet and laptop computers as well. One of the primary sponsors of the House bill is Rep. Brian Biggs, R-Randolph. Biggs filed House Bill 87 last month. The Senate's bill would require school boards and charter schools to create their own policies on wireless devices that, at a minimum, prohibit students from using, displaying, or having any 'wireless communication device' turned on during classes. School boards would be responsible for establishing consequences for violating the policy, which could include confiscation and disciplinary measures as prescribed by each school's code of student conduct. The policies adopted by school boards would be required to allow cellphone use either by permission of a teacher for educational purposes; in case of an emergency; if required for a student's individualized education program or section 504 plan; or to manage a student's health care. Two lawmakers who joined forces on this bill, GOP Sen. Jim Burgin, one of the bill's three primary sponsors, and Democratic Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, the Senate Democratic whip, previously filed legislation last year to study the impact of phones in schools. Chaudhuri said after Senate Bill 55 was filed last month that in today's society, the ubiquity of smartphones and other electronic devices has led to 'a collective action problem where we've created a phone-based childhood as opposed to a phone-free childhood.' At least 19 states have already passed laws banning phones in schools or recommending local school districts enact their own restrictions, according to an analysis by Education Week. Distributed at Tribune Content Agency.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Carolina House bill introduced to ban cellphones in class
RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — State leaders are looking to crack down on cellphones in classrooms, aiming to reduce distractions during instruction. A bill was introduced to the North Carolina House of Representatives this week. Two of the primary co-sponsors of the bill are Representative Brian Biggs, who represents Randolph County, and Representative Neal Jackson, who represents Moore County and a portion of Randolph County. If the House bill were to successfully pass, each school district across the state would have to have a cellphone-free policy. 'Kids don't need to be playing on their Internet … There's cheating opportunities, a whole lot of disadvantages when kids are playing on phones during class times,' Jackson said. House Bill 87 Cell Phone-Free Education would restrict students from using cellphones in class and in other academic periods. If passed, it would be up to each school district to determine how they want the policy enforced. 'We're giving them back the authority to work out the specifics and the details. So are they going to put them in magnetic pouches or are they going to have all of them placed in a pouch when the kids come in? Or is it going to be totally like Chatham County? Kids put it in the pouch at the beginning of the school day,' Jackson said. Representative Tracy Clark, who represents Guilford County, is one of several legislators in support of the bill. 'As a parent of two children in our school system in Guilford County, we all know that phones are a distraction … We need to minimize distractions in order to increase learning and to support our teachers so that they can be effective in the classroom,' Clark said. There's another version of this bill. Senate Bill 55 was filed in the North Carolina Senate and is titled Student Use of Wireless Communication Devices. It would address student use of different devices other than phones like laptops, tablets and two-way radios. 'Every minute that our children are in school needs to be directed as much as possible toward actual learning and actual instruction … We still have significant gaps that need to be made up in math, education and reading,' said Senator Amy Galey (R), NC Senate District 25. If the House passes its version and the Senate passes its version, state leaders will go to a conference and try to work out the details of the policy banning cellphones in classrooms. If the bills pass in the current session of the North Carolina General Assembly, they will go into effect next school year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
