Although HB1662 failed earlier in the legislative session, it has been revived as an amendment to SB197. While there have been changes to the language, the ACLU of Indiana remains opposed because it still criminalizes homelessness.
As amended, SB 197 criminalizes some people without housing by making sleeping outside on public property, in some instances, a Class C Misdemeanor. SB 197 sets up a complicated scheme by which people sleeping on public property can be cited if they do not accept help that local law enforcement is required to offer. People who are cited shall be referred to a “problem solving court.”
ACLU of IN opposes SB 197. Although the amendment to SB 197 is less draconian than the original HB 1662 language, the end result is the same - criminalizing people for sleeping outside. Homelessness is a significant challenge in some parts of Indiana. Local officials, not the legislature, are best positioned to decide how to provide support to people without housing. As a society, we will not arrest our way out of homelessness.
