How the street camping ban in Safer Kentucky Act would impact Louisville homeless population

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A controversial bill aimed at improving public safety in Kentucky has now passed the House Judiciary Committee and will be moving to the full House.

The Safer Kentucky Act would make several changes to Kentucky law, including adding the punishment of life in prison or the death penalty for anyone convicted of murdering a first responder and creating a three-strike law that would sentence people convicted of three violent felonies to life without parole.

Another controversial change the bill would create is a ban on street camping.

Under the bill, the first time an unhoused person is caught illegally camping, it would be a violation. The second time and each subsequent time, they would be charged with a misdemeanor.

Someone could also be charged with a misdemeanor for refusing to cease the offense during the first time they are caught.

State Representative John Hodgson, a Republican who represents District 36 and is one of the 52 co-sponsors of the bill, hopes this will nudge those struggling with substance abuse to enter rehab.

“If anyone should be arrested for the crime of illegal street camping, which is camping in a non-permitted place, every judge in the county has the authority to divert them into a rehab program,” Hodgson said.

Instead of going to jail or paying a fine, Hodgson says people could choose to accept a judge’s offer to be diverted into rehab.

“Police, social workers, people that run homeless operations in Chicago and New York City,” Hodgson said. “I’ve traveled to other places, almost universally the people that are involved in this on a daily basis say these people need rehab.”

The bill would allow local governments to designate areas where temporary camping would be permitted. The idea would be to prevent homeless people from camping on public property like parks or roadways, or in front of private property like local businesses.

Critics of the bill argue it would create more criminalization. Organizations like Metro United Way and the Coalition for the Homeless have reacted to the bill online.

District 3 Metro Councilwoman Shameka Parrish-Wright is the director of the non-profit Vocal Kentucky and sits on the board of directors of the Coalition for the Homeless, having experienced homelessness herself.

“This bill would’ve hurt me when I was in my car with my children sleeping until Wayside shelter had room for me and my family,” Parrish-Wright said.

Parrish-Wright argues the bill would only further restrict the options that unhoused people have, pointing to the policies the city already has in place to clear homeless encampments.

“Forced treatment and forcing people to be in places they don’t want to be, that does not work,” Parrish-Wright said. “We cannot use incarceration and imprisonment to deal with our problems and issues.”

The bill would also add to the state’s stand-your-ground law, giving property owners the ability to confront illegal campers. Critics of the bill worry this will lead to violent confrontations.

“What it is doing, in a scary way, is giving qualified immunity to shopkeepers who can determine what their own use of force is,” Parrish-Wright said. “We already have that issue with law enforcement.”

Hodgson said the bill would provide protection to businesses and would only allow the use of force in self-defense.

“You open up your bakery, you say to the person I’d like you to move along,” Hodgson said. “If that person then gets belligerent and becomes violent with you, you can use reasonable force to defend yourself against that without fear of criminal prosecution or civil prosecution.”

You can read the bill for yourself here.