States’ approaches toward street homelessness have included imposing camping bans on public lands, setting mandates for local governments to enforce those bans and, in some cases, allowing property owners to sue their local government if they do not comply with enforcement of statewide camping bans. (Photo by Ronda Churchill for Nevada Current)
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Grants Pass v. Johnson decision, over 350 cities and 14 states have enacted laws targeting street homelessness. This ruling, which allows enforcement of public camping bans, has prompted states to adopt diverse measures. States have established camping bans on public lands, mandated local governments to enforce these bans, and, in some cases, allowed property owners to sue for non-compliance, as detailed by the National Homelessness Law Center.
Louisiana has criminalized unauthorized public camping and introduced a Homelessness Court program, offering treatment alternatives to jail. Indiana’s new law that bans unauthorized camping on public land becomes effective in July. Georgia and Oklahoma passed Safe Neighborhood laws, enabling property owners to demand compensation if local governments fail to enforce related laws. Some of these measures are based on model legislation from conservative think tanks such as the Cicero Institute and the Goldwater Institute.
Despite fewer homeless individuals recorded on a single night in January 2025 than the previous year, homelessness rose in 28 states, according to the latest federal count.
This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network including Daily Montanan, supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501(c)(3) public charity.
—
Read More Montana News
