CHARELSTON, W.Va. – Delegates in the WV House of Representatives have introduced HB 2382, seeking to penalize people who are “camping” on public or government property.
The bills text says “It is the purpose of this article to prevent harm to the health and safety of the public and to promote the public health, safety and general welfare by keeping public streets, sidewalks, parks, and other public property within the municipality, county or the state readily accessible to the public, and to prevent use of public property for camping purposes or storage of personal property where those uses interfere with the rights of others to use the areas for the purposes for which they were intended or create health and safety concerns.”
“Camp facilities” are defined as (but are not limited to) tents, huts, and temporary shelters.
“Camp paraphernalia” is defined as (but is not limited to) tarps, cots, beds, sleeping bags, blankets, mattresses, hammocks or portable cooking facilities and similar equipment.
Those who are found breaking the code on government property would be charged with a misdemeanor, which carries penalties of a fine between $25 and $100 and up to 30 days in jail. The bill says each day the violation of the code continues would be considered a separate offense. Whatever personal items were being used to create a make-shift home would be “abated” at the expense of the alleged violator.
Those who are found breaking the code in public property would first receive a written warning and information about local shelters. A second violation would prompt a fine of no more than $200. Any person who commits a third violation within 12 months of the first violation will be fined up to $500 and sent to jail for up to 30 days.
Those who introduced the bill believe it is needed “to prevent harm to the health and safety of the public and to promote the public health, safety and general welfare by keeping public streets, sidewalks, parks, and other public property within the municipality, county or the state readily accessible to the public.”
The bill is sponsored by Delegate Chiarelli and co-sponsored by Delegates Hornby, Willis, McCormick, Holstein, Heckert, Shamblin, B. Smith, Hillenbrand, and Rohrbach.
Municipalities in our area have already passed similar legislation.
These laws are able to be passed due to last June’s Supreme Court decision in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, where it upheld Grants Pass’s law that criminalizes sleeping outside.
Some homeless shelters in our area are already struggling to keep their doors open, especially with the loss of grant funding.
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