Georgia Lawmakers Advance Bill That Would Let Property Owners Sue Local Governments for Not Enforcing Anti-Homeless Laws

Lawmakers in Georgia are considering a bill that would put pressure on local governments to enforce laws aimed at getting homeless people off the streets. Typically, residents cannot sue local governments for failing to enforce “anti-camping” laws.On Wednesday, Georgia’s House voted 98-75 to pass House Bill 295, which lets property owners sue local governments that have “pervasive, systemic, or organized” practices of declining to enforce laws against public camping, drug possession, and shoplifting. It would also let people sue if local governments limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The damages a property owner could receive would be limited to the amount of property taxes they paid the previous year. The state representative who sponsored the bill, Houston Gaines, said during a debate on the House floor, “If a local government refuses to do its job, we’re going to hit that local government in the pocketbook and put the money back in the hands of the property owners who have been harmed.”Democrats raised concerns that the bill would let property owners sue simply because their local government is not enforcing a law aggressively enough. One Democrat, Gabriel Sanchez, said the bill “hates immigrants and the unhoused” and is an “example of prioritizing the needs of the wealthy over the needs of everyone else.”However, a Republican who supported the bill, Clint Crowe, said the law only addresses a situation where a local government “formally adopts a policy of non-enforcement,” and that policy “causes documented financial harm.”“The local government has 30 days to act. If it refuses, the owner may seek relief in the courts. That is the process. It is measured. It is documented. It is not a blank check. It is a backstop,” Mr. Crowe said.Other supporters of the bill said they have heard complaints from local businesses about homeless people defecating or camping on private property. The bill now heads to the state senate, which has until the end of the legislative session on April 2 to approve it.

Georgia Lawmakers Advance Bill That Would Let Property Owners Sue Local Governments for Not Enforcing Anti-Homeless Laws

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