I voted NO because I believe this bill is a punitive attack on cities that uses homelessness as a political issue rather than addressing its root causes. Instead of helping people get off the streets, it encourages lawsuits against local governments and pressures communities to criminalize poverty.
HB 1020:
Every community deserves safe public spaces, and local governments have a responsibility to address crime and public disorder. But homelessness is often driven by mental illness, addiction, disability, or economic hardship. Threatening cities with lawsuits if they do not jail more homeless people does nothing to solve those underlying problems.
In my view, this bill substitutes ideology for effective public policy. Rather than investing in mental health services, addiction treatment, supportive housing, or other evidence-based strategies that have been shown to reduce homelessness, it creates incentives for cities to adopt a more punitive approach simply to avoid being sued.
I also believe decisions about how to respond to local challenges should generally remain with locally elected officials who understand the unique needs of their communities. HB 295 moves Georgia in the opposite direction by using state law and private litigation to pressure cities into one preferred approach, an approach that happens to be the single most expensive way to deal with homelessness.
This bill may satisfy those who want to appear “tough” on homelessness, but I do not believe it offers meaningful solutions. I believe Georgians deserve policies that reduce homelessness, not simply policies that make homeless people less visible.
