Language in the bill would put the onus for the ban on local jurisdictions, like counties and cities. Under the bill, a local government could not allow any person to camp or sleep on any public property, or they might face a lawsuit from a private citizen.
It also allows cities and counties to designate specific camping zones, though they’d likely be far away from services.
Read More: Proposed camping ban moving swiftly through the NC Senate would create sanctioned homeless camps
Critics say the bill will further criminalize the homeless and create significant hardships for cities already dealing with a crisis. Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo voiced his opposition to the bill last month.
"They're forcing upon cities for us to pick up the cost, which is totally unfair," Saffo said. "There's nobody putting any money into mental health, so this is basically saying you corral these people, you round them up, and you do something with them."
The bill does not come with any additional funding to local jurisdictions for added policing or services in a designated area. And those government-sanctioned camp sites are required to be far from businesses and residential areas, so advocates wonder how their homeless clients will be able to access services.
Additional language in the bill would create drug-free zones around homeless shelters.
