Committee advances bill to ban prolonged public camping in large Idaho cities; vote 13-2

The Idaho House State Affairs Committee voted to send Senate Bill 1141, as amended, to the full House with a "do pass" recommendation after a committee vote of 13-2 following public testimony and member questions.

Senator Cody Galloway, sponsor of the measure, said the bill would make "public camping or sleeping ... unlawful" in cities with populations greater than 100,000 and give state officials tools to press cities that do not manage encampments. "Public camping is dirty, dangerous, and even deadly," Galloway told the committee as she described photos in the members' packets and cited recent deaths tied to people sleeping in vehicles.

Committee members heard competing views from city officials, police and shelter providers on whether the bill solves public-safety and health problems or creates new legal and operational burdens. Kathy Grismeyer, director of policy and government affairs for the City of Boise, opposed the bill and warned it could create "a pretty large legal liability" for cities that already face federal court limits on camping enforcement. She told the committee the City of Boise has had an anti-camping…