Committee sends SB 11 41 to the floor after hours of testimony on public camping

A House State Affairs committee voted 13-2 on Wednesday to send Senate Bill 11 41, as amended, to the floor with a do-pass recommendation after more than three hours of public testimony and questions from committee members.

Senator Cody Galloway, who presented the bill, told the committee that public camping on roads, sidewalks and parks "is dirty, dangerous, and even deadly," and said the measure is intended to push cities to manage encampments so communities "do not turn into places where we've seen things go downhill." Galloway said the bill makes prolonged, unauthorized outdoor lodging unlawful in covered cities and allows the attorney general to intervene when a city fails to address persistent encampments.

Supporters and opponents differed sharply over the effect the bill would have in practice. Kathy Grismeyer, director of policy and government affairs for the City of Boise, said the state-language is broader than Boise's existing ordinance and could create "a pretty large legal liability" for cities, noting Boise's 2018 litigation that reached the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the resulting stipulated agreement. "This bill does not have a timeline stipulation," Grismeyer said, and "it would require 24/7 heightened enforcement by law enforcement in order to demonstrate that we are complying." She said Boise enforces a sunset-to-sunrise camping prohibition and that the bill's absence of a time limit would change enforcement expectations.

Christopher Dennison, chief of police for the City of Boise, also opposed the bill. He said the measure's broad definition — which can…