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Advocates press for a 'bill of rights' for people experiencing homelessness (H274)
Summary
The Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless urged the committee to pass H274, which would add anti‑discrimination protections for people experiencing homelessness and clarify rights such as access to public spaces, confidentiality of records and voting without a permanent address
Boston — The Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless told the Joint Committee that House Bill H274, a proposed "bill of rights" for people experiencing homelessness, is needed to protect civil and human rights amid rising municipal restrictions on encampments and public sleeping.
"House Bill 274 would extend critical anti‑discrimination protections to people experiencing homelessness and affirm a range of fundamental rights," Julia Garvey of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless said. She listed proposed rights that would be clarified or created under the bill, including the right to move freely in public spaces, confidentiality of records, protection of personal property, the right to register and vote without a permanent address, and to rest and eat in public where appropriate.
Witnesses cited a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision (Johnson v. City of Grants Pass) that limited municipal authority and said its practical effect has been more local bans and criminalization in some places. Proponents told the committee evidence shows criminalizing unsheltered homelessness harms health outcomes and does not reduce homelessness.
Supporters asked the committee to report H274 favorably and to use the hearing record and written testimony to demonstrate the bill's evidence base; the committee did not vote during the session.
