Connecticut lawmakers are once again trying to prevent municipalities from criminalizing homelessness.
A bill, approved by the state Housing and Planning and Development Committees, would prohibit towns and cities from enacting local laws punishing people for performing daily activities like sleeping or eating.
The bill geared toward protecting unhoused residents, would make it illegal to fine or ticket them in public spaces for sleeping, resting, eating or seeking food or money.
Sarah Fox, Chief Executive Officer of the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, said criminalizing homelessness would do nothing to address homelessness.
“Ticketing, fining, arresting, or displacing someone for resting or sleeping outside does not reduce homelessness,” Fox said in written testimony. “It makes it harder to exit homelessness by creating court debt, records, and compounding instability that can block employment and housing.”
A similar bill was proposed, and approved by the Housing Committee last year. However, it failed to receive a vote from the full state legislature.
The bill was a response to a 2024 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, allowing communities to pass laws prohibiting sleeping outdoors. Housing advocates say the decision effectively made homelessness illegal.
Some lawmakers and people in the housing field say the bill would make it more difficult to do their jobs and keep public spaces, like parks, clean and safe.
In written testimony against the bill, Old Saybrook First Selectman Carl Fortuna said the bill will limit towns’ ability to prevent homeless encampments.
“Towns need to be able to take steps to ensure that individuals do not set up encampments or engage in other conduct that may create unsanitary or unsafe conditions,” Fortuna said. “When the downtown is a small area, like it is in Old Saybrook and many other small towns, this type of conduct can be disruptive and upsetting to merchants doing business.”
The bill moves next to the state House of Representatives.
