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SB-1011 Encampments: penalties.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 02/05/2024 09:00 PM
SB1011:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1011

Introduced by Senator Jones
(Principal coauthor: Senator Blakespear)
(Coauthors: Senators Alvarado-Gil, Dahle, Dodd, Grove, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Seyarto, and Wilk)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Alanis, Megan Dahle, Davies, Essayli, Flora, Gallagher, Joe Patterson, and Sanchez)

February 05, 2024

An act to add Section 647.10 to the Penal Code, relating to public safety.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1011, as introduced, Jones. Encampments: penalties.
Under existing law, a person who lodges in a public or private place without permission is guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. Existing law also provides that a person who willfully and maliciously obstructs the free movement of any person on any street, sidewalk, or other public place is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Under existing law, a nuisance is anything that is injurious to health or indecent or offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to the free use of property, so as to interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life or property. Existing law also provides that a nuisance is anything that obstructs the free passage or use of any public park, square, street, or highway, among other things. Under existing law, a public nuisance is a nuisance that affects the entire community, neighborhood, or a considerable number of persons. Existing law provides various remedies against a public nuisance, including abatement by any public body or officer authorized by law.
This bill would prohibit a person from sitting, lying, sleeping, or storing, using, maintaining, or placing personal property upon a street or sidewalk if a homeless shelter, as defined, is available to the person. The bill would also prohibit sitting, lying, sleeping, or storing, using, maintaining, or placing personal property within 500 feet of a public or private school, open space, or major transit stop, as specified. The bill would specify that a violation of this prohibition is a public nuisance that can be abated and prevented, as specified. The bill would also provide that a violation of the prohibition may be charged as a misdemeanor or an infraction, at the discretion of the prosecutor. The bill would prohibit a person from being found in violation of the bill’s provisions unless provided notice, at least 72 hours before commencement of any enforcement action, as specified. By imposing criminal penalties for a violation of these provisions, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 647.10 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

647.10.
 (a) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Homeless shelter” means any of the following:
(A) An emergency shelter, as defined in Section 576.2 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(B) An emergency shelter, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 50801 of the Health and Safety Code.
(C) A navigation center, as defined in Section 50216 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) “Major transit stop” has the same meaning as defined in Section 21064.3 of the Public Resources Code.
(3) “Open space” means a parcel or area of land or water that is substantially unimproved and devoted to an open-space use, as defined in Section 65560 of the Government Code.
(4) “Peace officer” means a person described in Section 830.
(b) A person shall not sit, lie, sleep, or store, use, maintain, or place personal property upon a street or sidewalk if a homeless shelter is available to the person.
(c) A person shall not sit, lie, sleep, or store, use, maintain, or place personal property upon a street, sidewalk, or other public property within the following locations:
(1) Five hundred feet of a public or private school providing instruction in kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(2) An open space.
(3) A major transit stop.
(d) Subject to subdivision (e), this section may be enforced as follows:
(1) A violation of this section is a public nuisance that may be enjoined, abated, and prevented. The district attorney, county counsel of the county, or the city attorney of any incorporated city or of any city and county, in the name of the people, may maintain an action to abate and prevent the nuisance. Before pursuing abatement authorized by this paragraph, the district attorney, county counsel, or city attorney, as applicable, shall ensure that the person found to be in violation of this section has received verbal or written information regarding alternative locations to sleep, homeless and mental health services, or homeless shelters in the area.
(2) A violation of this section may be charged as a misdemeanor or an infraction, at the discretion of the prosecutor.
(e) A person shall not be found to be in violation of this section unless a peace officer employed by the county or city, as applicable, with jurisdiction over the location has provided that person written notice, at least 72 hours before commencement of any enforcement action described in subdivision (d), that the person is prohibited from sitting, lying, sleeping, or storing, using, maintaining, or placing personal property upon a street, sidewalk, or other public property pursuant to this section. A written notice shall only be deemed to have been provided for the purposes of this subdivision if the notice is given in a language understood by the person receiving the notice.

SEC. 2.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.