Gov. Ron DeSantis is defending legislation he signed this week that bans people from sleeping in public, saying it doesn't punish the unhoused, but helps them.
"It's not criminalizing homelessness. What they're saying is you don't have a right to just sleep in front of somebody's business or you don't have a right to just take over a street and put an encampment down," DeSantis said.
The Governor made the comments in Bonita Springs in defense of HB 1365, sponsored by Republican Sen. Jon Martin and Republican Rep. Sam Garrison.
The bill requires local jurisdictions to pick a piece of public property and wrangle people who are camping or sleeping in public spaces toward that location. Local camps must include clean restrooms, running water, security on premises and bans on drugs and alcohol. It bans counties and municipalities from permitting public sleeping or camping on public property without explicit permission.
"What the bill does is, it says you have a right to take people out of the public areas and put them in a shelter," DeSantis added.
"We're putting requirements that you're not allowing them to use drugs. You're offering mental health, you're doing that."
The Governor added that homeless people "should be in a shelter ... some place that is outside of where the public is impacted by this."
"You should not be impacted by a homeless encampment as a Floridian," he added.
DeSantis argued that homelessness elsewhere was a reason people came to his state in recent years, saying that "if other places around the country had done that, there probably would be a lot fewer people moving to Florida as a result."
Democrats noted that the bill presented an unfunded mandate ahead of the Legislature passing it. DeSantis' worry, apparently satisfied by the legislation's final form, was that he didn't want "Sodom and Gomorrah" style homeless camps.
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