The bill unfairly targets some of the most vunerable in our population by criminalizing homelessness.
Panhandling and encampments (sleeping in public) would essentially become misdemeanors. Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment does not prohibit municipalities or counties from punishing unhoused people for sleeping in public, even if they have nowhere else to go. But just because this ruling makes it easier to punish people, doesn't mean they should be punished.
This bill would also require a homeless person to purchase a permit to panhandle. However, laws that only apply to people that “request money or anything of value as a donation or contribution;” are unconstitutional, content-based restrictions on speech. They apply to someone soliciting for a donation, but they do not apply to someone standing on the street asking you to come to their business or to vote for someone. The government cannot burden speech by charging a fee that some people may not be able to afford. That would result in people with money having more rights than people without. Any fee no matter how small could prevent a homeless person from exercising their 1A rights.
