Bill Text: FL S1530 | 2024 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-03-04 - Laid on Table, refer to CS/CS/HB 1365 [S1530 Detail]
Download: Florida-2024-S1530-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2024 CS for CS for SB 1530 By the Committees on Fiscal Policy; and Judiciary; and Senator Martin 594-03654-24 20241530c2 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to unauthorized public camping and 3 public sleeping; creating s. 125.0231, F.S.; defining 4 terms; prohibiting counties and municipalities from 5 authorizing or otherwise allowing public camping or 6 sleeping on public property without certification of 7 designated public property by the Department of 8 Children and Families; authorizing counties to 9 designate certain public property for such uses for a 10 specified time period; requiring the Department of 11 Children and Families to certify such designation; 12 requiring a county to submit a request to the 13 secretary of the department which includes 14 certification of and documentation proving certain 15 information; requiring counties to establish specified 16 standards and procedures relating to such property; 17 authorizing the department to conduct inspections of 18 such property and the secretary to issue notice; 19 providing applicability; providing an exception to 20 applicability during specified emergencies; providing 21 a declaration of important state interest; providing 22 an effective date. 23 24 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 25 26 Section 1. Section 125.0231, Florida Statutes, is created 27 to read: 28 125.0231 Public camping and public sleeping.— 29 (1) As used in this section, the term: 30 (a) “Department” means the Department of Children and 31 Families. 32 (b) “Public camping or sleeping” means lodging or residing 33 overnight in a temporary outdoor habitation used as a dwelling 34 or living space and evidenced by the erection of a tent or other 35 temporary shelter, the presence of bedding or pillows, or the 36 storage of personal belongings, or means lodging or residing 37 overnight in an outdoor space without a tent or other temporary 38 shelter. The term does not include: 39 1. Lodging or residing overnight in a motor vehicle that is 40 registered, insured, and located in a place where it may 41 lawfully be. 42 2. Camping for recreational purposes on property designated 43 for such purposes. 44 (2) Except as provided in subsection (3), a county or 45 municipality may not authorize or otherwise allow any person to 46 regularly engage in public camping or sleeping on any public 47 property, including, but not limited to, any public building or 48 its grounds and any public right-of-way under the jurisdiction 49 of the county or municipality, as applicable. 50 (3) A county may, by majority vote of the county’s 51 governing body, designate property owned by the county or a 52 municipality within the boundaries of the county to be used for 53 a continuous period of no longer than 1 year for the purposes of 54 public camping or sleeping. If the designated property is within 55 the boundaries of a municipality, the designation is contingent 56 upon the concurrence of the municipality, by majority vote of 57 the municipality’s governing body. 58 (a) A county designation is not effective until the 59 department certifies the designation. To obtain department 60 certification, the county shall submit a request to the 61 secretary of the department which shall include certification 62 of, and documentation proving, the following: 63 1. There are not sufficient open beds in homeless shelters 64 in the county for the homeless population of the county; 65 2. The designated property is not contiguous to property 66 designated for residential use by the county or municipality in 67 the local government comprehensive plan and future land use map; 68 3. The designated property would not adversely and 69 materially affect the property value or safety and security of 70 other existing residential or commercial property in the county 71 or municipality and would not negatively affect the safety of 72 children; and 73 4. The county has developed a plan to satisfy the 74 requirements of paragraph (b). 75 76 Upon receipt of a county request to certify a designation, the 77 department shall notify the county of the date of receiving the 78 request, and of any omission or error, within 10 days of receipt 79 by the department. The department shall certify the designation 80 within 45 days of receipt of a complete submission from the 81 county, and the designation shall be deemed certified on the 82 45th day if the department takes no action. 83 (b) Except as provided in paragraph (e), if a county 84 designates county or municipal property to be used for public 85 camping or public sleeping, it must establish and maintain 86 minimum standards and procedures related to the designated 87 property for the purposes of: 88 1. Ensuring the safety and security of the designated 89 property and the persons lodging or residing on such property. 90 2. Maintaining sanitation, which must include, at a 91 minimum, providing access to clean and operable restrooms and 92 running water. 93 3. Coordinating with the regional managing entity to 94 provide access to behavioral health services, which must include 95 substance abuse and mental health treatment resources. 96 4. Prohibiting illegal substance use and alcohol use on the 97 designated property and enforcing such prohibition. 98 (c) Within 30 days after certification of a designation by 99 the department, the county must publish the minimum standards 100 and procedures required under paragraph (b) on the county’s and, 101 if applicable, the municipality’s publicly accessible websites. 102 The county and municipality must continue to make such policies 103 and procedures publicly available for as long as any county or 104 municipal property remains designated under paragraph (a). 105 (d) The department may inspect any designated property at 106 any time, and the secretary may provide notice to the county 107 recommending closure of the designated property if the 108 requirements of this section are no longer satisfied. A county, 109 and municipality, if applicable, must publish any such notice 110 issued by the department on the county’s and municipality’s 111 publicly accessible websites within 5 business days of receipt 112 of the notice. 113 (e) A fiscally constrained county is exempt from the 114 requirement to establish and maintain minimum standards and 115 procedures under subparagraphs (b)1.-3. if the governing board 116 of the county makes a finding that compliance with such 117 requirements would result in a financial hardship. 118 (4)(a) A resident of the county, an owner of a business 119 located in the county, or the Attorney General may bring a civil 120 action in any court of competent jurisdiction against the county 121 or applicable municipality to enjoin a violation of subsection 122 (2). If the resident or business owner prevails in a civil 123 action, the court may award reasonable expenses incurred in 124 bringing the civil action, including court costs, reasonable 125 attorney fees, investigative costs, witness fees, and deposition 126 costs. 127 (b) An application for injunction filed pursuant to this 128 subsection must be accompanied by an affidavit attesting that: 129 1. The applicant has provided written notice of the alleged 130 violation of subsection (2) to the governing board of the county 131 or applicable municipality. 132 2. The applicant has provided the county or applicable 133 municipality with 5 business days to cure the alleged violation. 134 3. The county or applicable municipality has failed to take 135 all reasonable actions within the limits of its governmental 136 authority to cure the alleged violation within 5 business days 137 after receiving written notice of the alleged violation. 138 (5) This section does not apply to a county during any time 139 period in which: 140 (a) The Governor has declared a state of emergency in the 141 county or another county immediately adjacent to the county and 142 has suspended the provisions of this section pursuant to s. 143 252.36. 144 (b) A state of emergency has been declared in the county 145 under chapter 870. 146 Section 2. The Legislature hereby determines and declares 147 that this act fulfills an important state interest of ensuring 148 the health, safety, welfare, quality of life, and aesthetics of 149 Florida communities while simultaneously making adequate 150 provision for the homeless population of this state. 151 Section 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2024.