California Bill Would Ban Fines, Jail Time for Homeless Acts Related to ‘Basic Survival’

This includes sleeping in public, setting up a tent, or using blankets or pillows, according to the bill.

Homeless people sleep at the entranceway of Sacramento City Hall in Sacramento, Calif., on March 16, 2025. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

California legislators are considering a bill to prohibit local and state authorities from imposing penalties—including jail time or fines—on homeless people for acts the bill says are related to survival.

Introduced by state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, a Democrat from Pasadena, the Homeless Rights Protection Act, Senate Bill 634, is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Committee on Local Government on April 23 and the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 29.

“I know what it’s like to lose loved ones to the homelessness crisis, and have seen the devastating impacts of policies that criminalize poverty,” Pérez said in a news release March 25.

The bill would prohibit local jurisdictions from adopting ordinances or enforcing existing ones that impose penalties on homeless people or anyone assisting a homeless person with “any act immediately related to homelessness or any act related to basic survival.”

This includes standing, sitting, lying, or sleeping in a public place, setting up a tent or tarp, eating or drinking in public, using blankets or pillows, seeking shade, or other similar activities, according to the bill text.

The bill would also prohibit a state agency from imposing such penalties.

Addressing homelessness as a “statewide concern” rather than municipal, the bill would apply to all cities, including charter cities.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Grants Pass v. Johnson in June 2024 that local governments do not violate the U.S. Constitution by enforcing ordinances or imposing penalties for public sleeping and camping.

Some California cities have restored or adopted measures to fine homeless people for camping after Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered state agencies to sweep and remove unsafe homeless encampments following the Supreme Court ruling last year.

“This executive order directs state agencies to move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them—and provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same,” Newsom said in a statement at the time.

Prior lower court rulings in California had found such action would be considered “cruel and unusual punishment” if sufficient shelter space were not available.

This left officials “without the tools or guidance necessary to address the crisis on their streets,” stated Newsom’s order.

In February, the city of Fremont, about 40 miles southeast of San Francisco, adopted a citywide camping ban and made “aiding and abetting” an encampment a crime, which the city says is similar to ordinances enforced by a number of other major cities, such as Sacramento, San Diego, and Berkeley. Violators of the ordinance are subject to penalties of up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail.

A 2024 nationwide homeless count found California had about 187,000 homeless people living on the streets or in temporary housing, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

California had nearly 25 percent of the nation’s homeless people, the department reported.

Travis Gillmore contributed to this report.