Saying that while no city in Florida is contending with the issues of homelessness that are prevalent in places like San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday came out in support of a proposal moving through the Florida Legislature that would ban local governments from allowing people to sleep on public property without a permit.
But he added that he would be willing to provide financial resources to any city or county who requested help in adding shelter space or for programs dealing with mental health issues and substance abuse.
“The Legislature is considering doing something to just ensure from a statewide perspective we’re not going to let any city turn into a San Francisco,” DeSantis declared at a press conference held in Miami Beach. “Not on our watch. We’re not going to let that happen. We’re going to have protections for people.”
The governor said that he was supportive of the Legislature moving in this direction as long as it was focused on “ensuring public order. Ensuring quality of life for residents. Ensuring that people’s property values are maintained. Ensuring that businesses are able to operate unobstructed without these problems bleeding.”
The homelessness-related legislation refers to a measure sponsored in the Florida House by Clay County Republican Sam Garrison (HB 1365), which would prohibit any city or county in Florida from authorizing or permitting public sleeping or camping on public property, public buildings or public rights-of-way without a lawfully temporary permit. It’s Senate equivalent (SB 1530) is sponsored by Lee County Republican Jonathan Martin.
The measure also says that if a city or county wanted to continue to provide a public place for the homeless, they need to provide a wealth of public services: access to clean running water and bathroom facilities; 24-hour security; a ban on drug and alcohol use for all users and access to substance abuse and mental health treatment resources; and it may not be in a location where it “adversely and materially affects the value or security of existing residential or commercial properties.”
Though critics charge that the legislation “criminalizes” being homeless, there are no criminal penalties in Garrison’s bill. There are civil penalties, however. The bill says that a person or business may bring a civil action in any court against any local government that did open a space for the homeless without those public services. If that person or business was successful in their lawsuit, the bill says that they could be reimbursed for court costs and attorney fees.
DeSantis added that he was “open” to providing financial support for local governments when it comes to issues of public shelters for the homeless, as well funding for programs that affect the homeless, such as mental health and substance abuse.
Joining DeSantis at the press conference was Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner, who discussed an ordinance approved by the Miami Beach Commission last fall that allows the police to arrest homeless people for sleeping on public streets or the public right of way if they decline placement in a shelter, as reported by the Miami Herald.
DeSantis and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass boasted about how homelessness has decreased in Florida, but that’s not actually accurate.
According to the most recent “point in time” count conducted in January of 2023 in Florida, there were approximately 15,706 individuals who were unsheltered, which is defined as people sleeping in cars, park benches, abandoned buildings, or other places not meant for human habitation. That was a 34% increase from the year before, according to the Florida’s Council on Homelessness’ most recent annual report.
DeSantis said that while the level of homelessness in Florida isn’t nearly as bad as some cities on the West Coast, part of being a good leader is to “see what hurdles could be 5 years out. Ten years out.”
–Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
Kat says
Seems as if Florida is the place where decency, humanity and freedoms for certain people come to die. This man has no soul.
Endangered species says
Lol no better way to help the ever growing number of impoverished people than to give them a giant middle finger. Preserve profits not people am I right gop…
They way the count them is similar to most government figures blindly inaccurate and not a true representation of the growing problem. But I suppose when you elect people that don’t care about others you get racist ron and the flurry of bad policies changed in the middle of the night by his followers.
Wow says
So….. leaving private property to be the only place un housed people can sleep? Makes sense.
Maybe ship them to sanctuary cities?
Maybe make homelessness illegal?
Maybe spend some of this money on help? Naahhhh too compassionate.
Pogo says
@This season of the year, and tear
Joe D says
Although I certainly don’t want massive accumulations of TENT CITIES throughout Florida, there are a totally inadequate number of available shelter beds….and as we have seen locally in Flagler Beach, a SERIOUS lack of adequate emergency detox and addictions rehabilitation beds ( in Flagler, outside of the VERY difficult to qualify for INPATIENT hospital beds…limited to acute overdoses only…1-3 days). Other than through the Flagler County Jail system, there is really nowhere for many homeless ( especially with addiction or mental health issues) to legally go, under this newly proposed bill. Flagler County only has a few “shelter” beds run by a local nonprofit group through a local church…and it’s my understanding that ( please correct me if I’m wrong) it’s only open when the temperature drops below 40 degrees. I do know that the Community Supper (Soup Kitchen) that is run by my Church: Santa Maria Del Mar, on Monday afternoons, was serving 100 people each week in 2019, then with the financial downturns during the pandemic, it ballooned to 200/ week, but as recent as January 2024, it now averages 300 individuals served each Monday.
Now in my past experience in another state as a Psychiatric Master’s prepared Clinical Nurse Specialist and Certified Nurse Case Manager, there were limited housing options for a SIGNIFICANT group of chronic homeless population, who had difficulties following the rules in transitional housing, where no drug or alcohol use was allowed, and you had to be able to get along with other residents in group housing or maintain your apartment, while participating in mandatory therapy sessions and working toward permanent housing. Many in this group, we’re placed in these VOLUNTARY housing options, only to leave, or be ASKED to leave because they could not follow the rules of the transitional housing program within weeks ( sometimes DAYS) of being placed. I witnessed our poor social workers and discharge planners attempting to find program placement as many as 6 or more times, with chronic homeless clients, who refused to follow the program rules.
I DO support the portion of the current proposal that indicates trespassing on public property if the individual refuses placement in an available shelter/housing situation.
It is a complex problem, and it’s only going to get worse with the lack of available resources, not only in Florida, but across the nation.
Dave says
Maybe DeathSantis will load all the homeless in lots of big trucks and send them to NYC, where their major is housing migrants in hotels and now providing these migrants with food credit cards. I guess DeathSantis seems to forget some of these homeless are Vets and also some of these people, yes the are humans, used to have a job before Covid. The man seems to not even see the problem, but would rather hide it from the out of state vacationers all for that dollar. His solution to the problem
” DeSantis on Monday as noted in the Tampa Bay Times, endorsed a statewide strategy for dealing with homeless people that Republican lawmakers say is the first of its kind.
In short, put them in camps.
Legislators in the last week advanced bills that would require counties to ban homeless people from sleeping in public places and instead allow them to stay in designated camps with security, sanitation and access to behavioral health services.”
James says
Are the homeless not members of the public?
Just ask’n.
Joy says
It’s all about the cruelty.
This is just typical of DeSantis and the Republicans.
Endless dark money says
Shelters in fla aren’t available regularly. Most arent open unless its under 40 degrees so they close the next day anyways. Also people can make the journey only to be turned away. Corporate welfare is fine apparently but welfare and social services for humans is no good according to republicons still telling people to wait for the trickle down. McDonald’s makes 65 billion a year in profit and like 70 plus % of their employees are on any assistance program they can get. Could make 64 billion and pay great wages but that goes against endless growth and profits for the few.
c says
Ronnie (and most of the Photo-Op GOPs .. there ARE still some real Republicans left) seems to be channeling Professor Wagstaff (Groucho Marx) :
“I don’t know what they have to say
It makes no difference anyway
Whatever it is, I’m against it
No matter what it is or who commenced it
I’m against it
Your proposition may be good
But let’s have one thing understood:
Whatever it is, I’m against it
And even when you’ve changed it or condensed it
I’m against it”
Ban the gop says
In republicon controlled states across the country they are making being poor a crime. Criminalizing homeless is horrible makes you want the rcons to become homeless themselves so they can learn. So much for caring about others and all..it’s an election year vote them out at every level!!
Elisabeth Robbins says
Oh, you lost me on this one, Gov. There are root issues at play that cause people to become homeless. There are no resources but yet housing was voted to be a human right! Many homeless are employed. Just don’t make enough to cover ever-rising rent along with everything else. This isn’t a mental health crisis, it’s socioeconomic