Louisiana’s Republican-led Legislature passed a bill Wednesday that would criminalize sleeping or camping on public property, giving homeless individuals a stark choice: enter a court-supervised treatment program or face up to six months in jail and a $500 fine.
House Bill 211 now awaits the signature of Republican Gov. Jeff Landry. Under Louisiana law, the bill becomes law even if the governor does not sign it, provided he does not veto it. The legislation targets what sponsors call an unchecked homeless crisis spreading across the state’s cities. Under the bill, individuals caught camping or sleeping on public property can be charged with a criminal offense carrying penalties of up to six months imprisonment, a $500 fine, or both.
The bill also establishes the Homelessness Court Program, a 12-month supervised alternative to incarceration. Participants in the program would receive substance abuse treatment, mental health services, housing assistance, and job training. Those who complete the program would have their charges dismissed. Those who drop out or fail to comply would be subject to criminal penalties.
Local jurisdictions are not required to set up the court program, meaning city and parish governments could bypass the treatment option entirely and simply arrest and jail violators.
Municipalities would also be allowed under the bill to create designated camping areas for homeless individuals. Those sites would be permitted only when existing shelters are at capacity, and they must be located far enough from residential neighborhoods to avoid depressing property values or posing risks to children. Governments operating such sites would be required to provide restrooms, running water, and behavioral health services.
The bill drew swift pushback from some city officials. New Orleans Council member Lesli Harris, a Democrat, criticized the legislation as punitive rather than constructive. “Criminalizing our most vulnerable residents is not a strategy. It is an abdication of our responsibility to them and to the city we are building together,” Harris said. “This approach centers on enforcement instead of long-term stability.”
Harris argued the bill could deepen the cycle of poverty rather than break it. “By combining criminal penalties with conditional access to services, the bill risks creating a cycle of continued system involvement, individuals moving between citations, court supervision, and potential incarceration without achieving meaningful progress,” she said.
Supporters of the bill have pointed to the failure of voluntary approaches in cities across the country and framed the legislation as a public safety and quality-of-life measure for residents and businesses affected by open-air encampments.
Louisiana joins a number of Republican-led states and cities that have moved in recent years to restrict public camping, following a 2024 Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for governments to enforce such bans without violating the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
