Two new state laws aimed at outlawing camping on public property and regulating panhandling took effect Tuesday.
While the legislation gives law enforcement new tools to address the issues, they also raise concerns about how it may affect unhoused people in Columbus and Starkville.
The first, House Bill 1203, comes down after a 2024 Supreme Court decision upheld ordinances outlawing homeless encampments in Grants Pass, Oregon. The state law prohibits camping on public property unless otherwise permitted by local officials.
The law allows police to immediately remove people found camping on public property. Violating the law can result in a $50 fine, and in some cases, six months in jail if the court has a “compelling reason” to impose the imprisonment.
Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said the county has dealt with people camping on public property in the past, particularly at the Roger Short Soccer Complex. But it isn’t a major issue his office deals with right now, he said.
“We haven’t really had an issue here lately about it, but now that we do have some legislation that has some teeth, we have something that we can do about it if there’s an issue or a problem,” Hawkins told The Dispatch. “Most of the time, we can just go talk to them and make them run off. But if they refuse to, then now we’ve got something we can use.”
Hawkins couldn’t recall a time someone has refused to leave, but deputies have encountered people who have returned because “they just don’t have a place to go.”
Hawkins said deputies are trained to connect unhoused people with resources they need in the situations, whether that’s finding somewhere for them to stay or putting them in touch with the Golden Triangle Regional Homeless Coalition.
“If we have a problem, we contact the homeless coalition, and first thing we’re going to do is check (for) them on the charity tracker to see if they’re getting assistance from anybody else,” he said. “… We try to get them a place to stay and get them assistance, to get affordable housing or help them get a job, get them off the streets.”
Safe Solicitation Act
House Bill 1197, known as the Safe Solicitation Act, requires anyone panhandling for donations to acquire a permit to do so that can cost up to $25. The law doesn’t specify how long each permit is valid, but because only one permit per intersection is issued daily, the cost effectively becomes a daily fee for anyone soliciting regularly.
Violating the law can result in fines of up to $400 and possible imprisonment for up to four months.
Main Street Columbus Director Barbara Bigelow sent an email to downtown merchants Thursday morning, encouraging them to call 911 when panhandling or related issues arise.
“I have expressed that these people are a detriment to our downtown, that not only are you, our merchants, concerned, but our shoppers as well,” she wrote. “This is not a positive ‘look’ for our downtown and it begins with us reporting these individuals to 911 in hopes that we may rid our downtown of them.”
Bigelow said there have been several incidents causing concern about panhandlers lingering near business doorways.
Bigelow acknowledged people violating the law are likely facing personal struggles. She urged merchants to call 911 not only at the suggestion of law enforcement, but also because she said officers are better equipped to connect people with the right resources.
“(Columbus Police Department) knows who they can call to help if people need help,” she told The Dispatch. “… They know the people to call, and I know they try to find help for them if they want it.”
Under the Safe Solicitation Act, municipalities must either opt out of the law within six months of July 1 or establish a location where panhandlers can apply for permits. Chief Operating Officer Jammie Garrett said there are already plans for meeting with department heads to determine the best way to do that.
“We do have the building inspection office that does permitting, but this seems to be a little different,” she said. “That’s kind of strange because you’re basically asking people who don’t have (money to get) a permit to ask people for something.”
It’s not the most feasible request, Garrett said, especially when factors like mental health issues and poverty are at play.
“It seems to be more of a community outreach issue because the people who are panhandling do not have funds,” she said. “… Also a lot of times … there may be mental health issues. So trying to get identification from people, that might be hard. I don’t know how well thought out this one was.”
Director of Community Outreach Leonardo Dismukes said he’s concerned about what the laws could mean for members of the community who are living unhoused and struggling with mental illness.
It’s an issue every city deals with, though the problem is less pervasive in Columbus, Dismukes said, and it will require willingness from everyone involved to address the underlying issues of the problem.
“Every now and again, you’ll run across someone that may be threatening, but for the most part, people are just either they’ve experienced some trauma or (a mental health issue),” he said.
Mayor Lynn Spruill said she doesn’t anticipate either of the laws having a large impact in Starkville.
Spruill said she isn’t familiar with any issues related to camping on public property, and since the city passed an ordinance last year to create guidelines for panhandling, it hasn’t been a problem. The ordinance also made “aggressive panhandling” punishable by either fine, imprisonment or both.
“Those (guidelines) have been adhered to, so I don’t think we have any issues,” Spruill told The Dispatch on Friday. “I haven’t noticed any recently, so I don’t anticipate there to be much of a change in Starkville. … Although, the state law does require you to create a permitting process, and we will probably do that in accordance with the state law.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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