Indiana House Republicans approved a bill April 14 that could land people experiencing homelessness up to 60 days in jail.
Senate Bill 197 would make it a Class C misdemeanor to use public land for long-term camping. If charged, a person could also face a fine of up to $500.
Lawmakers in the Senate, though, didn’t sign off on changes made to the bill. That means a group of senators and representatives will try to come to an agreement behind closed doors before the legislative session ends later this month.
The bill, which deals with unsafe buildings, was amended last week in a House committee. The language came from another bill that House lawmakers rejected earlier this year.
The change caught some homelessness advocates by surprise. There was no notice of the amendment, introduced by Republican Rep. Jennifer Meltzer from Shelbyville, so there wasn’t any public testimony.
“Criminalization really undermines what we know works,” Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, executive director of the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention, told Mirror Indy at the time.
The bill would require police officers to give the person a warning, offer a ride to a service provider and call a local crisis intervention team for help.
The bill’s sponsor in the House, Indianapolis Republican Rep. Andrew Ireland, said the misdemeanor is a way to urge people to accept assistance.
“I get the criminal penalty might be hard to stomach,” he said during the House session Monday.
Democrats said the bill puts even more of a burden on people experiencing homelessness.
“This is not a compassionate bill,” said Rep. Cherrish Pryor, D-Indianapolis. “This is a cruelty bill.”
House lawmakers approved the bill by a vote of 52-40 mostly along party lines. Eight Republicans joined Democrats in voting against it. One Democratic voted for it.
The part of the bill related to homelessness would take effect July 1, 2026.
Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers housing and labor. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick and Bluesky @tyfenwick.bsky.social.
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