Does Oregon House Bill 3115 Go Far Enough?

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In 2018, the Ninth Circuit US Court of Appeals issued a ruling that prohibited Idaho—and the other states in the court's jurisdiction, including Oregon—from penalizing people for sleeping on public property if there was no alternative shelter available. Though at the time the Martin v. Boise ruling was seen as a major win among houseless folks and advocacy organizations, impacted cities have been slow to shed policies that directly contradict the decision. The upholding of these anti-camping policies has led to expensive lawsuits in several cities across Oregon. The Oregon House Bill 3115 was written as a way of codifying the Ninth Circuits’ ruling. More specifically, the bill aims to: prevent more lawsuits by requiring cities to update their outdated policies, and enshrine homeless rights by making state statutes reflect the 2018 ruling.

However, despite what the passage of this bill signifies on its face, many people who advocate for houseless folks still seem to suggest that it doesn’t go far enough. “There are many instances where there may be a single shelter bed available and many reasons why a person might not be able to access that bed,” said Becky Straus, an attorney with the Oregon Law Center who regularly defends homeless clients and helped write HB 3115. In those situations, reasons may include a lack of transportation, the shelter’s policy on pets, fear for their physical safety at the shelter, and ADA compliance concerns. According to Straus, all of this can still result in a person being unjustly policed simply due to a single bed being available at a shelter.


Read more about HB-3115 here:

https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2021/03/22/32355280/homeless-advocates-hesitant-to-support-oregon-bill-to-decriminalize-camping

For more information on efforts to decriminalize homelessness and right to rest legislation in Oregon visit:

https://aclu-or.org/en/publications/decriminalizing-homelessness-oregon

https://wraphome.org/what/homeless-bill-of-rights/oregon-r2r/


Published by: Seth De Armas

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