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The "camping ban" bill ( #HB1925) aimed at homeless people is up in the TX House Monday. #txlege
The bill defines camping as residing in a place "with shelter" ... BUT ...
The bill defines camping as residing in a place "with shelter" ... BUT ...
"Shelter" in the statute includes a "sleeping bag, bedroll, blankets, or any form of shelter, other than clothing, designed to protect a person from weather conditions."
Umbrellas "protect .. from weather conditions." That& #39;s pretty damn broad.
Umbrellas "protect .. from weather conditions." That& #39;s pretty damn broad.
Another extremist aspect to the bill: An out-of-the-blue attack on prosecutorial discretion, telling district and county attorneys they cannot prevent their underlings from prosecuting these cases even if that would be their personal decision as head prosecutor.
I& #39;ve never heard of this before: DAs may decline to prosecute MURDER charges. Indeed, DAs have absolute discretion to dismiss charges against accused killers, which sometimes happens. But this law would remove discretion for Class C cases against homeless ppl.
If elected prosecutors try to exercise discretion, anyway, they may be faced with litigation from the Attorney General seeking injunctive relief and denied state grant funds.
Weirdly, the Governor spent the last nine months attacking Austin over its rising murder rate. But this bill directs officers to spend their time rousting homeless ppl instead of investigating violent crime, mandating that as a greater priority.
