In the decade since homelessness was declared an emergency, almost every progressive measure has led to an increase in homelessness and more suffering on the streets. Going back to the beginning of the millennium, unchecked extreme measures have made the problem worse as these “fixes” fail to address the true culprits – addiction and mental health issues.

12 South King County mayors signed a letter to the legislature stating that Representative Mia Gregerson’s (D – SeaTac) HB 1380 is the latest extreme measure which will not only increase the number of homeless, but it will force cities to spend their limited resources on attorney fees. Instead of providing the necessary addiction/mental health treatment these individuals need, cities will now be forced to engage in expensive litigation due to both the intent and vague language of the legislation.

If passed, HB 1380 would allow individuals or special interest groups to initiate lawsuits against any local Washington municipality that imposes restrictions on public lands for encampments.

The bill also states that local governments must adhere to the following vague guidelines:

“Enact objectively reasonable time, place, and manner regulations to manage public spaces effectively and preserve public peace, health, and safety for the benefit of the entire community.”

As Mark Harmsworth of  Washington Policy Center writes, “The definition is so vague that almost any regulations a municipality could place on the use of public land would open the doors to a lawsuit. Questions around what consists of reasonable time and manner are subject to a wide range of interpretation and will undoubtably create a legal web of issues.”

Litigation costs were the primary concern expressed by the mayors of 12 South King County cities (Algona, Auburn, Burien, Covington, Des Moines, Enumclaw, Federal Way, Kent, Maple Valley, Normandy Park, Renton, and Tukwila) in a letter sent to Representative Gregerson in late January. The mayors asked for the state to be more of a partner in reducing the number of homeless people, instead of imposing costly regulations which will result in more people sleeping in public spaces.

The legislation also includes a lopsided arrangement for collecting legal fees which the mayors contend will encourage frivolous lawsuits. While the plaintiffs (i.e. the homeless individual filing the lawsuit) will have their legal fees covered by the defendant if they win, the cities are unable to be reimbursed for their legal expenses, even if the court throws out the lawsuit.

Simply put, there is no significant financial risk for filing the lawsuit, while municipalities (i.e. local taxpayers) must bear all their legal expenses for defending their actions.

This bill is an extreme response to the recent Grants Pass v. Johnson U.S. Supreme Court decision, which allowed local governments to pass and enforce camping bans in their community.  Evidently it is the intent of progressives to prevent cities from ever maintaining a clean and safe environment for their residents.

Progressives have been responsible for nearly every homeless plan in Washington at each level of government (city, county, and state) during the past 12 years, as homelessness has exploded 77.7%. HB 1380 is yet another pricey proposal which increases the number of people living in encampments, while more liberal special interest groups profit as members of the region’s highly lucrative industrial homeless complex.

Homeless activists have often used the state government to battle municipalities who are attempting to clean up encampments in their community.  As readers will recall, the state was the primary obstacle for the City of Spokane to clean up the large encampment on Washington State Department of Transportation land that was misnamed “Camp Hope.”  While constant violence and illegal activity was so rampant inside the encampment it was called “Lord of the Flies on drugs,” state politicians and bureaucrats fought neighborhood groups and local officials at every step before it was finally shut down.

HB 1380 barely passed (8-8 with one Democrat abstaining)) out of the House of Representative’s Housing Committee. Since it carries a fiscal note, the bill must pass the House Appropriation Committee before it can be voted on by  the full chamber

This bill goes against public opinion on the homeless crisis. In a January survey of 800 Washington voters, 60% oppose Gregerson’s then idea while only 29% supported it.  Also 68% believe local governments are where homeless policies should be determined, while just 22% supported giving state government this power.

Nearly half the mayors who signed the letter are in Rep. Gregerson’s district in Southwest King County. This means the 7-term legislator failed to listen to the mayors in her district about the impact her bill would cause, or she doesn’t care about the financial burden it  places on smaller municipalities.

It’s rare to find a large, bipartisan group of mayors joining together to oppose a piece of legislation, but in the case of HB 1380, it’s not hard to see why that’s happened:

• It will give money to wealthy law firms that should instead go for treatment and other services to help the homeless.
• It will allow encampments to return to big and small cities across Washington and cause damage to public spaces, including parks.
• Crimes associated with homelessness will again rise.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY – like nearly all previous progressive homeless proposals, this will increase the suffering of those facing housing challenges.

The unusual occurrence of 12 neighboring mayors in King County opposing HB 1380 should cause legislators to seriously consider the negative impact this legislation will have on local communities.