Ah Mesa’s personal experience with mental illness and homelessness led a Republican state senator to derail a proposal by another Republican, a former police officer, to make sidewalk sleeping a state crime.

Senator David Farnsworth’s extensive comments about his struggle prompted the chairman of a Senate committee to remove from consideration the proposal of Fountain Hills Senator John Kavanagh at a hearing last week. Farnsworth described how a breakdown left his family’s home to travel to Seattle, living on the streets and spending time in homeless shelters.

Farnsworth said he had panic attacks and was unable to live. House.

“As an adult with kids, I left home and kind of went to Seattle and spent weeks sitting next to the park,” he said. I was homeless.”

Farnsworth spoke during a discussion about Cabana’s plan to make it the highest level of misdemeanor for someone to sleep, lie down, or sit on a street, sidewalk, or other public road. The proposal mirrors a Phoenix ordinance currently on hold because a federal judge blocked its enforcement.

A federal court ruled that a ban on sleeping in public places cannot be enforced if there are not enough beds in public shelters to accommodate the homeless.A lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union in Arizona One Marilyn Rodriguez told the committee that the ACLU was suing over the Phoenix Ordinance and would likely face a similar fate if the proposal became law.

The number of homeless people in the state’s two largest metropolitan areas, Phoenix and Tucson, has increased significantly over the past five years. In Pima County, more than 2,200 people were homeless, compared with just under 1,400 in 2018, according to last year’s annual homeless count. In Maricopa County, the number of homeless people increased from about 6,300 to more than 9,000 in the same period.

Rodriguez noted that Phoenix only has 1,800 shelter beds.

However, in an interview with Capitol Media Service, Kavanagh said shelter beds are often available, and when beds are not available, homeless people go to parks and other public areas rather than camping on the streets. And he said the state legislature allocated $5 million last year for the city to build temporary shelters, but Phoenix hasn’t used the funds.

“I think it’s because they don’t want to cause a situation where they have to clean up the streets and parks,” he said.

Republicans only have a one-vote majority in both the House and Senate, so losing Republican support in either house would spell doom for a law lacking Democratic support. Even if the bill does pass Congress, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs could hit them with a stamp of veto that she said she was ready to use as many times as needed.

Congress has a series of proposals to deal with homelessness. Among them are R-Peoria Rep. David Livingston, who calls for forcing homeless people to live in dedicated spaces, banning them from sleeping elsewhere, and requiring the state’s housing department to focus on construction. includes the efforts of camp site.

Mr. Livingston was not reached for comment on Friday. His bill, which has made no progress in the past two years, is set to go to public hearings on Monday.

Democratic Katie Hobbs’ new administration’s executive budget will inject $150 million into state housing trust funds to use homeless shelters, rental and utility assistance, and federal funds to build new affordable housing. We are addressing the homeless crisis by building. .

The trust fund, largely neglected since the Great Recession cut it short, was injected with $60 million last year when lawmakers handed out hundreds of millions of dollars in excess cash.

Cities are struggling to deal with the homeless.

Near a licensed homeless encampment known as “The Zone,” half a mile (0.5 miles) from the state capitol, Phoenix has been harassed by business owners seeking to declare the area a public nuisance. facing lawsuits.

In Tucson, homeless advocates filed a lawsuit last week demanding police ban clean-up camps ahead of the annual gem and mineral show that draws huge tourists. The city is also under pressure to address the issue from businesses and civic groups who claim it is a threat to public safety and business.

Putting aside the ban on sleeping on the sidewalks is the second Cabana bill to stall at the Senate Committee on Military Affairs, Public Safety and Border Security last week, led by Senator David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista. was chaired.

His other measures would have criminalized asking for money at a raised or marked median. Kavanagh has for years tried to pass a law banning cash demands at freeway off-ramps and intersections, but efforts have failed. finished.

The latest ban on begging in the median was dropped from consideration after Gowan modified it to allow people to sell goods from the center of the street, but Cabana didn’t support the change. .

Cabana’s bill on homeless sleeping on the sidewalk is unlikely to revive, at least in its current form, unless Cabana can change Farnsworth’s mind.

“Homelessness is a big problem that we have to deal with,” said Farnsworth.

“I don’t know if this is the right way,” he continued. “Actually, I don’t feel comfortable dealing with it this way.”