NEW ORLEANS, LA — Councilmember Lesli Harris expressed strong opposition to House Bill 211, recently passed by the Louisiana Senate and currently awaiting Governor Jeff Landry's signature. The legislation would criminalize public camping and create a so-called "Homelessness Court" program that imposes fines, incarceration, and possible forced labor on unhoused individuals.

Harris called the legislation a dangerous reversal of the progress New Orleans has made in addressing homelessness through housing-first, services-based solutions.

"Criminalizing our most vulnerable residents is not a strategy. It is an abdication of our responsibility to them and to the city we are building together. This approach centers on enforcement instead of long-term stability," said Harris. "By combining criminal penalties with conditional access to services, the bill risks creating a cycle of continued system involvement, individuals moving between citations, court supervision, and potential incarceration without achieving meaningful progress."

HB 211 creates the crime of unauthorized camping on public property, punishable with fines up to $500 and six months of incarceration. The bill also prohibits parishes and municipalities from permitting camping on public property.

Councilmember Harris warns the legislation would place enormous new strain on an already overburdened court system. Thousands of cases involving unhoused individuals will flow into a court system already under significant strain, with judges, public defenders, and prosecutors tasked with processing an enormous new caseload.

New Orleans has invested significantly in community-based approaches to homelessness, coordinating housing placements, expanding behavioral health services, and building partnerships between social service providers and city agencies. Councilmember Harris argued that HB 211 undermines that work. And, the bill "may result in an indeterminable increase in Local Funds expenditures" without any new State funding, including for additional shelter beds or treatment centers.

"The city has seen real progress, including housing over 1,500 people and counting with our Home for Good program. Our residents deserve real solutions including more housing, more mental health resources, more pathways to stability," Councilmember Harris said. "This bill offers none of that. Instead, it threatens to undo years of progress and expose our most vulnerable neighbors to the revolving door of the criminal justice system."