JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a 2022 law barring unauthorized camping on state land, saying the underlying legislation didn’t adhere to the state constitution.
The unanimous 6-0 decision caps one fight between homeless advocates and the state; the two sides argued before the high court in September. But another debate on how to address homelessness appeared to be brewing Tuesday.
In response to the ruling, which took aim at lawmakers’ addition of homelessness provisions to unrelated legislation, one of the sponsors of the 2022 law said she would refile the legislation. Lawmakers return to the Capitol on Jan. 4 for their annual session.
People are also reading…
“I’m very disappointed in the Missouri Supreme Court,†said state Sen. Holly Rehder, a Sikeston Republican running for lieutenant governor.
The Supreme Court judges ruled the law deviated from contained in the Missouri Constitution. The judges struck it down “in its entirety.â€
In addition to homelessness, the law also touched on a variety of other issues, including county coroners, county financial statements, neighborhood improvement districts and more.
A representative for one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Springfield-based nonprofit Eden Village, cast doubt on lawmakers’ ability to pass the homelessness legislation as a standalone measure.
Nate Schlueter, chief visionary officer for Eden Village, said the measure never gained traction by itself, eventually getting “snuck in†to the unrelated legislation.
“I think they’re certainly welcome to try again, and I don’t think it’ll make it off the floor,†he said Tuesday.
Last year, Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, signed the law despite a warning from the director of the Department of Mental Health that the measure would negatively affect people living on the streets.
The Supreme Court decision Tuesday reversed a previous ruling by Cole County Circuit Judge Cotton Walker, which had upheld the law.
The measure outlawed unauthorized camping on state land, such as under highway overpasses and bridges.
It said that after one warning, the offense would be classified as a Class C misdemeanor, punishable with up to a $750 fine and 15 days in jail.
The legislation also prioritized providing short-term shelter for homeless people, attempting to reverse a popular “housing-first†strategy to get people into permanent homes.
Eden Village had offered permanent housing, including individual housing units that sleep up to three people. Residents were allowed to live in the units longer than two years.
Eden’s lawyers said under the law Eden Village couldn’t use taxpayer funds to house homeless people in individual shelters for more than two years.
In her warning to Parson, Valerie Huhn, director of the Department of Mental Health, said the short-term housing focus failed to provide an adequate level of support for people seeking to have stability in their housing.
“Private landlords statewide may choose not to lease to persons experiencing homelessness for a variety of reasons, such as no rental history, no credit or poor credit, or criminal justice histories,†she wrote. “Stable housing is a key component of successful recovery.â€
Eden Village also had previously said that it operated five campgrounds for “chronically homeless†individuals but that the law limited which encampments may receive state funds.
Eligible encampments, under the law, were required to provide a “mental health and substance abuse evaluation†for individuals.
Schlueter said Tuesday that Eden Village didn’t change its offerings in response to the new law.
“We don’t typically take state or federal funds,†he said. “We filed this lawsuit to prove a point that Missouri is a single-subject, single-title†state.
He added that Eden filed the lawsuit after hearing from elected representatives “that they had no clue that they voted for that.â€
The law also allowed the Missouri attorney general to sue cities that didn’t enforce the ban on unauthorized camping on state land.
Rehder, who sponsored the legislation in the Senate, said in a statement Tuesday that “clearly, our current model to help the homeless does not work.â€
She said, “homelessness continues to increase, while the mental health of the homeless continues to go untreated, exacerbating the issue.
“It’s inhumane to continue allowing folks to sleep in our streets as temperatures drop below freezing,†she said. “We should be better than this.â€
The legislation is Hous22).