The House Economic Development and Small Business Subcommittee on Housing advanced a measure that would create a “Homeless Bill of Rights,” but critics say the measure won’t do anything to end homelessness and could lead to more litigation.

The committee voted 5-2 last week in favor of House Bill 4919 to send the legislation to the full committee. It would bar the denial or abridgment of access to public services such as emergency medical care or registering to vote because someone is either homeless or “perceived to be” homeless.

In a statement, state Rep. Emily Dievendorf, D-Lansing, the bill’s sponsor, argued the “legislation sets a baseline for how our neighbors should be treated in this state — all Michiganders, regardless of their housing status, should be treated with the same dignity and respect.”

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One Michigander who urged lawmakers to oppose the measure said it was “unnecessary and dangerous” and called for “a common sense approach in this matter to protect the health and rights of everyday citizens and business owners.”

“This bill is unnecessary and potentially dangerous for our state. Regarding the ‘rights’ of homeless individuals to use public spaces, that right already exists,” the Grass Lake resident emailed lawmakers last year. “To pass a bill to add loose, vague and dubious wording is to invite blight to our cities.

“Have a look at the streets of San Francisco, where people have erected tents on [public] sidewalks and set up residency,” the resident added. “The streets are littered with trash and human waste. Aside from the obvious blight, human waste is a serious health hazard. Businesses in these areas suffer greatly.”

The measure was introduced in July 2023 but languished until recently. It has new life as Lansing Democrats move to push through progressive-tinged bills before they lose their trifecta control of state government next year.

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The push for the new “Homeless Bill of Rights” comes as the homeless population declines in the Wolverine State.

According to reports from Michigan’s Campaign to End Homelessness, the state experienced an 8% increase in homeless people from 2021 to 2022. However, that follows a 2% decrease in the homeless population from 2020 to 2021 and a 19% decrease between 2019 and 2020.

Additionally, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the number of homeless in the state declined by 68% between 2007 and 2023.

According to an analysis from the House Fiscal Agency, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Illinois and Puerto Rico have enacted similar measures. Last year, Michigan Capitol Confidential, which the Mackinac Center for Public Policy publishes, called the measure “a boon for litigators.”

Indeed, the most significant impact could be lawsuits stemming from the measure. Homeless who successfully sue over alleged violations could receive “injunctive and declaratory relief, actual damages, and reasonable attorney fees and costs.”

While the state analysis found the measure, if signed into law, could lead to “an indeterminate fiscal impact on local court funding units,” it could not determine the precise cost to taxpayers as it would “depend on the number of individuals seeking relief through civil actions filed with the courts alleging violations under the bill.”

The measure could also increase costs for the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and local governments. Similarly, the precise costs are “unclear at this time.”

“A number of things in the bill are simply redundant within other areas of law,” Michigan Public Radio Network quoted state Rep. Joseph Aragona, R-Clinton Township, as saying in October 2023. They “call it a Homeless Bill of Rights, but most of it’s redundant and it’s not actually helping homeless people in any other way besides restating rights.”