On Nov. 19, the House of Representatives voted to approve the Build Back Better Act, which provides $1.75 trillion in economic recovery funds, including $150 billion in affordable housing expenditures. The vote came after resistance from Democratic centrists in the House who refused to vote on the Act without a full Congressional Budget Office analysis. Build Back Better, along with its historic investments in homelessness solutions, now awaits a vote in the Senate. Advocates should continue to contact their Congressional representatives and urge them to vote yes on the Act. 

 

At the end of September, Rep. Cori Bush introduced H.R. 5307 – Keeping Renters Safe Act of 2021 to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The Bill clarifies the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to implement and maintain a residential eviction moratorium, and directs HHS to implement such a moratorium that will remain in effect for at least 60 days following the conclusion of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The Act has 49 cosponsors in the House and 5 in the Senate, and is endorsed by 81 organizations, including the Law Center.

 

California Rural Legal Assistance and the Public Interest Law Project filed a lawsuit against the City of San Luis Obispo, challenging several ordinances that prevent unhoused residents from sheltering in the City’s open spaces and streets. According to the initial complaint, San Luis Obispo has “a policy and practice of citing, fining, and arresting – as well as threatening to cite, fine, and arrest – unsheltered persons to force them to “move along” from public parks, creeks, sidewalks, open spaces, streets, and parking facilities” and the city “often seizes and destroys the personal possessions that these unhoused and unsheltered individuals need for protection, privacy, survival.”  

 

ACLU Massachusetts, along with WilmerHale, filed a lawsuit earlier this month to prevent the City of Boston from clearing out encampments without first rehousing encampment residents. The lawsuit comes after recent encampment evictions that displaced encampment residents and destroyed their property.

 

Earlier this month, the District Court for the Middle District of Alabama granted the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification in an ongoing lawsuit challenging panhandling prohibitions in Montgomery, Alabama. The decision allows the named plaintiffs in the case to proceed on behalf of all individuals who will in the future stand on a public street in the state of Alabama for the purpose of soliciting contributions or employment, or who will in the future loiter, remain, or wander in a public place in the State of Alabama for the purpose of begging.

 

In September, Where Do We Go Berkeley, a nonprofit comprised of people experiencing homelessness, obtained a preliminary injunction against the California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS) that prevented CALTRANS from evicting encampment residents based on the federal and state constitutions and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The District Court for the Northern District of California held in its decision that the Plaintiffs, “have sufficiently shown a likelihood of irreparable injury to the individual plaintiffs if the encampments where they are living were to be closed …” and “state a plausible claim that the discrimination clause affords them the right to a reasonable accommodation” under the ADA.

 

 

On Nov. 16, Denver Homeless Out Loud made oral arguments before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that the preliminary injunction issued by the District Court requiring that Denver provide advance written notice for all sweeps should be upheld. Denver Homeless Out Loud first brought the case in October 2020 to challenge the city of Denver’s practice of conducting encampment sweeps without sufficient notice and seizing and disposing of homeless individuals’ property without due process of law.

 

Though the preliminary injunction issued by the District Court is narrow in scope, it does prevent Denver from conducting any encampment sweeps without seven days’ advance written notice unless the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment determines that there is a reasonable, evidence-based public health or safety risk that requires an encampment sweep.

 

 

The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) is accepting comments from individuals, organizations, and stakeholders to inform its development of a new Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. The new Strategic Plan will focus on leveraging American Rescue Plan funds to invest in long-term solutions to homelessness. USICH released a vision statement regarding the Strategic Plan that prioritizes decriminalizing homelessness, affirms the principle that housing should be a right rather than a privilege, and commits to centering racial justice in the new iteration of the Strategic Plan. The Law Center circulated a Draft Comment earlier this month and encourages advocates to submit their own comments and suggestions.

 

In August, the DOJ launched an investigation into allegations of excessive use of force against individuals experiencing homelessness by the Phoenix Police Department. The investigation was announced after video footage was released depicting two Phoenix police officers striking a person at a homeless encampment. Recently, Phoenix Police created a web page to provide updates on the investigation and answer FAQs. 

 

The Biden Administration announced that FEMA funding to support COVID-19 recovery costs will continue at a 100% federal cost share through April 1, 2022. This means that FEMA funding will be available to local, state, tribal, and territorial governments, as well as to certain non-profit organizations, to reimburse costs of emergency medical care and non-congregate shelter stays associated with COVID-19 prevention and response.

 

In October, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published an Interim Final Rule that went into effect on Nov. 8. The Interim Final Rule amended HUD regulations to require that during a national emergency, public housing authorities (PHAs) administering any public housing program and owners of project-based rental assistance properties must provide at least 30 days notice of lease termination due to nonpayment of rent. Under the rule, PHAs and owners must also provide information to tenants to support them in securing available funding to pay rent or otherwise procure housing.  

 

 

The Law Center will host a webinar on Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 2 PM EST/11 AM PST to discuss the Supplement's findings, share efforts to repeal harmful state laws, and hold space for a conversation about the lived experiences of those who have been affected by laws that criminalize homelessness. Register for the Webinar here.

 

The Law Center will host the next Housing Not Handcuffs Quarterly Web Convening on January 27, 2022 at 2 PM EST/11 AM PST. Click here to register and submit proposed agenda items that you would like to discuss during the convening.

 

 

Check out the Law Center in the News section of our website to see coverage of our staff and of our work in communities across the country. Additionally, make sure to subscribe to our organizational news letter In Just Times, check out press releases from the Law Center, and follow our social media!