Texas House Democrats block bill to punish cities that don’t clear homeless encampments

AUSTIN – The Austin American-Statesman reports that a Republican-led bid to increase enforcement of Texas’ 2021 camping ban died in the state House on Monday night after Democratic members challenged the bill on a technicality. Senate Bill 241 by Sen. Pete Flores, R-Pleasanton, would have required cities to establish channels for residents to report illegal homeless encampments. If a complaint were not addressed within 90 days, the state could send the Department of Public Safety to clear encampments, then charge the city for that enforcement by withholding sales tax revenues. Flores said the bill strengthens the 2021 ban by “empowering residents to hold their cities accountable.” “Every Texan deserves safe, clean communities, and this bill is an important step toward ensuring that,” the senator, whose district includes San Antonio, said in a social media statement May 14.

Texas’ attorney general, currently Republican Ken Paxton, would have been responsible for notifying the DPS and the state comptroller about unresolved complaints. The bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, argued cities aren’t sufficiently enforcing the law. “The state has been the one footing the bill for the cities that have failed to address homeless camping in their jurisdiction,” said Capriglione, R-Southlake. “Whether it’s in my area, in Fort Worth, or in Dallas or here in Austin, everybody knows that these homeless camping restrictions have not been enforced.” Austin city officials, however, disagree. The city cleared 1,500 encampments in 2024, according to David Gray, the city’s Homeless Strategy Officer. “Every day, we have staff out in the community that are engaging with people on the street, offering them access to shelter and housing services, and posting 72-hour notices to clear encampments,” Gray told the American-Statesman in a phone interview Tuesday. “From our perspective, the bill wasn’t necessary. We’re already doing the work.” During floor debate of the bill, Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, argued that the state is contributing to Austin’s homelessness problem by sending formerly incarcerated people into the city when their sentences end. She pointed to a state-licensed halfway house in East Austin, the Austin Transitional Center, where she said the majority of the population has no connection to Travis County. “We are blamed for our homelessness problem in Austin when it is the state of Texas who is in large part creating the problem,” Hinojosa said.