Austin, Texas, Proposition B, Prohibition on Sitting, Lying, and Camping and Limiting Solicitation in Public Areas Initiative (May 2021)
| Austin Proposition B | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date May 1, 2021 | |
| Topic Local law enforcement | |
Status Approved | |
| Type Initiative | Origin Citizens |
Austin Proposition B, a prohibition on sitting, lying, and camping and limiting solicitation in public areas measure, is on the ballot as an initiative in Austin on May 1, 2021.
A "yes" vote supported making it a criminal offense (Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine) for anyone to sit, lie down, or camp in public areas and prohibiting solicitation of money or other things of value at specific hours and locations. |
A "no" vote opposed making it a criminal offense for anyone to sit, lie down, or camp in public areas and prohibiting solicitation of money or other things of value at specific hours and locations. |
A simple majority was required for the approval of Proposition B.
Election results
|
Austin Proposition B |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
90,498 | 57.69% | ||
| No | 66,360 | 42.31% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question was as follows:[1]
| “ | Shall an ordinance be adopted that would create a criminal offense and a penalty for sitting or lying down on a public sidewalk or sleeping outdoors in and near the downtown area around the University of Texas campus; create a criminal offense and penalty for solicitation, defined as requesting money or another thing of value, at specific hours and locations or for solicitation in a public area that is deemed aggressive in manner; create a criminal offense and penalty for camping in any public area not designated by the Parks and Recreation Department?[2] | ” |
The Texas Supreme Court directed the Austin City Council to change the ballot language following a lawsuit filed by signers of the initiative petition. You can read more about the lawsuit here.
Full text
The full text can be read here.
Support
Save Austin Now led the campaign in support of Proposition B.[3]
Supporters
- Cleo Petricek, co-founder of Save Austin Now[3]
- Matt Mackowiak, chairman of the Travis County GOP and co-founder of Save Austin Now[3]
- Ken Casaday, president of the Austin Police Association[3]
- Joell McNew, president of SafeHorns[3]
- Austin Chamber of Commerce[4]
Arguments
- Save Austin Now campaign said, "Incompetent policy has encouraged aggressive public camping and panhandling that creates unsafe living conditions on the streets and unsafe streets for everyone else."[3]
Opposition
Homes not Handcuffs led the No on Prop B campaign in opposition to Proposition B.[5]
Opponents
- Mike Siegel, former candidate for the U.S. House (D)[6]
- Austin City Council Member Greg Casar[6]
- Julie Oliver, former candidate for the U.S. House (D)[6]
- Working Families[6]
- Grassroots Law Project[6]
- Texas Appleseed[6]
- Sunrise ATX[6]
- University Democrats[6]
- Austin chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America[6]
- UT Austin chapter of the Youth Democratic Socialists of America[6]
- Bend the Arc: Austin[6]
- Indivisible Austin[6]
- Travis County Democratic Party[6]
- Circle C Democrats[6]
Arguments
- Homes Not Handcuffs campaign website said, "These laws also make the underlying problems that cause homelessness worse. People wrack up fines and fees that they cannot pay. They are saddled with criminal records, making it more difficult to get housing and employment. When individuals are jailed, they often lose access to public benefits and shelter space. For those with medical or treatment needs, continuity of care is disrupted. Any possessions these individuals have managed to obtain are lost forever. All of these effects perpetuate the cycle of homelessness."[7]
Background
2019 repeal of sitting, lying, and panhandling prohibition
On June 20, 2019, the Austin City Council voted unanimously to repeal an ordinance that prohibited sitting, lying, or panhandling in the downtown area. In a 9-2 vote, with Council Members Alison Alter and Kathie Tovo opposing, the council also voted to prohibit camping in public areas only if "the person is: (1) materially endangering the health or safety of another person or of themselves; or (2) intentionally or knowingly impeding the use of public property making usage of such property unreasonably inconvenient."[8]
Unauthorized camping ordinances across the U.S.
A 2014 report released by nonprofit organization the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty included the following findings based on a survey of municipal codes in 187 U.S. cities:[9]
- The report stated that 34 percent of U.S. cities imposed citywide bans on camping in public.
- It also stated that 57 percent of cities prohibited camping in particular public places.
- Eighteen percent of cities were found to impose citywide bans specifically on sleeping in public.
- Twenty-seven percent of cities were found to prohibit sleeping in particular public places, such as in public parks.
Other sit-lie measures on local ballots
Ballotpedia has tracked the following local ballot measures related to sit-lie ordinance since 2010 in the top 100 cities:
Denver, Colorado, Initiated Ordinance 300, "Right to Survive" Initiative (May 2019)- Berkeley Sit-Lie Ordinance, Measure S (November 2012)
- San Francisco Sit-Lie Ordinance, Proposition L (November 2010)
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a successful indirect initiative petition drive. In Austin, to place an initiated ordinance on the ballot petitioners must collect 5% of qualified voters of the city or 20,000, whichever number is the smaller. In January 2021, the number of qualified voters in Travis County was 553,166, and 5% of the qualified voters was 27,658.[10]
Save Austin Now, the sponsor behind the initiative, filed over 24,000 signatures with the city clerk. On February 4, the city clerk certified the petition as sufficient. On February 9, 2021, the Austin City Council voted to certify the initiative to the ballot.[11][12]
Texas Supreme Court ruling on ballot language
| Lawsuit overview | |
| Issue: Whether the ballot language complies with the city's charter | |
| Court: Third Court of Appeals;Texas Supreme Court | |
| Ruling: Ruled in favor of plaintiffs; Austin City Council ordered to change the ballot language | |
| Plaintiff(s): Linda Durin, Eric Krohn, and Michael Lovins | Defendant(s): Austin City Council; City of Austin |
| Plaintiff argument: The ballot language as written by the city council does not comply with the city's charter and is biased against the proposition. | Defendant argument: The ballot language does comply with the city's charter |
Source: Austin Bulldog
On February 16, 2021, Linda Durin, Eric Krohn, and Michael Lovins, who all signed the initiative petition to place the proposition on the ballot, filed a lawsuit against the Austin City Council arguing that the ballot language written by the council did not comply with the city's charter and the use of "anyone" was biased against the proposition. The lawsuit was filed simultaneously with the Third Court of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court. The court of appeals denied relief without opinion.
On March 2, the Texas Supreme Court granted mandamus relief and directed the Austin City Council to delete the word "anyone" from the ballot language.[13]
See also
External links
Support |
Opposition |
Footnotes
- ↑ Austin City Council, "Notice of City Council action on Court’s Order, Case No. 21-0170," accessed April 5, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Save Austin Now, "Home," accessed March 11, 2021
- ↑ Austin Chamber of Commerce, "May 2021 City of Austin propositions voter guide," accessed April 5, 2021
- ↑ No on Prop B, "Home, " accessed March 11, 2021
- ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 No on Prop B, "About," accessed March 11, 2021
- ↑ No on Prop 21, "Learn More," accessed March 11, 2021
- ↑ Austin City Council, "June 20, 2019 Council Meeting Agenda," accessed March 11, 2021
- ↑ National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, "No Safe Place," accessed April 10, 2019
- ↑ Austintexas.gov, "General Information: Initiative, Referendum, and Recall," accessed March 8, 2021
- ↑ KVUE, "Austin City Council votes to let voters decide on 'strong mayor' government proposal on May ballot," February 9, 2021
- ↑ Facebook, "Save Austin Now post on February 4, 2021
- ↑ The Austin Bulldog, "Court orders Prop B language change," March 2, 2021
