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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Has Tennessee's legislature passed a law that criminalizes homelessness?

By Brian A. Gross
YES

A Republican-led effort in Tennessee would effectively make it illegal for homeless people to sleep outside.  

The bill, which has passed the state House and Senate and is awaiting the governor's signature, makes it a misdemeanor to camp on highways and a felony to camp on any type of public property not designated for camping.

After an initial warning, the bill makes highway camping punishable by either a $50 fine or 20 to 40 hours of community service. The felony offense could entail jail time, a $3,000 fine and the loss of voting rights.

Homelessness has become increasingly criminalized in recent years: between 2006 and 2019, bans on camping have risen by 92%, sitting or lying by 78%, living in vehicles by 213% and loitering and panhandling by 103%, according to the National Homelessness Law Center.

Vagrancy laws criminalizing homelessness in America date back to the colonial era.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Tennessee General Assembly HB0978 Bill Summary
National Low Income Housing Coalition Criminalization of Homelessness
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History United States Vagrancy Laws
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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