(Radio Iowa) – A bill that would have established state fines for unauthorized camping on public property, including sidewalks, has stalled at the statehouse. Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. “The so-called ‘homeless bill’ — that bill is not running,” Holt said. “There is a lot of work on that legislation that would need to be done, so that legislation is not running today.” That means the bill is likely ineligible for consideration for the remainder of the 2025 legislative session.

Policy bills must be approved by a committee by tomorrow (Friday) to remain eligible for debate. The bill called for police to issue warnings to homeless Iowans using public property as a long-term sleeping space. Refusing to leave would be a crime, with a fine of up to 855 dollars. Dennis Tibben is with the Cicero Institute, a Texas based group that helped draft the bill. It would let cities and counties designate drug-free zones where homeless Iowans could camp for up to a year — if a list of their names and assigned spaces were maintained — and there could be access to substance abuse and mental health counseling.

“The bill is intended to help with these efforts by ensuring consistent statewide policies, including basic minimum services and supports greater transparency in how our public homelessness dollars are being utilized, and most importantly, creating a pathway to stability and self sustainability for more Iowans,” he said. Sydney Uhlman of Iowa City urged legislators to reject the bill. Uhlman says after aging out of the foster care system when she turned 18, she became homeless for a time.

“I could tell you about living and sleeping in four different places over the course of one week while I was full time employed and trying to support myself on my own,” she said. “Those in favor of this bill have tried to frame this as a humane response, beneficial to people like me. It’s not.”

The bill was considered, but rejected by a SENATE subcommittee earlier this week.