Senate Republicans introduce bill to ban encampments near Washington state schools
Encampments near schools would become illegal under a newly proposed piece of legislation in the Washington Senate.
Senate Bill 5332 is sponsored by Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, and is co-sponsored by five other Senate Republicans.
The proposed bill would prohibit encampments within 1,000 feet of schools and early learning facilities, whether those encampments are authorized by local jurisdictions or allowed “through inaction.”
King told the Senate Local Government, Land Use and Tribal Affairs Committee on Tuesday during a public hearing that he brought a similar bill forward three years ago, but it did not pass.
The reason he re-introduced the legislation this year, he said, is because of a press conference with Gov. Jay Inslee in January, where the governor said he would support efforts to keep encampments out of school yards, parks and right of ways.
“I think it’s what we need to do to protect our children,” King told the committee. “The homeless need to be addressed but we also need to keep our children safe.”
King’s bill defines encampments as “outdoor tent or structure encampments, temporary small houses on-site, tiny homes sheltering homeless persons, vehicle resident safe parking, or care or feeding areas for homeless persons.”
Charter schools are included in the bill’s ban on encampments, and “early learning facilities may include child day care centers, family day care providers, and nursery schools, and an early childhood education and assistance program provider or Head Start program.”
The committee heard from some supporters of the bill.
One parent testified in favor of the legislation, saying that lawmakers should extend the ban to include school bus routes as well. “These are main roads that young drivers are going to be driving on and I just think it’s unsafe for the community,” Lisa Olson said.
She also said she believes that children’s brains aren’t developed enough to handle exposure to what they could potentially see in encampments.
A volunteer jail chaplain testified in support, saying the distance included in the legislation should be further than 1,000 feet because of students who must walk to school if they live close by.
Several others testified against the bill.
Karina O’Malley, a safe parking coordinator at Lake Washington United Methodist Church, told the committee she believes the bill would have some unintended consequences. She explained that her church currently hosts two private schools and learning centers, in addition to safe parking programs for those experiencing homelessness. The distance between them, she said, is “a lot closer than 1,000 feet.”
“I’m concerned that my church would have to stop renting to the two schools in our building because of our vehicle resident safe parking encampment,” O’Malley said. “My church has hosted schools as well as various encampments, including tents and safe parking, for over 20 years with very good results.”
Democratic leaders were asked by McClatchy at a press conference Tuesday if there would be any support for the legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, D-Spokane, said that one of the focuses of lawmakers this year is “a home for everyone.”
“Our goal is to get to a place where we don’t have encampments because nobody wants an encampment — nobody wants to live in an encampment, nobody wants an encampment in their community and we shouldn’t have them, we should have a home, a real home, for everybody, and that’s our goal,” he said.
He said significant investments will be made to the capital and operating budgets to get to that goal.
If passed by both legislative chambers and signed by Inslee, the legislation would go into effect 90 days after the 2023 Legislature adjourns April 23.
