Homelessness issues generate significant debate, ultimately not much action

The most impactful policy debate on homelessness that happened in 2025 ended with the legislature declining to advance a concerning bill dealing with local regulation of public spaces. Sometimes considered a successor to the “homeless bill of rights,” HB 1380 purported to provide cities clarity and guidance on what sort of ordinances related to camping and use of public spaces a city could adopt. Unfortunately, it did so by adopted a statutory scheme from Oregon that required such ordinances to be “objectively reasonable.” And while that does sound objectively reasonable on its face, cities rightly pointed out that the law to our south had already spawned multiple lawsuits in its first few years of implementation. Many mayors and city officials weighed in to their legislators to make the case that a proposal focused on litigation would directly draw resources away from efforts to provide direct assistance to people in need.

We appreciate that the Legislature declined to move this bill forward this year, but do expect the conversation to continue, as will the discussion about proposals to address the situation when a person is living in their vehicle that is towed.