Louisiana bill criminalizing homelessness threatens jail time, “unpaid labor”

Jail time, fines and unpaid labor are all punishments that unhoused people found sleeping outside could be subjected to under a controversial bill advancing through the Louisiana legislature. Under House Bill 211 “unauthorized camping” would be a crime, empowering law enforcement to arrest those in violation. 

Newsweek reports: “Under the bill, a first offense could result in up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both. And subsequent convictions could carry penalties of up to two years in prison, fines of up to $1,000, and potential unpaid labor. The bill allows defendants to avoid incarceration by entering a 12‑month ‘treatment program.’ However, people enrolled in those programs could be required to pay for all or part of their costs. If they are unable to pay, the bill authorizes courts to mandate unpaid labor to offset the costs,” a move advocacy groups amount to coerced labor. 

The National Homelessness Law Center called the bill “one of the cruelest anti-homeless bills in the country.”

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