New State Law Strips Sovereign Immunity from Local Governments that Fail to Enforce Camping Bans
Savannah Mayor Van R Johnson II is pushing back against Georgia’s new law that allows property owners to sue local governments over unenforced camping bans. “If we get sued, then let’s get sued for it,” he said. “Public squares are public assets; homeless people are part of the public; they should have access like everyone else.”
“B.S….B.S.,” Johnson went on to say. “They don’t want to see them. That’s what it is.”
GA HB295
Georgia House Bill 295 was signed into law in May, over the objections of Representatives like Gabriel Sanchez, who called the bill “yet another example of prioritizing the needs of the wealthy over the needs of everyone else”. Senator Josh McLaurin noted the bill’s shortsightedness, saying, “What you’re inviting is a bunch of court cases where homeowners who are aggrieved at the local government can come make spurious claims about causation and have essentially a circus in court, which wastes judges’ time; it wastes juries’ time.”
The bill removes sovereign immunity from local governments, allowing property owners to sue them for expenses incurred or lost potential property value due to the government’s failure or refusal to enforce certain laws and ordinances. The main idea behind this is that residents would be able to sue governments for failing to adequately enforce camping bans if they see an unswept encampment in their neighborhood, or for failing to respond to public nuisances if they notice a homeless person nearby…