West Palm Beach has repealed its ordinance prohibiting aggressive solicitation and removed a requirement that the city ensures that there are shelter beds available before the issuance of a citation for sleeping and camping in public.
The changes, approved by a unanimous vote of the City Commission on Monday, Sept. 30, are aimed at bringing the city’s ordinances on the homeless into compliance with a recent ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court and a new state law barring local governments from allowing people to camp or sleep on public property.
That new state law, which passed the state House of Representatives as House Bill 1365 , drew criticism from advocates for the homeless, who argued that it criminalized homelessness and gave cities permission to push homeless people out of public view.
Commissioner Shalonda Warren, however, said West Palm Beach, which has employees whose job it is to reach out and provide services to the homeless, is not trying to punish people who don’t have a place to live.