Austin voters pass measure to reinstate homeless camping ban that city council repealed

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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austinites are projected to PASS a measure that would largely affect the city’s homeless population.

Proposition B is a reinstatement of Austin’s public camping ban. It penalizes those who camp near downtown and The University of Texas. It also affects camping in a public area not designated by the Austin Parks and Recreation Department.

59% of voters were in support of the measure with 79% of the votes in.

In addition to the camping ban, the proposition would make it a crime to ask for money in certain areas and times “or for solicitation in a public area that is deemed aggressive in manner.” The ballot language was amended back on March 2 after the Texas Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision to delete a repeated word.

The organizers at Save Austin Now gathered enough signatures to put it on the ballot on their second attempt.

In 2019, Austin City Council voted to repeal previous city bans on camping, sitting and lying in public spaces. Save Austin Now aimed to reverse the council’s act to decriminalize homelessness. And, it’s not the only effort: back in January, Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted that if the city doesn’t reinstate the ban on homeless camping, the state will do it for them. The Texas Senate Local Government Committee met in April to consider a bill that would establish a statewide ban on public camping.

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