Georgia House tells localities to enforce homeless camp bans

The House voted 99-76 to pass Senate Bill 62 on Monday. Because a House committee amended the measure to add the ban on dumping, it goes back to the Senate for more debate.

Mike Stewart / Associated Press

The Georgia House is telling cities and counties that they must enforce existing bans on public camping or sleeping by homeless people while saying local governments and hospitals can’t dump homeless people in other counties without permission.

The House voted 99-76 to pass Senate Bill 62 on Monday. Because a House committee amended the measure to add the ban on dumping, it goes back to the Senate for more debate.

“We should not have cities that are looking away as people choose, or feel they must, find different places to put their head every night,” said Rep. Katie Dempsey, a Rome Republican.