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Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana creates Homelessness Court programs and bans unauthorized public camping
Last action · June 9, 2026: Effective date: See Act.Sponsor: Debbie Villio
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What This Bill Does
Louisiana establishes specialized s to provide treatment and rehabilitative services for individuals experiencing homelessness, creates the new crime of , and sets statewide rules and liability protections for designated public camping areas.
Enforcement introduces criminal penalties of up to a $500 fine and six months in imprisonment for unauthorized public camping, while allowing local governing bodies to designate specific public lands for temporary camping under strict sanitary and safety standards.
- The legislation establishes formal statutory frameworks for specialized treatment courts and public property regulations across judicial districts in Louisiana. context
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Persons experiencing homelessness
Individuals face potential criminal penalties for unauthorized public camping while gaining access to specialized court treatment programs, housing assistance, and supportive services.
District courts
Courts are authorized to designate specific divisions as Homelessness Court programs and establish administration and probation guidelines.
Political subdivisions
Local governments are prohibited from allowing public camping except under strict designation criteria and must maintain sanitation, safety, and health standards for any designated sites.
Louisiana Department of Health
The department receives designation notices, inspects designated public camping properties, and may promulgate rules establishing minimum housing standards.
Key Facts
- Establishes the Homelessness Court Program Act to assist individuals experiencing homelessness through specialized district court divisions, treatment, and probation.
- Creates the criminal offense of unauthorized camping on public property, punishable by a fine of up to $500, up to six months imprisonment, or both.
- Prohibits political subdivisions from authorizing public camping on public property or rights-of-way, subject to narrow exceptions.
- Allows local governing bodies by majority vote to designate property for public camping for a one-year renewable period under specific conditions, such as a lack of open shelter beds.
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- Requires political subdivisions designating camping property to establish minimum standards for safety, sanitation, and behavioral health services within thirty days.
- Mandates that personal property removed during the enforcement of public camping rules be stored for at least thirty days and returned upon request.
- Grants broad discretionary and premises immunity to local governments, service providers, and volunteers enforcing public camping and homelessness court provisions.
- Empowers the Louisiana Department of Health and the office of the state fire marshal to inspect designated properties and set minimum housing standards for emergency shelters and group homes.
- Requires participants who complete the Homelessness Court program and probation to potentially have their convictions set aside and prosecutions dismissed.
- Provides that the provisions of Section 3 regarding public camping and liability take effect on January 1, 2027.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the penalty for unauthorized camping on public property?
Can political subdivisions designate areas for public camping?
What happens to personal belongings removed during public camping enforcement?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
26 actions- Jun 9, 2026HouseEnrolledSigned by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 788.
- Jun 9, 2026HouseEffective date: See Act.
- Jun 4, 2026HouseSent to the Governor for executive approval.
- Jun 1, 2026HouseEnrolledEnrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
- Jun 1, 2026SenateEnrolledSigned by the President of the Senate.
- May 29, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, roll called, yeas 72, nays 28, Senate amendments concurred in.
Show 20 earlier actions
- May 28, 2026SenateCalled from the Calendar.
- May 28, 2026SenateFloorSenate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 21 yeas and 15 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
- May 28, 2026HouseReceived from the Senate with amendments.
- May 28, 2026HouseScheduled for concurrence on 05/29/2026.
- May 11, 2026SenateIntroducedRead by title and returned to the Calendar, subject to call.
- May 4, 2026SenateFloorReported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
- Apr 29, 2026SenateFloorCommittee amendments read and adopted. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
- Apr 28, 2026SenateReported with amendments.
- Apr 21, 2026SenateCommitteeRead second time by title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary C.
- Apr 20, 2026SenateReceived in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
- Apr 15, 2026HouseFloorRead third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 70, nays 28. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
- Apr 14, 2026HouseDischarged from the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs.
- Apr 14, 2026HouseFloorRead by title, passed to 3rd reading.
- Apr 14, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/15/2026.
- Apr 13, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, amended, ordered engrossed, recommitted to the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs.
- Apr 9, 2026HouseReported with amendments (12-4). To be recommitted to the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs.
- Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
- Feb 20, 2026HouseFirst appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/20/2026.
- Feb 19, 2026HousePrefiled.
- Feb 19, 2026HouseCommitteeUnder the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Establishment of Statewide Homelessness Courts and Camping Bans
The act institutes a dual approach of penalizing unauthorized public camping while establishing specialized diversionary court programs focused on housing, treatment, and rehabilitation.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance85How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy75Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz60Current news / social attention level
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