119-hr4182

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4182 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4182

 To prohibit the criminalization of homelessness on Federal public 
 lands.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 June 26, 2025

 Ms. Jayapal (for herself, Mr. Frost, Ms. Ansari, Ms. Garcia of Texas, 
 Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. McGovern, Ms. 
 Norton, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Thanedar, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. 
Velazquez, Mrs. Watson Coleman, and Mr. Garcia of Illinois) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on 
Oversight and Government Reform, Natural Resources, and the Judiciary, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
 the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To prohibit the criminalization of homelessness on Federal public 
 lands.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Housing not Handcuffs Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES.

    (a) Prohibition.--A Federal agency may not impose a penalty on a 
homeless individual for a permitted use of public land as described 
under subsection

    (b) .

    (b) Permitted Use of Public Lands.--A homeless individual may--

    (1) conduct life sustaining activities on public land;

    (2) use and move freely in places of public accommodation 
 (as such term is defined in 

section 201 of the Civil Rights Act 
 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a

    (b) );

    (3) solicit, share, accept, or offer food, water, money, or 
 other donations;

    (4) store their possessions and enjoy privacy in their 
 personal property to the same degree as property in a private 
 dwelling, which shall not be subject to unreasonable search and 
 seizure;

    (5) pray, meditate, worship, or practice religion;

    (6) occupy a lawfully parked motor vehicle or a 
 recreational vehicle; and

    (7) relocate a motor vehicle or recreational vehicle being 
 used for life sustaining activities before a citation is issued 
 or the vehicle is towed, retrieve items from a towed vehicle, 
 and retrieve the vehicle from storage at a free or reduced rate 
 upon consideration of ability to pay.
            (c) Exception.--The permitted use under subsection

    (b)

    (1) shall not 
be a permitted use if there is adequate alternative indoor space 
available as described under subsection
            (d) .
            (d) Adequate Alternative Indoor Space Described.--

    (1) In general.--Adequate alternative indoor space--
        (A) is a space that--
            (i) is legally and physically accessible to 
 the homeless individual;
            (ii) does not require the homeless 
 individual to sacrifice any other right 
 afforded to them under Federal, State, or local 
 law; and
            (iii) is available indefinitely to the 
 individual without requiring daily 
 reapplication, at no charge, and must 
 accommodate any disabilities, as well as pets, 
 partners (whether legally married or not), 
 family members, other support persons, and 
 possessions the individual wishes to bring with 
 them;
        (B) may be a tiny home or similar structure that 
 includes--
            (i) locking doors;
            (ii) appropriate climate control mechanisms 
 based on the location of the home or structure; 
 and
            (iii) sanitary and cooking facilities or is 
 a part of a community with common sanitary and 
 cooking facilities; or
            (C) may be a permitted parking area that includes 
 sanitary facilities.

    (2) Jurisdiction.--An adequate alternative indoor space in 
 another jurisdiction shall only be deemed an adequate 
 alternative indoor space for the homeless individual if 
 transportation is made available, at no cost to the individual, 
 to ensure the individual can continue to attend to any personal 
 or professional business.

    (e) Enforcement.--

    (1) Attorney general.--The Attorney General may bring a 
 civil action in an appropriate district court of the United 
 States against a government official who violates subsection

    (a) for equitable relief, including temporary, preliminary, or 
 permanent injunctive relief and costs described under paragraph

    (3) .

    (2) Private right of action.--Any individual harmed by an 
 violation of subsection

    (a) may bring a civil action in an 
 appropriate district court of the United States against a 
 government agency or official that violates subsection

    (a) for 
 equitable relief, including temporary, preliminary, or 
 permanent injunctive relief and costs described under paragraph

    (3) .

    (3) Costs.--With respect to an action brought under 
 paragraph

    (1) or

    (2) , the court shall award costs of 
 litigation, as well as reasonable attorney's fees, to any 
 prevailing plaintiff. A plaintiff shall not be liable to a 
 defendant for costs or attorney's fees in any non-frivolous 
 action under this section.

    (f) Necessity Defense.--

    (1) In general.--It shall be an affirmative defense for a 
 homeless individual charged with any violation of law 
 criminalizing a life-sustaining activity, that the individual 
 had no access to an adequate alternative indoor space in which 
 to undertake the prohibited conduct.

    (2) Duty.--The appropriate court shall notify the 
 individual of the availability of the affirmative defense under 
 paragraph

    (1) . There shall be a rebuttable presumption that 
 adequate alternative indoor space was not available to the 
 homeless individual.

    (g) Rules of Construction.--

    (1) In general.--A court shall liberally construe any 
 provision of this Act to effectuate the purposes of the Act.

    (2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
 construed to authorize Federal, State, or local government to 
 interfere with an individual's right to be free from facing 
 punishment for a housing status condition, or to diminish or in 
 any way negatively affect an individual's constitutional right 
 be free from cruel and unusual punishment, or to displace any 
 other remedy for violations of the individual's constitutional 
 rights.

    (h) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Homeless individual.--The term ``homeless individual'' 
 shall have the meaning given such term in 

section 103 of the 
 Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302).

    (2) Housing status.--The term ``housing status'' means the 
 actual or perceived status of having or not having housing, or 
 being at risk of being homeless.

    (3) Life sustaining activities.--The term ``life sustaining 
 activities'' includes moving, resting, sitting, standing, lying 
 down, sleeping, protecting oneself and personal property from 
 the elements, eating, and drinking.

    (4) Cars.--The term ``cars'' shall have the meaning given 
 the term ``motor vehicle'' under 

section 17101 of title 40, 
 United States Code.

    (5) Public land.--The term ``public land'' means any 
 property that is owned or leased, in whole or in part, by the 
 United States, including areas adjacent to Federal property 
 upon which there is an easement for public use and that is held 
 open to the public, such as plazas, courtyards, parking lots, 
 sidewalks, public transportation facilities and services, 
 public buildings, underpasses and lands adjacent to roadways, 
 and parks, such as those defined or administered under titles 
 23, 36, 43, or 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

    (6) Recreational vehicle.--The term ``recreational 
 vehicle'' has the meaning given such term in 

section 3282.15 of 
 title 24, Code of Federal Regulations (as defined on the date 
 of the enactment of this Act).
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