Arizona voters have approved a first in the nation election initiative intended to force local police to crack down harder on homeless encampments.
The state initiative — which led 58% to 42% as of Thursday afternoon — is designed to provide property tax breaks owner if they can prove economic damages resulting from the local government’s failure to enforce nuisance laws.
It’s unclear how much of a practical impact the measure, which takes effect Jan. 1, will have on tax collections, but supporters and opponents see it as symbolically important as cities across the country struggle with a growing homelessness crisis. Although taxpayers won’t collect rebates, people on both sides of the issue believe the measure could spur police departments to take more aggressive action to break up encampments.
Advocates for the homeless believe that the solution is to build more housing and that people who have nowhere to live are unfairly targeted and stigmatized. Proponents of more punitive measures say homelessness has spiraled out of control, undermining quality of life as cities have become more lax in enforcing laws against camping and public use of drugs and alcohol.
“It just shows that property owners in Arizona are fed up with the status quo and they want to hold their local governments accountable,” said Jenna Bentley, director of public affairs for the Goldwater Institute, a conservative group that sponsored the measure. “I hope this sends a real message to cities that taxpayers are not going to tolerate problems like homelessness and drug use and general drunkenness, to just be ignored.”
Bentley said her organization has received inquiries from groups and lawmakers in other states interested in replicating the measure. But she is not aware of any ongoing efforts.
The law is intended to allow property owners to claim rebates for expenses, such as security bars, if they can show they have been harmed by a failure to enforce laws against loitering, panhandling, camping and public drinking. Lost business income would not be eligible for compensation.
But enforcing the law depends on establishing a process to enforce it, which has not yet been done and could prove cumbersome.
Amy Schwabenlender, CEO of a Phoenix-area homeless services group called Keys to Change, said she doubts it will ever take effect.
“If it’s implemented, it really doesn’t help people who are experiencing homelessness,” she said.
The threat of arrest will only force homeless people to move around more often and lose contact with outreach workers who can help them find shelter and other services, she said.
Schwabenlender sees the ballot measure as part of a larger backlash against strategies that focus on settling people.
“We’ve already been on the defensive” against people who claim that all homeless people use illegal substances or are mentally ill, she said. “We need to do more of the messaging against that framework.”
A spokesperson for the city of Phoenix said in an email that there was no way to determine the effect the new law, known as Proposition 312, has on the city’s budget.
“Prop 312 does not change the city’s commitment to lead with education and services and not criminalize homelessness,” said Dan Wilson, director of communications. He said the city’s Office of Homeless Solutions is committed to addressing encampments “in a dignified and compassionate manner, to connect our most vulnerable residents with services while preserving the quality of life in our neighborhoods for all residents.”
Proposition 312 came after a successful lawsuit last year forced the city of Phoenix to clear a multi-block homeless encampment in downtown Phoenix known as “the Zone.”
The ballot’s approach is a contrast to those in other states that are asking taxpayers to spend more money on homeless services, including a approved by Los Angeles County voters on Tuesday, which will double the quarter-cent sales tax that voters approved in 2017.
