Gov. DeSantis signs ban on public sleeping, camping into law

OVIEDO, Fla. - Homeless people will no longer be allowed to sleep in public in Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed that ban into law Wednesday.

House Bill 1365 takes effect on October 1. Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek said while the legislature had good intentions, she's not sure the law solves the state's homeless problem.

"I just think it creates a lot of work, and there are going to be a lot of unintended consequences," Sladek said.

The law allows local governments to designate and set up "de facto" homeless camps with taxpayers on the hook. Gov. DeSantis backed the bill every step of the way.

"We are not going to let Florida become San Francisco where homeless are everywhere," DeSantis said at a February news conference.

The law forces every local government in Florida to develop a plan of attack or risk lawsuits from residents and even business owners for inaction.

Orange County emailed FOX 35 News that the Orange County Sheriff's Office would handle enforcement. Two weeks ago, Sanford Mayor Art Woodruff told us the city already has laws in place.

"We don't use it as an opportunity to arrest people," Woodruff said. "We use it as a way to get intervention to people who need it."

In Seminole County, the only emergency shelter is the Rescue Outreach Mission in Sanford, which is often at or near capacity because of high demand.

Sladek said the language in the law is too vague to discern whether the shelter, which is miles from Oviedo, counts as a local bed.

"The only other option for them would be jail, would it not?" Manny Martinez asked.

"Yes, it's a horrible situation," Sladek said. "We have a small city. We do not have the resources to create a homeless shelter, we don't have the funding to do so, nor is there a big enough need. What I think everyone's going to end up doing is we'll have to remove every person who's reported."

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Orlando, Altamonte Springs, and DeLand already have similar laws in place.

Chris Graham, spokesperson for the City of DeLand, said its laws connect people to the services they need.

"What we'll be able to do is our police officers, if they come across a homeless individual, they can ask them if they have a place to stay," Graham said. "If they don't, they'll say, 'Hey, we have resources available.'"

Right now, there are fewer places for people who are homeless to spend the night in central Florida than just a few months ago. A fire at the Coalition for the Homeless men's shelter in Orlando forced more than 200 people elsewhere. Just Wednesday, Orange County shut down the Kaleo Ministries crisis center housing more than 100 people for "unsafe conditions."

Eric Gray, head of the Christian Service Center, said the region needs shelter beds.

"We were already short the number of beds in this community, so when you see this issue, it already exacerbates a nightmare problem," Gray said.

The increasing cost of housing is pricing some families into first-time homelessness. Sladek said one way to address that is to change the law.

In Oviedo, a maximum of three unrelated people can live in one home. Sladek's been pushing to increase the number to four.

"We've made it illegal for people to be kind and take in an extra person who may be on the cusp of not having a home," Sladek said. "I think that's something that I think is a pretty easy ask of local governments."

Gov. DeSantis posted online, saying the law is "one of many steps we're taking to keep our cities clean and safe for everyone."

The law does say the state will increase funding for homeless shelters while also requiring drug abuse counseling and mental health counseling.