This story was updated March 6, 2025, at 11:15 a.m. to reflect the new status of the bill. It will not advance in the Iowa House.
A bill that would ban camping or sleeping on public property is likely dead for the session.
The legislation passed out of a House subcommittee Wednesday, but was pulled from the agenda for the full House committee. A Senate subcommittee also failed to advance a similar measure Wednesday. That means the bill won’t make it past this week’s legislative deadline known as “funnel week,” which requires most bills to be approved by a full chamber committee to advance in the session.
Under the proposed bill, if someone refuses to move after being issued a warning, they could be charged with a simple misdemeanor and jailed for up to 30 days and fined almost $900.
The proposal would also prevent municipalities from blocking enforcement of camping bans, but it doesn’t prohibit them from having diversion programs or offering services instead of citations or arrests.
Dennis Tibben, with the Texas-based think tank Cicero Institute, spoke in favor of the bill. The Cicero Institute is one of two groups registered in support of the bill.
“The bill before you is intended to help with these efforts by ensuring consistent statewide policies, including basic minimum services, and supports greater transparency in how our public homelessness dollars are being utilized and, most importantly, creating a pathway to stability and self-sustainability for more Iowans.”
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, said the Cicero Institute helped draft the bill. The group helped pass a similar ban in Florida last year.
Sydney Uhlman, a resident of Iowa City, opposed the bill. Uhlman says she became homeless for a period of time after aging out of the foster care system at age 18.
“I could tell you about living and sleeping in four different places over the course of one week while I was full-time employed and trying to support myself on my own. Those in favor of this bill have tried to frame this as a humane response, beneficial to people like me. It's not.”