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