Law Threatening Homeless People With Jail Time For Sleeping On State Land Struck Down In MO Supreme Court

A state law threatening homeless people with jail time and a fine for sleeping on state land without permission and banning COVID-19 vaccine mandates for public workers is struck down Tuesday by the Missouri Supreme Court.

An Associated Press article explains that the law was tossed out and ruled “invalid in its entirety” for violating a section of the state constitution which prohibits legislation from containing multiple unrelated subjects.

The law, enacted in 2022, had also prohibited state funding from being used for permanent housing for homeless people instead directing it toward temporary shelters and assistance with substance use and mental health treatment.

Advocates for the homeless had claimed that lawmakers blamed mental health and substance abuse for causing homelessness while ignoring the real problem being affordable housing with no solutions being contained in the bill.