Missouri Supreme Court strikes down law banning sleeping on public land

A wide-ranging bill passed by the Missouri General Assembly last year banning sleeping on public land was struck down on Tuesday by the Missouri Supreme Court. Critics of the bill feared it essentially criminalized homelessness.
A wide-ranging bill passed by the state legislature last year banning sleeping on public land was struck down on Tuesday by the Missouri Supreme Court for violating the constitution’s single subject requirement.

Missouri lawmakers last year madesleeping on state-owned land a Class C misdemeanor and restricted state funds for combating homelessness. The legislation was passed as an amendment in a broader bill relating to political subdivisions just before the end of the 2022 session.

Critics of the bill feared it essentially criminalized homelessness. Supporters characterized it as reducing the prevalence of encampments they deemed dangerous to unhoused people and surrounding communities.

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, along with Public Citizen Litigation Group and a Springfield homeless shelter, filed a lawsuit last year against the state, arguing the homelessness provisions did not fit within the bill’s overarching subject of “relating to political subdivisions.”