A Veto Won’t Stop This Homeless Camping Ban for Long

Republicans Need a Three-fifths Vote to Revive Bill That Criminalizes Camping and Threatens Shelter Workers with Felony Charges

House Bill 437 has now been vetoed by North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, who said it was counterproductive to the goal of getting homeless people back on their feet and that it fundamentally misunderstood how people recover from addiction. House Speaker Destin Hall doesn’t intend for that to be the end of it, though.

The chamber plans to override the veto, something that’s easier to accomplish in North Carolina than in most other states, since it requires only a three-fifths vote. In fact, the Republican-led General Assembly has already overridden 12 of the 16 bills the Democratic Governor has vetoed since taking office last year.

If this bill becomes law, it would enact a statewide camping ban that would prohibit homeless North Carolinians from camping or sleeping on public property, except on an officially sanctioned city site.

It will also designate all homeless shelters and service providers in the state as “drug-free zones,” meaning that anyone caught with drugs in a 100-foot radius of any of these locations will face stiffer penalties, and employees deemed to be allowing drug possession at these sites could be charged with a felony.

Drug-Free Zones Further Criminalization

HB437 was originally drafted in March 2025 exclusively to establish homeless shelters and service areas as drug-free zones. The camping ban was added just last month as part of an updated version of the controversial HB 781, which previously stalled in the Senate. An amendment to raise the age for tobacco and vape purchases to 21, increase penalties for trafficking in opioids and heroin, and appropriate $35 million for drug education was tabled, while the camping ban made it through to the final approved version.

Under the current law, possession of a small amount of non-Schedule I drugs is considered a misdemeanor. Once the drug free homeless service zones come into force, possession of any drug other than 5 grams or less of cannabis will become a felony offense.

Supporters of this change frame it as a way to stop drug dealers from profiting off of a vulnerable population. Heather Rhyne (R- Lincoln) was one such voice, saying of the bill she cosponsored, “It’s time to stop the drug deals in the homeless shelters and really try to protect this vulnerable population, that’s the heart behind this bill.”

Distribution of controlled substances, with the same carve-out for 5 grams or less of cannabis, is already a felony in North Carolina, so the new law will only change penalties for drug users, not drug dealers.

Under the new law, anyone over the age of 21 who is found to have committed a drug offense within any of the newly established drug-free zones will be guilty of a class E felony, which can carry a sentence of up to 4 years in prison.

The bill also creates a new crime, allowing for employees of these shelters or service providers who were not themselves involved but were found to have allowed drug use within the zone to be charged with a class H felony and face up to 2 years in prison. The punishments for drug dealing remain the same.

Advocates Slam Bill as Unhelpful and Unproductive

The N.C. Coalition to End Homelessness and the N.C. Housing Coalition issued a joint statement against the bill.

“Communities need practical solutions that address homelessness through housing, treatment and support services, not mandates that shift costs and liabilities onto local taxpayers and organizations,” the statement read.

Any local government that refuses to enforce the camping ban or drug-free zone provision may be subject to civil action by local residents or business owners who feel it is not doing enough to enforce the rules. This is becoming a more common tactic larger governments are using to keep smaller municipalities in line, though some are calling BS.

Advocates, politicians, and service providers alike have opposed the bill, with many pointing out that exposing shelter employees and service providers to potential felony drug charges is likely to cause many to close their doors, which will only make the homelessness crisis in the state worse for everyone. It will be extremely difficult for any organization to offer help or addiction treatment if their employees can face prison time over someone else possessing drugs within 100 feet of their building.

During a floor debate, Rep. Marcia Morey (D-Durham) highlighted the bill’s shortcomings, saying, “It doesn’t help the homeless, it relocates them out of sight.” She elaborated, “This bill doesn’t give you one new housing unit for a homeless family. It doesn’t give you any treatment for someone with addiction problems. It doesn’t give you mental health counselors. It doesn’t help anyone pay rent.”

City Sanctioned Sites Uncertain

Local governments will be allowed to designate locations for use as public camping sites if there is a shortage of available shelter beds in their area. To do this, they will be required to provide on-site sanitation services and public safety personnel, facilitate access to behavioral health services, and prohibit the use of drugs or alcohol at the camping site.

The local government must also be able to prove to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services that the property where the camping site would be located is not zoned for residential use and would not negatively affect the property value of nearby land, whether residential or commercial.

Once all of these hoops are jumped through, a site can be used as a public camping location for up to one year, after which point the red tape will need to be navigated all over again.

Many local governments have already put in place camping bans of their own. Still, even a local government that did want to provide a public camping site may have difficulty meeting all of these requirements once, let alone on a consistent basis. We’ve seen how political changes in less-hostile states have led to sudden encampment evictions, and we’re likely to see the same here.

The progression from public camping ban to city-sanctioned sites to full criminalization has played out the same way in city after city. Any sanctioned encampments that manage to get established will be operating on borrowed time. The result for homeless North Carolinians will inevitably be instability.

Senator Mujtaba A. Mohammed (D-Mecklenburg) perceived this likely trajectory, commenting, “The message of this legislation seems to be, if we can move homeless people somewhere else, then the problem is gone,” and arguing that the bill would only hide a “tragic failure.”