Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed into law Senate Bill 62, a bill to curb homeless tent cities and curtail human trafficking of the homeless.
The new law requires all counties in the state to develop a comprehensive plan to accommodate and provide aid and treatment to the homeless or contract with an aid agency in another county.
According to Derek Dugan, director of development for The Salvation Army, it has long been suspected that other municipalities and counties in Georgia have been busing homeless people into Augusta.
This has led to the virtual tent city that has sprung up in the woods behind businesses on Washington Road near I-20.
Dugan says that all homeless people applying for shelter are asked to provide their last known residence, and an alarming number of homeless people list a residence outside of Richmond County.
“To the best of my understanding, this law requires counties to use the funding they receive to step up operations or make an agreement with another county for help, they can no longer just drop people off on our doorstep and walk away,” Dugan said.
The law also requires that homeless people from other counties be returned to their place of origin once aid has been rendered, but not at the expense of the county that rendered the aid.
In addressing the “tent cities” that are becoming common throughout the nation, the law also forbids counties and municipalities from allowing people to set up temporary tent shelters on public land unless it is a recognized recreational campsite or specifically approved by the voters in that area via referendum.
Counties also have to provide an audit showing where all state and federal funds are being used in conjunction with aid to the homeless.
The law reads: “(T)he audit shall examine the awarding of contracts and grants 42 relating to homeless services and supports, the metrics used to determine success of the 43 expenditures, and whether the metrics are met by the contractors and grantees.”
The penalties for not following the law are steep. Counties in violation can lose Emergency Food Shelter Program funding provided by FEMA and Balance of States funding from HUD.
If a county or municipality is caught busing homeless people into another jurisdiction without an agreement, an investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office is automatically triggered and can result in criminal charges, according to Dugan.
“It’s by no means perfect, but I feel it is a step in the right direction,” Dugan said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
