By: Ethan Heifetz
BILL NUMBER: Senate Bill 1585
BILL NAME: Homelessness; rights; eviction; housing; appropriation
BILL STATE: Arizona
BILL SPONSORS/ CO-SPONSORS: Senator Catherine Miranda (D), Senator Lela Alston (D), Senator Ken Bennett (R), Senator Sonny Borrelli (R), Senator Steve Kaiser (R), Senator Sine Kerr (R), Senator Thomas Shope (R)
BILL STATUS: Pending in the House Rules Committee June 12th
BILL SUMMARY:
This bill would develop a pilot program that seeks to provide affordable housing opportunities to individuals experiencing homelessness via providing funding for the leasing of vacant commercial and hotel spaces for periods between 36 and 48 months.
This bill would also provide property owners and managers with resources to offer affordable housing to individuals experiencing homelessness.
This bill would establish a statewide development program for individuals experiencing homelessness to secure stable housing and employment and ensure comprehensive services and community outreach for those individuals.
This bill allows and encourages nonprofit organizations, municipalities, and Tribes to establish and or operate facilities for unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness.
KEY IMPLICATIONS:
The goals of this bill would be to use vacant properties as temporary housing for people experiencing homelessness. This is especially important in the summers and winters which in Arizona can be extreme and dangerous for those individuals who are unhoused.
Additionally, those who are unsheltered would have designated places to store their belongings during times they are not taking advantage of temporary housing.
LEGISLATIVE SUGGESTIONS:
The Center for Rural Homelessness suggests that the opportunity to rent spaces out to unhoused individuals should extend to homeowners willing to dedicate rooms within their homes to specific individuals, granted that those homeowners can pass a low level background check.
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