Delaware HB 135: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS.

Bill Text

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SPONSOR: Rep. Phillips & Rep. Bolden & Sen. Lockman
Reps. Gorman, Lynn, Morrison, Snyder-Hall, Berry,
Burns, Lambert, S. Moore, Romer, Wilson-Anton,
Ortega, Kamela Smith; Sens. Cruce, Sokola
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 135
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HOMELESSNESS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
1 Section 1. Amend Part V, Title 10 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and
2 insertions as shown by underline as follows:
3 Chapter 82. Protections for Delawareans Experiencing Homelessness
4 §8201. Definitions.
5 For purposes of this chapter:
6 (1) “Adequate alternative indoor space” means a space that is legally and physically accessible to an
7 individual, and that does not require an individual to sacrifice any other personal right afforded to the individual under
8 federal, state, or local law.
9 a. An adequate alternative indoor space must do all of the following:
10 1. Be available indefinitely to the individual without requiring daily re-application.
11 2. Be free of charge.
12 3. Accommodate any disabilities.
13 4. Accept pets.
14 5. Accommodate partners (whether legally married or not), family members, or other support
15 persons.
16 6. Accommodate the individual’s personal property.
17 b. Tiny homes or similar structures may be an alternative indoor space if they are climate-controlled, as
18 appropriate to the local climate conditions and possess the following:
19 1. Locking doors.
20 2. Individual sanitary and cooking facilities or common facilities sufficient to meet the needs of the
21 tiny home community.

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22 c. An alternative indoor space in a neighboring municipality or county in the State is presumptively
23 inaccessible, unless adequate transportation is available, at no cost to the individual, to ensure the individual can
24 attend to any personal or professional business in the jurisdiction of origin.
25 (2) “Individual experiencing homelessness” means an individual lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate
26 nighttime residence, and includes the following:
27 a. Individuals sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a
28 similar reason.
29 b. Individuals living in motels, hotels, recreational vehicle parks, or camping grounds due to the lack
30 of alternative adequate accommodations.
31 c. Individuals living in emergency or transitional shelters.
32 d. Individuals abandoned in hospitals.
33 e. Individuals awaiting foster care placement.
34 f. Individuals living in a private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping
35 accommodation for human beings, within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 11302(a)(2).
36 g. Individuals living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or
37 train stations, or similar settings.
38 h. Individuals who would meet the definition of homelessness under 42 U.S.C. § 11434a(2) but for
39 not being a child or youth.
40 (3) “Life sustaining activities” includes moving, resting, sitting, standing, lying down, sleeping, protecting
41 oneself from the natural elements, eating, drinking, and storing personal property as needed to safely shelter oneself.
42 (4) “Public space” means any property that is owned or leased, in whole or in part, by any state or local
43 government entity or any property, upon which there is an easement for public use and that is held open to the public,
44 or any federal land that is open to the public, where local or state law enforcement has jurisdiction to enforce local or
45 state laws, including plazas, courtyards, parking lots, sidewalks, public transportation facilities and services, public
46 buildings, shopping centers, underpasses and lands adjacent to roadways, and parks.
47 (5) “Recreational vehicle” means a travel trailer, camping trailer, park trailer, camper, camper motor home, or
48 similar accommodation, which is primarily designed as temporary living quarters for recreational camping or for
49 seasonal or travel use and either has its own motor power or is mounted on, or drawn by, another vehicle.
50 § 8202. Permitted use of public space.

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51 (a) All individuals experiencing homelessness may use public spaces for life sustaining activities, provided that
52 such activities do not obstruct the normal movement of pedestrian or vehicular traffic in such a manner that creates a hazard
53 to others, unless sufficient adequate alternative indoor space is available to the homeless individual in a given jurisdiction
54 and has been offered to the individual, including transportation for the individual and their belongings.
55 (b) An individual experiencing homelessness must receive the same degree of protection for personal pr