INDIANAPOLIS By a 52-40 vote, the Indiana House passed a Senate bill that would empower law enforcement to arrest homeless persons and charge them with a C misdemeanor should they be found sleeping or camping on public property and refusing referral to emergency shelter resources and services.

The bill now returns to the Indiana Senate for more debate.

SB-197 was crafted to protect the rights of property owners facing housing code violations, regulate illegal dumping and eliminate requirements to provide renters with utility use data.

The amendment to penalize homeless persons was tacked on by a House committee.

Rep. Andrew Ireland of Indianapolis, a Republican, told the House that some homeless persons, “need to get in a squad car first,” before they can be convinced to accept homeless referral services and emergency housing.

Ireland said his amendment is intended to help those persons without shelter, not jail them, and includes provisions for referrals to mental health services and problem-solving courts.

Rep. Carey Hamilton, an Indianapolis Democrat, countered that daily jail cell costs are twice as expensive as a shelter bed.

Rep. Greg Porter, a Democrat from Indianapolis, said the bill essentially said to homeless persons, “The only way we can help you is to lock you up.”

Donte Hendrix has been living in a tent pitched on the sidewalk on East New York Street beneath the I-65 overpass for more than a week.

His voice hoarse from a chest cold, Hendrix said locking up persons without shelter who don’t want to live on the street won’t solve Indianapolis’ homelessness problem.

”The jail’s gonna win and the police is gonna win. It’s a win/win for the judge,” he said. “They gonna make money and both ends gonna make money. It’s a win/win for them. It’s a loss for you. They don’t care about us.

”A lot of the homeless, they can’t speak, they can’t talk, they have been having drug overdoses, they have been beaten, they have been dragged, they have been abused by the police and it’s just because they can’t live.”

Hendrix said he became homeless in Gary after his mother lost her home.

”I have no criminal record. I’m 34 years old, and it’s gonna be horrible because I didn’t wanna be placed here. I got pushed here through society so when they do this they gonna force me to have a record which is what they want,” he said. ”Til they come and tell me to move or we’re gonna take you to jail, that’s the only thing I could do right now because I can’t get a house and I can’t get a job so it just sucks. I lose/lose. They win.”

It’s estimated that on a typical winter’s night, approximately 1,700 homeless people are sleeping in shelters, in transitional housing or on the streets of Indianapolis.

SB 197 would provide for 60 days in jail or a $500 fine for those arrested and charged.

If approved, the new law would not go into effect until July 1, 2026.