Overview
- SEA 285, which Governor Mike Braun signed Tuesday, makes camping, sleeping, or long-term sheltering on state or local public land illegal across Indiana.
- Before any charge, officers must check for a need for emergency mental health detention, issue a warning, and share information on nearby shelter and services.
- A person can be charged only after 48 hours have passed since the warning and they remain within 300 feet of the warned spot, with the offense set as a Class C misdemeanor.
- The statute creates defenses and diversion when no shelter or treatment bed is available within five miles or when someone was recently released from involuntary mental health care.
- Local governments cannot adopt policies that discourage enforcement, and annual reports are required from law enforcement and Continuum of Care grantees that coordinate federal homelessness funding.