[Publisher’s Note – We are pleased to offer this original commentary from longtime FR friend the Honorable Scott Mann. Mann is currently serving as Mayor of Menifee, which is located in the Inland Empire of Southern California — Flash]
The City of Menifee is on the record unanimously opposing AB 5, often called the Homeless Bill of Rights and Fairness Act. I appreciate that homelessness is a genuine community problem across the State of California which, in public discussion, excites strong feelings on all sides.
However, even the Los Angeles Times says “While we sympathize with its (AB 5’s) spirit, we don’t support it. The solution is not to sanction the culture of homelessness or to offer blanket approval for a way of life that society generally agrees should be ended.” (1/11/13)
This bill, which even its author, Assembly Member Ammiano, concedes is “aspirational,” would impose unfunded mandates upon cities while adding homelessness to a listing of protected classes. Under the bill, “life-sustaining activities that must be carried out in public spaces because of homelessness,” such as eating, urinating, amassing possessions and collecting trash to recycle, would be protected. The bill is silent as to the rights of residents, businesses and taxpayers to clean streets and safe, habitable neighborhoods.
As a public official, I feel that I must be compassionate and responsible at the same time. Assembly Member Ammiano’s bill takes the wrong approach — one which is goodhearted toward the homeless and hardhearted towards the rest of the community simultaneously. Round-the-clock public bathrooms and the “basic human right” to panhandle alone have huge implications for local budgets and law enforcement. The costs of AB 5 have not yet been counted, but I feel confident the State of California will not appropriate funds to support mandates imposed on cities and counties.
While I strongly oppose AB 5, I do not oppose giving our homeless a ‘hand up’ through faith-based organizations and non-profit service organizations. As many people of faith do, I agonize over the homeless problem. However, let’s not make community vitality more difficult by imposing expensive, unfair legislation upon our cities and their residents by passing AB 5.