Mishandling Panhandling: Proposals to Address Arizona’s Homelessness Crisis
By Mary Saxon.Arizona has one of the worst homelessness crises in the country. Despite this, Senator John Kavanagh of Fountain Hills recently introduced a pair of bills, Senate Bill 1022 and Senate Bill 1024, which criminalize homelessness. Senate Bill 1022, makes it a class one misdemeanor to sell goods, solicit donations, or beg on traffic islands or medians. Senate Bill 1024 makes it a class one misdemeanor to sit, lay, or sleep on a public roadway except in circumstances where one is experiencing a medical emergency, administering medical assistance, or is subject to a permit to conduct a festival, fair, parade, or similar event. In Arizona, a class 1 misdemeanor is punishable with up to six months in jail and carries a fine of up to $2,500 as determined by…