A homeless encampment built inside of a west Phoenix alley seen in the early morning of Jan. 28, 2020. The people staying in the alley declined to answer Point-In-Time
survey questions. Photo by Madeline Ackley | Arizona Mirror
Republicans and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns killed a bill Thursday that would have required cities, towns and counties to provide 24/7 access to bathrooms and water to help in the ongoing homelessness crisis.
Senate Bill 1185 by Sen. Analise Ortiz, D-Phoenix, would have required that municipalities and counties provide and maintain 24-hour access to public restrooms and potable water for use by the homeless.
“We can and should do better,” Ortiz said to the Senate Government Committee on Thursday, citing the drastic increase the state has seen in heat-related deaths, largely among the homeless, as one of the reasons for the measure. Constituents also approached her about homeless individuals who have been found to be using alleyways and residents’ yards to relieve themselves.
However, municipalities and Republicans argued that the bill’s language was too broad and would result in cities being forced to keep all their restrooms open 24/7. Ortiz said she’d be willing to amend the bill to clarify, but Republicans instead voted the measure down.
“I agree with the concerns. We don’t do a good job and we need to do better,” Sen. David Farnsworth, R-Mesa, said when explaining his no vote. “I think the solution will take more than an amendment.”
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Local homelessness advocates came out to support the measure, saying that it would be beneficial to not just the homeless but myriad other individuals, such as pregnant women, those with certain disabilities and average citizens who may just desperately need a restroom.
“It is not just unsheltered folks who benefit from public restrooms broadly,” Stacey Champion, a local activist who has worked with the homeless community in Phoenix, said to lawmakers. “This state is really lacking in public amenities, such as water refill stations and public bathrooms, and this is something I’m shocked about when I travel and come home and not really see a lot of that.”
However, the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, which represents municipalities across the state, said it strongly disagreed with the bill.
Marshall Pimentel, one of the organization’s lobbyists, said the bill created “serious operational challenges and unintended consequences,” adding that, as it was written, municipalities would have to make libraries, courtrooms and more have 24/7 bathroom access.
“There are a lot of unsavory things that happen in the wee hours,” Pimentel said, echoing concerns by Republican lawmakers that the bathrooms would become crime zones that would require additional staffing.
Sen. Lauren Kuby, a Tempe Democrat and former Tempe city council member, disagreed with Pimentel and her Republican colleagues. In Tempe, she said, public parks could easily have their public restrooms be open 24/7, reducing the need for an employee to lock up the restrooms each night.
“It should not be a privilege to pee. It is a human right,” Kuby said. “I’m sad we won’t be passing this today.”
Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, the committee’s chairman and the leader of the far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus, said he found it to be a “cold day in hell” because he agreed with the League of Arizona Cities and Towns on the issue.
“I hear the bill sponsor’s intent that wasn’t what she meant, but under the way this is drafted, bathrooms in the mayor’s office, judges quarters… it pulls them all in,” Hoffman said, adding that “the costs on this seem to be incalculable.”
Both Hoffman and Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said they worried that the bill would lead to “encampments” at these restrooms and it would preempt municipalities from enacting any changes as it lists homelessness as a matter of “statewide concern.”
Arizona has seen a year-over-year increase in its unhoused population since 2017. The number of people experiencing homelessness in the state is at levels the state has not seen since the late 2000s, when the country was grappling with the Great Recession.
In the years since 2017, the state, local municipalities and counties have used different tactics to address homelessness, with varying degrees of success. Homelessness in Arizona increased by 21% from 2020 to 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The increase has led the federal government to give additional aid to Phoenix.
“This bill isn’t intended to solve homelessness,” Ortiz said, criticizing cities and towns for opposing the bill. “Now you have cities here saying, ‘Please don’t make us do the bare minimum.’”
Bishop Anthony Holt said he understood the concerns about crime, but urged lawmakers to try to put themselves in the shoes of those who are unhoused.
“Let’s not act like this is not a problem,” Holt said. “But if you have never faced this problem, it doesn’t mean anything to you.”
Others advocates shared stories of homeless individuals who chose to soil themselves instead of using an alley or other public area due to the shame they felt.
“All we are talking about is common decency and access to public facilities,” Holt said.
The bill failed to make it out of committee with all Republicans present voting no on the measure.
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