Del. Geno Chiarelli, R-Monongalia, sponsor of House Bill 2382, speaks on the House floor in Charleston, W.Va. on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography)
The West Virginia House of Delegates signed off Tuesday on a bill that would prohibit homeless people from camping on public property throughout the state.
The House approved House Bill 2382 with a vote of 89-9 and two delegates not voting.
The bill would impose fines of up to $500 or up to 30 days in jail for homeless people who camp or store personal property on streets, parks, trails or other public property throughout the state.
If the bill becomes law, West Virginia would join dozens of local governments in prohibiting homeless people from sleeping in public areas following the U.S. Supreme Court decision last year upholding a similar ban in Grants Pass, Oregon. In West Virginia, at least four cities — Clarksburg, Morgantown, Bluefield and Princeton — passed camping bans last year.
Opponents of camping bans say they do not help the root causes of homelessness, like a lack of affordable housing and mental illness, and make the problem worse by imposing fines and criminal penalties on unhoused people, making it more difficult for them to get into housing.
In Morgantown, the Morgantown Coalition for Housing Action challenged the camping ban, and voters will decide whether the ordinance will go into effect during the city’s election next month.
Bill sponsor Del. Geno Chiarelli, a Republican representing Monongalia County, said his legislation was in response to the city’s camping ban being challenged and possibly overturned.
The coalition is opposed to the statewide ban. A representative from the coalition said the legislation “illustrates the illusion of representation that is consistently presented to the working class” and blamed Monongalia County commissioner Tom Bloom for supporting it. West Virginia Watch could not find public comments from Bloom where he expressed support of the legislation. Bloom could not be reached for comment.
“As an authoritarian regime threatens the entire country, Geno’s legislation and Tom’s support have made clear their intent to abandon West Virginians and bend the knee to fascism, all under the guise of economic efficiency,” Miles Case, a part of the coalition, said in a written statement. “The people of West Virginia have a long history of resisting tyranny in all forms, and we once again refuse to be silent or complicit in its attempted enactment.”
Speaking in favor of the bill from the House floor Tuesday, Chiarelli said with the bill, he seeks to create a uniform policy about homeless encampments instead of a patchwork of statutes and ordinances across the state.
“I think when we address the homelessness issue, the drug use issue, the mental health crisis that we’re facing, I think that consistency and uniformity is something that has to be key,” Chiarelli said.
He said the bill is a start of making the West Virginia cities and the state a better place to live.
“Our city [Morgantown] is not the same as it was 10 years ago, and this is an issue that takes a lot of people working in sync,” he said. “There’s a lot of moving parts, a lot of cogs that all have to turn at the same time and in the same way. But this is one small piece that we could do to try and make our cities, our municipalities, a better place to live, somewhere where people aren’t afraid to take their kids to the public library anymore.
“I would encourage you to vote yes. And of course, this is just one piece that we have moving forward, because we are going to make West Virginia a better place,” Chiarelli said. “And I think this is how it starts.”
Democrats who opposed the bill cited the need to give local government control and concern that it would give homeless people a choice between using a blanket or tent to keep more or breaking the law.
The bill defines camping as using “camping paraphernalia,” including “backpacks, bags, rucksacks, tarps, cots, beds, sleeping bags, blankets, mattresses, hammocks or portable cooking facilities and similar equipment.”
“What I’m worried about… is that someone simply that is just trying to find shelter, that’s fallen upon hard times, would have to make that choice, right?” said Del. Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell. “Someone that’s just trying to stay warm. And so again, I ask the question, what are we doing that we can’t vet these things a little bit more? Again, great idea, and I truly appreciate it. We have to do something, but the way that is currently written to not provide for safety for our neighbors. They might be going through something, I get that, but they are still our neighbors in our cities. I respectfully will have to oppose this piece of legislation.”
John Williams, D-Monongalia, said the bill would take away Morgantown voters’ ability to decide on that city’s camping ban during its election in April.
“After a lot of discussions with a couple of my colleagues from Morgantown, it seems wrong for me at this juncture to take away their right to address this issue when they have that opportunity just five, six short weeks from now, to be able to give their opinion,” Williams said.
Del. Wayne Clark, R-Jefferson, was the lone Republican to vote against the legislation.
Clark said he agrees with the intent behind the legislation, getting rid of homeless encampments, but suggested the bill be amended so that it doesn’t inadvertently affect tourists along the Hatfield and McCoy Trail system.
The bill has carve outs for people lawfully camping in campgrounds or staying in a registered vehicle located in an area where they may be lawfully. Under questioning by Clark, Chiarelli said that side-by-side vehicle operators who are not registered with the Division of Motor Vehicles could be considered unlawfully camping if they pull off of trails and set up a tent.
“I’d hate to see individuals that are on our bike trails or on our walking trails or on our side-by-side trails, getting tickets because they decided to pull over in their side-by-side, pitch a tent for the evening, rather than try and drive on unfamiliar terrain at night,” Clark said.
The bill next goes to the Senate for consideration.
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