A bill heard by the Nebraska Legislature’s Judiciary Committee Wednesday would make “public camping” a misdemeanor offense and withhold state money from subdivisions, like cities and counties, that do not enforce the ban.
LB925, called the Safe Parks and Public Spaces Act, was introduced by Sen. Bob Andersen of Sarpy County, and would make it illegal to “intentionally camp upon or in any public property or right-of-way.” The punishment for a first offense would be a referral to a homeless shelter. After that, a violation would be a Class V misdemeanor, which has a maximum punishment of a $100 fine.
Political subdivisions, like cities, towns and villages, would be prohibited from “authorizing or otherwise allowing” public camping, and from “prohibiting or discouraging” law enforcement and prosecutors from enforcing the law. The subdivision would be subject to civil lawsuits from county residents and business owners, or the Nebraska Attorney General, if they do not enforce the law within five days of receiving written notice of a violation.
And if the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services determined that a subdivision was not acting in compliance with the law, the State Treasurer could be instructed to suspend the distribution of state funds to the subdivision.
Andersen was pressed by Sen. Wendy DeBoer about the specificity of the bill. She asked what it would mean for a political subdivision to “otherwise allow” a person to camp in public, and whether or not a person who falls asleep outside but is not fully camping would be in violation of the law. Andersen conceded that some definitions should be more specific.
The bill was drafted by the Cicero Institute, a conservative think tank that identifies homelessness as a key interest area. It advocates for public camping bans and expanded civil commitment laws, and advocates against housing-first policies. The Safe Parks and Spaces Act has been introduced in some other states; In 2025, identical bills in Mississippi and North Carolina died in committee.
At Wednesday’s hearing, legislators heard a mix of support for the bill from law enforcement and opposition from organizations and community members that work with homeless populations. Eight proponents and 86 opponents submitted online comments.
Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson testified in support of the bill, though he said it would not “solve the problem” and emphasized the need for investment into acute addiction and mental health services. Asked by Sen. Terrell McKinney where people criminalized under the bill would go if they could no longer camp outside, Hanson said they should be directed to homeless shelters.
But Chris Knauf, the CEO of the Stephen Center homeless shelter in Omaha, said that only works if there are enough shelter beds. Knauf said the Stephen Center had to turn away more than 5,000 people last year who were eligible for shelter due to lack of capacity.
“A policy that suggests someone can choose shelter over citation only works if shelter actually exists,” he said.
Tamara Dwyer, the homelessness coordinator for the City of Omaha, said the bill could interfere with the city’s efforts to combat homelessness, like a pilot program aimed at intensive outreach at encampments. She also said policy for Nebraska should be “shaped by Nebraska data and Nebraska providers,” not based on “cookie-cutter legislation from out-of-state interest groups.”
A fiscal note submitted to the Legislature estimated that one additional full-time employee would need to be hired by the Department of Health and Human Services to facilitate the changes, costing about $85,000 in the first year and $91,000 in subsequent years.
No immediate action was taken on the bill on Wednesday.