A House panel on April 15 was transformed into the “There but for the grace of God go I Committee” as several current or former homeless persons — including a former lawmaker — testified on behalf of a bill that would provide the homeless with more public rights.

House Bill 1264, which has been dubbed the Homeless Bill of Rights, or the Right to Rest Act, would allow the homeless to eat, sleep and panhandle in public without being told to leave.

The bill would provide civil remedies for the homeless when their rights are violated.

The legislation is a result of ordinances imposed by cities including Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins that have put the clamps on public camping and panhandling.

Some testimony on the bill was heard by the House State, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee. However, the remainder of the hearing was postponed due to time constraints.

Witnesses who testified in favor of the bill said public sleep and panhandling bans are akin to the “criminalization” of the homeless. Ticketing of people who cannot afford to pay a fine only sets them up for jail time, bill supporters said.

“There is not enough shelter spaces,” said Stuart Hill, who is homeless and lives in Fort Collins. “You cannot be ticketing for camping and criminalizing them for not being able to pay their tickets.”

Nicole Sisneros of Boulder said she has been homeless for seven years due to mental health and addiction issues. She testified that she has been ticketed 15 times in Denver alone and has been jailed because she could not afford the fines.

“There became a point where I actually started calling myself a serial camper,” Sisneros said.

Then there’s Robert Bowen, who spoke on a bill inside the Capitol for the first time in 27 years — when he was a member of the General Assembly.

“Twenty-seven years ago, I was on top of the world, so I thought,” Bowen said.

Bowen represented Denver’s House District 4 from 1982 to 1989. Bowen testified that everything went downhill for him not long after losing a re-election race. The economy was struggling and he ended up losing his business and became bankrupt.

Bowen then moved to California, where he became homeless.

“(I went from) being on TV all the time, in the newspapers, accomplishing things to having two suitcases of clothes, two boxes of mementos and a car I had to keep out of site of the repo guy,” he said.

The bill is receiving stiff opposition from municipal organizations amid complaints that excessive camping and panhandling hurts businesses. Cities that include Denver also oppose the measure.

Regina Huerter of Denver’s Crime Prevention and Control Division stressed to committee members that the city has made strides in getting the homeless the care they need.

Huerter said Denver’s Road Home program, which is aimed at ending homelessness within the city, has an annual budget of $6.5 million that provides housing and employment services to the homeless population. Huerter also said the city has set up mental health and substance abuse treatment options inside the Denver Public Library.

“We have devoted many resources to many agencies to try to meet the needs of the persons who are experiencing homelessness,” she said.

And Huerter said that police are required to offer services to the homeless before they issue a ticket. If a homeless person is cited, it is because they refused those services, Huerter said.

Rep. Joe Salazar, D-Thornton, a bill sponsor, pressed Huerter on Denver’s policy, asking, “How does criminalizing homeless folks help them out whatsoever?”

Huerter insisted that Denver’s ordinance does not criminalize the homeless community. Still, she said, actions must be taken to protect businesses and their customers.
“If somebody is intoxicated and in front of a business and they are refusing to allow passage to allow other people to access that business, we have to take action…,” she said.

How lawmakers respond to Salazar’s bill remains to be seen. But the formerly homeless, former Denver lawmaker hopes the panel will show compassion.

Bowen, who is no longer homeless, said he was fortunate to come out of his situation. He said he does not suffer from mental illness, does not have a drug addiction and is well-educated. But he said others in the homeless community are not as fortunate.

“When you vote, I want you to think it could, by the grace of God, be you 18 months from now,” Bowen said. “I don’t care how successful you are, you can fall.”