AB 38

Under this bill, and subject to a number of exceptions, no state or local law

enforcement officer may arrest a person, without a warrant, who is suspected of

sleeping in an area of a county park in which the county has prohibited overnight

sleeping or overnight camping. The exceptions include situations where the law

enforcement officer knows the person is wanted for arrest on charges unrelated to

sleeping or camping in a county park or the officer reasonably believes the person is

a threat to public health or safety for reasons unrelated to sleeping or camping in a

county park.

The bill authorizes a city, village, town, or county to enact and enforce an

ordinance prohibiting a person from sleeping in a county park in an area designated

by the political subdivision as an area in which overnight sleeping or camping is

prohibited, but the ordinance must specify that the penalty for violating such an

ordinance is a forfeiture of not less than $10 nor more than $200, plus costs. The

ordinance must also specify that a person who is convicted of violating such an

ordinance and does not pay the forfeiture may be sentenced to a term of not more than

90 days in the county jail or county house of corrections.

If a political subdivision has in effect on the effective date an ordinance that is

inconsistent with the provisions contained in the bill, the ordinance does not apply

and may not be enforced.