Orange County approves jail for sleeping outdoors, but emphasizes homeless help

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This story was originally published by Central Florida Public Media.

Orange County commissioners voted 4 to 2 to comply with a new state law by outlawing camping overnight on county land.

The new ordinance empowers law enforcement to make an arrest — but officials insisted Tuesday that their priority is providing services instead.

Staff expect to receive complaints about unhoused people sleeping on county property through calls to 3-1-1 and a form on the county website.

They hope to connect those sleeping outdoors with emergency housing, mental health treatment or other services. But if they fail to leave the property, local police or deputies can arrest them under the ordinance.

The penalty for the misdemeanor arrest? A fine of up to $500 and up to 60 days in jail.

Sheriff’s Office General Counsel Austin Moore echoed the County Commission’s priorities.

“The sheriff’s view of enforcement of this ordinance dovetails well with … Orange County’s intent,” he said, “which is to make sure that compliance is achieved through services, assistance, warnings, or other non-coercive measures.”

Commissioners Kelly Martinez Semrad and Maribel Gomez Cordero voted against the ordinance. Semrad said she couldn’t vote to comply with a state law that amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.

“[T]he way that I look at this state law,” she said, “is that it does criminalize homelessness, and that by presenting a resolution like this, we’re complying with criminalizing homelessness.”

The 2024 state law — House Bill 1365 — authorizes lawsuits if the county doesn’t make the outdoor sleepers move on.

The county ordinance, like similar municipal ordinances, applies only to property under its own jurisdiction, not state or private land.