The Tennessee State Senate on Thursday passed legislation that would allow the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) to require local law enforcement work with them to develop policies for the rapid removal of homeless encampments identified by citizen reporters.
The amended version of Senate Bill (SB) 217 by State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) passed by the State Senate on Thursday would allow TDOT to request a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the state agency and any local government, establishing policies and procedures for the agency to coordinate with local law enforcement to dismantle homeless encampments within 30 days of a complaint.
It would also task TDOT with placing 10-day notices to inform those living in the encampments of their requirement to vacate, and would give the state agency a timeline to remove vegetation and install security fencing in a bid to prevent further encampments.
Taylor, in a Senate Transportation and Safety Committee meeting earlier this month, said he introduced this bill after his own experience working with TDOT and Memphis authorities to remove a homeless encampment and find shelter beds for its residents.
“I called TDOT to see about getting the homeless encampment cleaned up and the residents there moved to shelters,” said Taylor, calling it “the most complicated thing I’ve done, I think, as an adult.”
He said TDOT, local law enforcement, and government officials all shirked responsibility, but the matter was addressed after about six months. Taylor said this resulted in some homeless campers moving to shelters, while others reunited with families, and more received government services.
“All was well with the world. Then another homeless encampment crops up, so I call TDOT again, and thought well we’ve kind of get a system now so let’s get this second one done, and it was the same thing all over again,” said Taylor.
The companion version of the legislation, House Bill (HB) 197 by State Representative Tom Leatherwood (R-Arlington), is up for consideration by the House Transportation Subcommittee on Tuesday.
Lawmakers decide on the legislation as Nashville’s board overseeing the city’s various organizations and groups supporting the homeless population recently changed the name of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee in a bid to keep almost $12 million in federal funding awarded shortly before President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Homeless Encampments” by Elvert Barnes. CC BY-SA 2.0.
We need to work with Tunnel to Towers to develop communities especially designed for Veterans who have lost limbs, eyesight & more.
T2T is doing this on other parts of the country.
Each community is equipped with resources, gym, pool, case managers, etc to maintain the unique challenges of each family. This provides a community where our heroes feel connected & find purpose in their lives.
22 Vets commit suicide each day. This is a way to give the isolated, hopeless & lonely Veterans the peaceful life they have earned.
The ridiculous amounts of encampments lining the banks of the Cumberland River in Downtown Nashville and East Nashville/Nissan Stadium should be addressed immediately.
Ah. The “unhoused” scams carried out by many no profits. We used to call those who chose to be “unhoused” bums. That term certainly does not apply to those thrown into a temporary situation not of their own making. They are the ones that deserve support.