A bill that would have made street camping illegal died in the Indiana House. Some legislators hope to create a task force to study homelessness across the state.

An Indiana bill that would have criminalized street camping has died in the House. Rep. Michelle Davis (R-District 58) authored House Bill 1662, but our partners at the Indiana Capital Chronicle report she chose not to call the bill up for a third read in the House on Feb.

The bill’s language mirrors model legislation from the Cicero Institute, a conservative Texas-based think tank that has pitched similar legislation around the country to combat rising homelessness numbers. In Indianapolis, the city's homeless population rose 5% from 2023 to 2024, according to an annual count held last year.