Housing committee advances substitute to require 14-day DOT notice before clearing encampments

Representative Felipe convened the Housing Committee and introduced a substitute for House Bill 5235, saying the measure would codify a Department of Transportation practice that gives people living in encampments two weeks' notice before crews remove property from DOT-controlled land.

"It's basically just taking a policy our DOT has currently of making sure that you tell folks who are part of an encampment that two weeks prior to the removal of their property... they are given notice," the chair said.

Representative Scott said he supported a uniform rule but questioned the move from DOT's reported 72-hour practice to a 14-day statutory requirement. "I think seven days could be a conversation," he said, and added, "I'll be a no on this today." Scott asked what evidence supported extending the window and whether outreach and storage practices were being duplicates of existing programs.

A committee member who described negotiations said the 14-day timeline resulted from discussions between transportation chairs and DOT staff. The substitute also includes language for a study of how confiscated property would be handled and preserves an exception allowing shorter removals when there are significant health, safety or traffic-blocking emergencies.

Representative Weir, speaking from a jurisdiction with weekly street outreach teams, said the longer window aligns with outreach schedules: "that is based on when our street outreach team is coming out which can just be once a week... we're trying to provide a window that... the folks who are doing outreach continuously can catch folks on a regular basis."

Another committee member noted some testimony warned the bill could be unnecessary because DOT and partner agencies already operate under a 72-hour practice and reported existing outreach programs. Supporters, including Senator Marks, urged empathy and said the two-week window protects belongings and dignity: "The two weeks is... very kind, very empathetic and will let them take care of their belongings and find somewhere else to go."

A motion to send the substitute to the floor was made and seconded. The clerk called the roll. Votes recorded in the transcript show yes votes from Representative Felipe, Senator Marks, Senator Anoir, Representative Roberts, Senator McCrory, Representative Turo, Representative Butler, Representative Brown and Representative Gonzalez, and no votes from Representative Scott, Representative Corpus, Representative Jensen, Representative Weir and "Repzilla" (as recorded). Based on the recorded entries, the motion carried and committee staff held votes open until 12:30 on Zoom and in the committee suite to reconcile any remaining tallies.

The substitute for HB5235 would set a statutory 14-day notice as the standard for DOT-controlled property but permits shorter action in immediate danger or transportation-emergency situations and directs a study on handling confiscated property. The committee recessed with the motion to advance the bill to the floor.