Squatter law at issue

A proposal to repeal Act 50, a law passed last year to address the issue of squatters on public parks and beaches, will be debated further in the Legislature after a key senator agreed to keep the measure alive.

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Similar proposals to repeal Act 50 passed out of the House and Senate, but were stalled after Senate President Robert Bunda -- who introduced the bill that became the law -- said he wanted to explore options that would address criticism of the law without repealing it altogether.

Bunda (D, Kaena-Wahiawa-Pupukea) yesterday agreed to send the measure to conference committee, where House and Senate members attempt to reconcile differences in their proposals.

While residents of his district strongly support Act 50 as a way to deal with nuisance squatters, Bunda said he's hopeful the conference committee can address concerns raised by homeless advocates.

"For years we have been working together to find a way to accommodate (community) concerns while addressing the needs of the homeless," Bunda said. "The community has a history of extending help to those who really need it, as opposed to those who are simply choosing to ignore the law."

Homeless advocates, religious organizations and civil libertarians -- who this week began writing, calling and e-mailing Bunda's office urging him to move forward on the repeal -- applauded the decision.

"That's very good news," said the Rev. John Heidel, president of The Interfaith Alliance Hawaii. "It's our hope that this will increase the public awareness about the extent of the housing crisis we face here in Hawaii."

Act 50 allows authorities to ban individuals from public property for up to a year if they return to a site after being issued a warning to stay away.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii has challenged the law in federal court as unconstitutional, but says its lawsuit will be withdrawn if Act 50 is repealed.

Senate Judiciary Chairwoman Colleen Hanabusa said colleagues would consider accepting the House version of the bill, which repeals Act 50 and creates a new petty misdemeanor to address squatters on public property.

"It has a different penalty provision, which is what the ACLU said will withstand (court) scrutiny and they're OK with it," said Hanabusa (D, Nanakuli-Makua). "I just want to confirm that and see where we go from there."

ACLU attorney Lois Perrin called the House proposal a "substantial improvement" over Act 50.

"It does address the majority of the constitutional issues in the ACLU's lawsuit," Perrin said. "But the Legislature needs to be mindful that such laws do nothing to address the causes of homelessness and may open the door to discriminatory enforcement."