Washington state Democrat pushes to give homeless special civil rights

"[M]any communities within Washington are enacting and enforcing laws that disproportionately impact homelessness or make living in public a crime," the legislation reads. "These laws are potentially unconstitutional, make it harder for people to exit homelessness, do not solve the underlying problem of homelessness, and waste precious public funds."

The bill comes in response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson, in which the nation's high court held that the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment does not prevent a city from enforcing public-camping ordinances against the homeless.

It further states the homeless would be allowed to live on public property when "that person has no reasonable alternative but to survive in public space and existing shelter facilities within the local government's jurisdiction are inadequate in number or are functionally inaccessible."

"My hope is the legislature this year works to offer support to cities by expanding substance use disorder programs, emergency shelter capacity, and law enforcement assistance so that each element of this issue can be tackled accordingly," he said.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Gregerson's office for comment but did not immediately hear back.