MOSSA Act

This bill aims to make streets safer by pushing more treatment and tougher rules around drugs, camping, and housing programs. It tells federal agencies to help states use court-ordered treatment in facilities for people with serious mental illness who are dangerous or cannot care for themselves, and to roll back limits that block this approach. It gives grant priority to cities and states that enforce bans on open drug use, urban camping, loitering, and squatting, and that track homeless sex offenders on the registry. The Justice Department would check whether homeless people arrested for federal crimes are sexually dangerous, support clearing encampments when safety is at risk, and try to prevent releasing people with severe mental illness just because there aren’t enough hospital or jail beds; it would also require stronger release plans from prisons and reentry centers. Health and housing funds would shift toward evidence-based treatment and away from programs that mainly enable drug use; some program participants with addiction or serious mental illness could be required to use treatment to keep getting help. The bill targets drug-use sites by freezing certain housing funds and pursuing legal action where needed, allows women-and-children-only housing in some cases, and permits collecting limited health data to share with law enforcement when allowed, to connect people to care. It also says it does not create new rights to sue the government.

Key points

• Who is affected: people living on the streets; people with serious mental illness or addiction; recipients of federal homelessness/housing funds; cities and states seeking grants; homeless sex offenders.
• What changes: grant priority for enforcing bans on open drug use, camping, loitering, and squatting; more use of court-ordered treatment; checks for sexual danger; support for encampment removal; shift to evidence-based treatment; possible treatment requirements to receive aid; actions against drug-use sites; women-and-children-only options; limited health data collection and sharing for safety and care.
• When: agencies are directed to take immediate steps to review and adjust their programs; timing depends on their actions.