In a Feb. 20 letter to the City Council, American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii senior staff attorney Dan Gluck wrote in opposition to the bill, saying it would cause unnecessary incarceration.

“Bill 6 does nothing to address Honolulu's homeless problem,” said Gluck. “Rather, it just shuffles people from place to place, moving homeless individuals farther from service providers and saddling the homeless with criminal records (making it more difficult to find employment and housing).” 

Bill 7 faces a public hearing and second reading before the full City Council after clearing the committee vote Tuesday. Bill 6 has yet to be heard at the committee level, but Anderson said some of its key points could be folded into Bill 7. Bills must pass three readings before being forwarded to the mayor for consideration.

Correction: A prior version of this story stated Ikaika Anderson was the sponsor of Bill 7.