A bill that would have penalized people $50 for lying down on public sidewalks was deferred by the City Council Public Safety and Economic Development Committee today.

The Star-Advertiser reports that there wasn’t enough support for Bill 59 to pass it. Those against the bill believe it unfairly targets the homeless, while those in favor of the bill, including its sponsor Councilman Stanley Chang, deny it was meant to target homeless. He says that it is meant to aid businesses that have problems with people blocking pedestrian traffic.

While the bill did exempt those exercising freedom of speech and those who could prove they had been turned away from a homeless shelter that night, those against the bill didn’t think it was enough.

Photo: Homeless in Honolulu. (Nick Grube/Civil Beat)

—Manjari Fergusson