'Insane that it even happens'
ATLANTA (TND) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp plans to sign a bill Wednesday criminalizing squatting in the state.
The Georgia Squatter Reform Act, which passed the state legislature last month, will make it illegal for someone to live on another person’s land without approval.
"This is insanity that people just think they can come in and take over somebody's home,” Gov. Kemp told FOX News in an interview. “I mean, it's just outrageous."Squatters will face arrest and a fine based on the monthly rental rate of the involved property, which landowners could also sue for. Gov. Kemp argued the act prevents squatters from skirting similar laws.
"Unfortunately, bad actors have figured out ways to take advantage of this – exploit, really – the process that goes through the local government,” he claimed. “We’re passing legislation ... to stiffen the penalties, to go after these folks, to also speed up the eviction process, but also allow the property owner to go after these squatters for damages."
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State Rep. Devan Seabaugh, R-Marietta, introduced the bill roughly two months after Florida lawmakers began considering a similar act.
"This legislation is long overdue, and I know it is going to expedite the process for Georgia property owners having to deal with criminals squatting in their homes. If you break into someone's home and think you are going to reside there, you are mistaken,” State Rep. Seabaugh said. “There are no more free homes in Georgia.”
Squatting issues, which Republican officials have attributed to an influx of undocumented immigrants into the U.S., develop due to President Joe Biden’s approach to the southern border, according to Gov. Kemp.
“It really points to, as we've seen around the country, the lawlessness that's gone on under the Biden administration and, quite honestly, a lot of liberal cities around the country where locally appointed judiciary is not acting on these things,” Gov. Kemp said.READ MORE | Squatting migrants in Bronx basement rearrested after shocking haul of weapons and drugs
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill last month increasing penalties for squatters, which he claimed ended a “squatters scam.”
"It’s insane that it even happens to start with. But, then, when you can’t remove these people from your own property – as a property owner myself, it goes to the insanity of the world that we’re living in now,” Gov. Kemp stated Wednesday. “I know that Gov. DeSantis isn’t going to put up with that, and neither are we.”
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