SACRAMENTO, Calif. ā California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered state agencies Thursday to start removing homeless encampments on state land in his boldest action yet following a Supreme Court ruling allowing cities to enforce bans on sleeping outside in public spaces.
This executive order directs state agencies āto move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them." It also provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same, which applies pressure on them, though they are not legally bound to the order.
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California is home to roughly one-third of the nationās population of homeless people, a problem that has dogged Newsom since he took office. There are thousands of tents and makeshift shelters across the state that line freeways, and fill parking lots and public parks.
Under Newsomās direction, state agencies ā including state parks and the department of transportation ā would be required to prioritize clearing encampments that pose safety risks, such as those along waterways. Officials should give āreasonableā advance notice to homeless people, offer to connect them to local services and help store their belongings for at least 60 days. Local cities and counties are urged to adopt similar protocols.
Last month the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that said governments could not force people to leave encampments if there weren't any shelter beds available. The case was the most significant on the problem to come before the high court in decades. Cities across the country have been wrestling with the politically complicated task of how to deal with a rising number of people without a permanent place to live and public frustration over related health and safety issues.
Newsom's administration wrote in support of cities' arguments that previous rulings, including one that barred San Francisco from clearing encampments, have prevented the state from solving a critical problem.
"There are simply no more excuses. Itās time for everyone to do their part,ā Newsom said in a statement Thursday.
Newsomās decision garnered praise from some local elected officials and business groups, who said they were left with no options to address homeless encampments before the Supreme Courtās ruling. San Francisco Mayor London Breed recently said the city will start an āaggressiveā campaign to clear encampments across the city in August. Her office noted that the governorās order does not affect the cityās operations.
āI applaud Governor Newsomās emphasis on urgency,ā Kathryn Barger, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors said in a statement. āHe rightfully points out that local government remains at the helm of homeless encampment removals. Cities have an obligation to develop housing and shelter solutions in tandem with support services provided by County government.ā
Even Republican lawmakers, who have repeatedly blasted Newsom over his handling of the crisis, are rallying behind the order Thursday.
āItās about damn time! Letting people live and die on the streets or in our parks is unsafe and unsanitary,ā Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones said in a statement. He added, āI am cautiously optimistic that the governor has finally taken note of the urgency of this problem, albeit many years later than needed.ā
Homeless people and advocates say the sweeps are cruel and a waste of taxpayer money. They say the answer is more housing, not crackdowns.
āYou get your highway off-ramp clean for a moment only,ā Democratic Assemblymember Alex Lee said on social media. āWithout meaningful services and housing, all sweeps do is making a prominent inequality less visible.ā
While Newsom cannot order local authorities to act, his administration can apply pressure by withholding money for counties and cities. In 2022, he threatened to withhold $1 billion in homelessness spending from local governments over the lack of progress.
Newsom touted that his administration has spent roughly $24 billion cleaning up streets and housing people but acknowledged the persistent issue. Newsomās administration has also come under fire recently after a state audit found that the state didnāt consistently track whether the huge amount of public money spent on this actually improved the situation.
Earlier this year, Newsom threw all of his political weight behind a ballot measure to allow the state to borrow nearly $6.4 billion to build 4,350 housing units, which passed with a razor-thin margin.
The order comes as Republicans have stepped up their criticisms of Vice President Kamala Harris ā a former California district attorney, attorney general and senator who just launched her presidential campaign. Harris entered the race over the weekend after President Joe Bidenās announced that he would not seek reelection.
Newsom himself has presidential ambitions, though he's said he wouldn't run against Harris or Biden. He has long been a top Biden campaign surrogate.
The timing of the executive order is ācuriousā given recent developments in the 2024 presidential race, California political analyst Brian Sobel said. He doubts though that Newsom's move would have much impact on Harris' campaign.
āHarris' problem isn't in California, because California is a done deal,ā he said. āWhere she needs to do well on issues like this are in swing states.ā
Rather, the order is a logical step for Newsom, who called himself the state's āhomeless czar," said Wesley Hussey, a political science professor at California State University, Sacramento.
āI donāt think itās being motivated by the presidential race as much as itās definitely something that Newsom cared a lot about,ā Hussey said. āIf youāre going to put it in a political context of the election, this isnāt going to magically fix the problem.ā