SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Thursday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom told state agencies to start clearing homeless camps on state land. This was his boldest move yet, coming after the Supreme Court said cities could ban people from sleeping outside in public places.
This order tells state agencies to “move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and helping the people living in them.” It also tells cities and counties what to do, which puts pressure on them to follow the order even though they are not legally required to.
About one-third of the homeless people in the country live in California. This has been a problem for Newsom since he became governor. A lot of tents and other makeshift shelters are set up along the state’s roads, in public parks, and parking lots.
As directed by Newsom, state agencies such as the Department of Transportation and state parks would have to clear out camps that pose safety risks first, like those near rivers. Officials should let homeless people know “reasonably” early, offer to help them connect with local services, and store their things for at least 60 days. Cities and counties in the area are being pushed to follow the same rules.
A lower court decision from last month was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. The lower court said that governments could not force people to leave camps if there were no shelter places available. The case was the most important one about the issue to come before the high court in many years. It’s been hard for cities all over the country to figure out how to deal with the growing number of people who don’t have a stable place to live and the public’s anger over health and safety problems that come with it.
Newsom’s administration wrote in support of the cities’ claims that past decisions, such as one that said San Francisco couldn’t clear out encampments, had stopped the state from addressing a very important issue.
“There are no more excuses at all.” “It’s time for everyone to step up,” Newsom said in a note Thursday.
Some local officials and business groups praised Newsom’s move, saying that they had no other choice but to deal with homeless camps before the Supreme Court’s decision. Mayor London Breed of San Francisco recently said that the city will begin an “aggressive” effort in August to get rid of all the tent cities that are set up around the city. The governor’s order does not change how the city works, according to her office.
Kathryn Barger, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said in a statement, “I applaud Governor Newsom’s focus on urgency.” “He is right to point out that the local government is still in charge of removing homeless camps.” Along with the help that the County government provides, cities have to come up with answers for housing and shelter.
Republicans in the legislature have been very critical of Newsom’s handling of the situation, but they are now supporting the order on Thursday.
“It’s about damn time!” This is not safe or clean to let people live and die on the streets or in our parks, said Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones in a statement. He also said, “I am cautiously optimistic that the governor has finally taken note of how important this problem is, even though it is many years later than it should have been.”
Advocates and homeless people say the sweeps are cruel and a waste of tax money. They say that crackdowns are not the answer but more homes.
Dem. Assemblymember Alex Lee said on social media, “You get your highway off-ramp clean for a moment only.” “Sweeps only hide a big problem when they don’t provide housing or services that matter.”
Newsom can’t tell local governments what to do, but his government can put pressure on them by not giving counties and towns money. In 2022, he said he would not give local governments $1 billion in funds for homeless people if they didn’t make progress.
Newsom said that his government had spent about $24 billion cleaning up the streets and finding homes for people, but he admitted that the problem was still there. A recent state report found that the state didn’t always keep track of whether the huge amount of public money spent on this actually made things better. This led to more criticism of Newsom’s administration.
This year, Newsom put all of his political weight behind a measure on the vote that would have let the state borrow almost $6.4 billion to build 4,350 homes. The measure narrowly passed with a very small majority.
Republicans have been harsher on Vice President Kamala Harris, who is from California and is running for president after running as a senator, attorney general, and district attorney. President Joe Biden said over the weekend that he would not run for reelection, which is when Harris joined the race.
Newsom also wants to be president, but he has said he won’t run against Harris or Biden. He has long been an important Biden campaign worker.
Brian Sobel, a political analyst in California, said that the date of the executive order is “curious” given recent events in the race for president in 2024. He doesn’t think Newsom’s move will have much of an effect on Harris’ campaign, though.
His issue isn’t with California, he said, “because California is set.” “Swing states are where she needs to do well on these kinds of issues.”
Professor of political science at California State University, Sacramento Wesley Hussey said that the order is the next step that Newsom should take since he called himself the state’s “homeless czar.”
“I don’t think it has as much to do with the presidential race as it does with something that Newsom cared a lot about,” Hussey said. “This isn’t going to magically solve the problem if you compare it to politics and the election.”
