SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order Thursday to direct state agencies to clear homeless encampments, a month after a Supreme Court ruling allowing cities to ban overnight outdoor sleeping in public places.
Newsom’s order targets the thousands of tents and makeshift shelters across the state that line highways, clog mall parking lots and fill city parks. The order makes clear that the decision to clear the encampments remains in the hands of local authorities.
The order follows a U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this summer allowing cities to ban overnight outdoor camping in public places. The case was the most significant on the issue to be argued before the Supreme Court in decades, and comes at a time when cities across the country are wrestling with the politically complicated question of how to deal with rising numbers of homeless people and public frustration over related health and safety issues.
Newsom’s administration backed the cities’ argument with a letter saying previous rulings had prevented the state from addressing a critical problem, including one that barred San Francisco from clearing encampments until more shelter space was available.
“There are simply no more excuses. It’s time for everyone to do their part,” Newsom said in a statement.
While Newsom cannot order local authorities to take action, his administration can exert pressure by withholding funds from counties and cities.
About a third of the nation’s homeless live in California, a problem that has dogged Newsom since he took office. Newsom has boasted that his administration has spent about $24 billion cleaning streets and housing people, but acknowledged that the problem is persistent. Newsom’s administration has also recently come under fire after a state audit found that the state was not consistently tracking whether the huge spending of public money was actually improving the situation.
Newsom has worked difficult to address the problem. Earlier this year, he threw all his political weight behind a ballot proposal that would have allowed the state to borrow nearly $6.4 billion to build 4,350 housing units. But the proposal passed by a razor-thin margin.
The order comes as Republicans have ramped up their criticism of California and its homelessness crisis, while Vice President Kamala Harris – a former district attorney, attorney general and senator from California – launches her presidential campaign. Harris entered the race over the weekend after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election. Newsom himself has presidential ambitions.
The timing of the order is “odd,” said California political analyst Brian Sobel, but he doubts Newsom’s move would have much of an impact on Harris’ campaign.
“Harris’ problem is not in California, because everything is a done deal there,” he said. “Where she needs to do well on such issues are the swing states.”
Rather, the order is a logical step for Newsom, who has called himself the state’s “homeless czar” and made homelessness a central political issue in recent years, says Wesley Hussey, professor of political science at California State University, Sacramento.
“I don’t think it’s motivated so much by the presidential campaign, but it’s definitely something that Newsom cared about a lot,” Hussey said. “If you put it in the political context of the election, it’s not going to magically solve the problem.”
Newsom’s decision was praised by local politicians and business groups, who said they had no way to address the homeless encampments before the Supreme Court’s decision. San Francisco Mayor London Breed recently said the city would launch an “aggressive” campaign to clear encampments across the city in August. Her office noted that the governor’s order does not affect city operations.
“I applaud Governor Newsom’s emphasis on urgency,” said Kathryn Barger, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, in a statement. “He rightly points out that local government continues to take the lead in clearing homeless encampments. Cities have an obligation to develop housing and shelter solutions in parallel with the support services provided by county government.”
Homeless people and their advocates say the raids are cruel and a waste of taxpayers’ money. They say the answer lies in more housing, not harsh raids.
Under Newsom’s order, state agencies — including state parks and the Department of Transportation — would have to prioritize clearing encampments that pose safety risks, such as those camping along waterways. Officials should provide advance notice of the eviction, connect homeless people with local services and support them store their belongings for at least 60 days. Local cities and counties are being asked to adopt similar protocols.
