Newsom vows to withhold funds from California cities and counties that don’t clear homeless encampments

Governor Gavin Newsom is putting pressure on local cities and counties to comply with an order to dismantle homeless encampments across the state.

On Thursday afternoon, Newsom was seen clearing an encampment under the 5 Freeway in Mission Hills alongside Caltrans crews.

The executive order, signed on July 25, followed a recent Supreme Court decision giving local governments the authority to remove encampments and ticket people for camping in public.

The order urged officials to “address unsanitary and dangerous encampments within their communities and provide people experiencing homelessness in the encampments with the care and supportive services they need.”

The issue spans 88 cities in Los Angeles County, which has a combined homeless population of over 75,000 people.

The state of California has an estimated 180,000 unhoused people which is roughly one-third of the nation’s total homeless population.

Newsom called on California officials to “act with urgency to address dangerous encampments.” In a post on X, he said, “No more excuses. We’ve provided the time. We’ve provided the funds. Now it’s time for locals to do their job.”

Agencies are urged to prioritize clearing encampments after providing advance notice. While Newsom can’t force local authorities to act, his administration can apply pressure by withholding money and resources from counties and cities that fail to cooperate.

Some local officials, including L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, have criticized the move, saying that citing or arresting people in encampments is not a solution if doing so unfairly criminalizes them.

“My position has and continues to be that I do not believe the criminalization of homelessness is the right path,” said L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “I find it almost ludicrous to think that we’re going to issue $250 tickets to individuals who are unhoused who are then going to get another ticket and another ticket and then have a warrant out for their arrest…and for what?”

Under Newsom, the state has invested over $40 billion to boost affordable housing and over $27 billion to address homelessness.

“This is not about criminalization,” Newsom said on Thursday. “What’s criminal is neglecting people who are struggling, suffering and dying on our watch. We need local government to step up. This is a crisis. The state’s unprecedented billions of dollars of support? I’m not interested in providing that support and not seeing the results. I’m a taxpayer, not just the governor. It’s not complicated. We’ll send that money to counties that are producing results.”

The full text of Newsom’s executive order can be read here.

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