Wave Staff and Wire Reports
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom has given state agencies the green light to get rid of homeless encampments statewide.
His executive order issued July 25 followed a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court permitting states to crack down on makeshift camps set up by homeless persons.
Newsom’s order authorizes state and local governments to clear camps and directs them to adopt policies and mobilize resources to do so within an orderly and sustainable framework.
“This executive order directs state agencies to move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them — and provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same,” Newsom said. “The state has been hard at work to address this crisis on our streets. There are simply no more excuses. It’s time for everyone to do their part.”
While Newsom lacks the authority to mandate action, he can influence local decisions through the allocation of billions in state funds for homelessness initiatives.
Several mayors and other elected officials expressed concerns about the order but expressed a willingness to work with the governor and state agencies to address the issue.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she looks forward to collaborating with the state.
“Strategies that just move people along from one neighborhood to the next or give citations instead of housing do not work,” Bass said.
“I applaud Governor Newsom’s emphasis on urgency,” county Supervisor Kathryn Barger said in a statement. “He 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.
“This formula, which is largely based on partnerships, is how we can deliver permanent results,” Barger added. “No single entity can achieve that.”
Lindsey Horvath, chair of the county Board of Supervisors and the L.A. Homeless Services Authority Commission, also commended the governor’s decision.
“Los Angeles County’s Pathway Home Program is doing exactly what this state order calls for — urgent and humane encampment resolution,” Horvath said in a statement. “Los Angeles County is — and has been — all in on doing our part under our homelessness emergency.”
Supervisor Hilda Solis echoed Horvath’s sentiments, adding the homelessness crisis can “only be solved with a coordinated and unified response.” Solis said she would introduce a motion at the board’s next meeting, aimed at developing a countywide strategy for addressing encampments.
“Moving people from one community to another does not resolve their homelessness,” Solis said in a statement.
Supervisor Janice Hahn described encampments as “not safe” for anyone or residents around them. Similarly to Horavth, Hahn claimed Newsom is ordering state agencies to mirror what the county is doing with its Pathway Home Program and bringing people inside.
“I have asked our county departments to double down on this effort and I am celebrating the $51 million grant we received from Gov. Newsom’s administration to use this strategy to address encampments along the [Glenn Anderson] 105 Freeway. This work needs to begin as quickly as possible,” Hahn said in a statement.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones of San Diego praised the governor for his timely executive order.
Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts applauded Newsom’s order.
“In Inglewood, we have long enforced the concept of public right of way being unimpeded,” he said. “The governor is the leader of the state. His order will result in increased order and public safety, particularly in relation to the streets and highways of California.”
Compton Mayor Emma Sharif also had praise for the governor.
“I commend Governor Newsom for his partnership in urgently addressing the housing crisis affecting our state,” she said. “In Compton, we are committed to prioritizing the safety and well-being of our residents, both housed and unhoused, and will work diligently to provide safe, sustainable housing solutions. We look forward to working with the state, Los Angeles County, neighboring cities, and nonprofit organizations to provide shelter for those experiencing homelessness.”
L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia issued a statement that said repeatedly clearing homeless encampments does “not help reduce homelessness or encampment numbers over time.”
Mejia’s office cited findings published by the RAND Corporation July 24 that found that the homeless in three L.A. areas with frequent encampment clearings just returned within months between 2021 and 2023.
Bass questioned the RAND study and L.A. City Councilwoman Traci Park, who represents Venice — one of the communities mentioned in the RAND study — criticized the findings, saying efforts to reduce encampments from 2023 onward have been successful.
Mejia urged Bass and City Council to ban criminalizing homelessness, and the City Attorney’s Office not to enforce laws that punish unhoused individuals.
“The city of Los Angeles must reject Gov. Newsom’s injumane, unproven policy,” Mejia wrote in his statement.
Los Angeles City Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez echoed Mejia’s comments on X, saying “We must continue to pursue solutions that we know will create lasting change, not revert to criminalization and displacement.”
In reaction to Newsom’s announcement, Chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County Timothy O’Reilly told City News Service that Newsom’s efforts to solve homelessness have been “empty promises.”
“While we are hopeful that his encouragement of local agencies will prompt Los Angeles to stop being a mecca for broken souls, Angelenos have seen all-talk, no-action moves from the city and the county before,” O’Reilly said in his statement. “You would think that after billions of dollars of spending, our streets, public parks and libraries would be clean and usable by all residents, and that the mentally ill and drug-addicted would be getting the help they so sorely need.”
The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on June 28 reversed a ruling by a San Francisco appeals court that found outdoor sleeping bans amount to cruel and unusual punishment when there is no available shelter space for the homeless. The ruling of the Supreme Court’s majority found the 8th Amendment does not apply to outdoor sleeping bans.
The case originated in the rural Oregon town of Grants Pass, which appealed a ruling striking down local ordinances that fined people $295 for sleeping outside after tents began crowding public parks. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over nine Western states, ruled in 2018 that such bans violate the 8th Amendment of those who are in areas where there are not enough shelter beds.
