California Governor Gavin Newsom has threatened to withhold funding from cities and counties within the state if they do not accurately start to clean up homeless encampments.
This threat comes after the governor issued an executive order declaring that cities needed to start clearing out encampments that are on state land.
Newsom’s Executive Order
This executive order was issued by Newsom after the U.S. Supreme Court declared it wasn’t illegal for cities and counties to force people to leave homeless encampments.
After this ruling, Newsom quickly issued the order, telling California counties to get to work clearing out homeless tents.
Critics Blast Newsom
Homeless advocates have blasted Newsom and this executive order, as they feel that it could put homeless people in harm’s way, especially if these people end up being arrested.
Meanwhile, supporters of this move feel that Newsom is finally doing something to combat California’s difficult homelessness situation.
Every California County Is Different
So far, it appears that every California county has reacted differently to Newsom’s executive order.
As California is a very large state, counties differ in their ideas on how to fix the homelessness issue. However, Newsom has announced his intent to make sure all cities follow his mandate.
Newsom Threatens to Withhold Funding
Newsom recently stated that if cities and counties refused to accurately clean up homeless encampments in a timely manner, then he would withhold state funding next year.
These comments were made as Newsom stood in front of a cleared homeless encampment in Los Angeles.
Newsom Clears Out Tents
Newsom made these threats after joining the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in their efforts to clear several tent sites in this specific Los Angeles area.
Newsom explained that some California cities and counties aren’t doing enough to successfully move people out of these encampments and into shelters.
Newsom Wants to See Results
After making these threats of withholding funding, Newsom then explained that he didn’t want to be given data — he wanted to see the results.
“I want to see results,” he stated. “I don’t want to read about them. I don’t want to see the data. I want to see it.”
California’s Homelessness Crisis
This executive order from the governor — as well as his subsequent threats — comes as California continues to struggle to deal with an ongoing homelessness crisis.
About one-third of the U.S.’s homeless people population is in California. Since Newsom has become governor, this fact has remained a huge problem that he hasn’t yet been able to solve.
Newsom’s Efforts to Clean Up the Golden State
Newsom has put aside a lot of money in an effort to solve this crisis, as well as clean up the streets that are littered with tents and encampments.
So far, about $24 billion has been spent by California to house homeless people and clean up streets. Of this $24 billion, about $3.2 billion was given to local governments within the state to build shelters and help homeless people in different ways.
Criminalizing Homeless People
During these recent threats, Newsom also took the time to discuss the accusations that he’s out to criminalize homeless people if they continue to live in tents on the street.
He responded, “This is not about criminalization. What’s criminal is neglecting people that are struggling and suffering and dying on our watch.”
Newsom Has Threatened to Cut Funding Before
Newsom has made similar threats to California cities and counties before. In 2022, the California governor threatened to keep $1 billion from many cities and counties.
This money was supposed to go to homelessness spending. However, he claimed that many counties weren’t progressing at the speed they needed to be progressing.
Cities Begin to Follow Newsom’s Order
So far, it appears that some California cities have indeed agreed to follow Newsom’s order to clear encampments.
While Los Angeles officials have pushed back at the order in many ways, San Francisco has noticeably made more aggressive actions in clearing out tents and camps on their streets in recent weeks.
