SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — In an executive order Thursday, California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered state agencies to respect the dignity of people who are homeless in California while clearing homeless encampments.
The order includes clear policies for handling public camps, while respecting the dignity and safety of Californians experiencing homelessness. Newsom also urged local governments to use substantial funding coming from the state to support people removed from camps.
“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,” he said in a statement Thursday.
After the Supreme Court’s June decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson left jurisdictions the power to make decisions about managing homeless encampments — including enforcing anti-public camping ordinances — Newsom said local governments now have the tools and authority to address encampments and provide vital services to those living in them.
His executive order directs state agencies and departments to adopt “humane and dignified” policies, including taking steps to notify and support people inhabiting an encampment before removing it from public land.
The governor also urged agencies to adopt policies consistent with the California Department of Transportation's existing encampment policy.
Caltrans, as it's known locally, is required to give people substantial advance notice before clearing an encampment and work with local service providers to support those experiencing homelessness and store any personal property collected for at least 60 days.
Since July 2021, Caltrans has helped clear more than 11,000 encampments, removing 248,275 cubic yards of debris from encampments along the state right of way.
Newsom encouraged local governments to follow the state’s lead and apply for grants from a $3.3 billion fund established in Proposition 1 to provide care for people experiencing mental health conditions and substance use disorders. The proposition — which focuses on people who are seriously ill, vulnerable or homeless — also includes a $6.4 billion behavioral health bond for treatment settings and housing with services.
California recently released a primer that explains how counties may spend a projected $950 million annual revenue on housing interventions.
Newsom’s administration in previous years developed a plan for preventing and ending homelessness. The governor demanded more accountability from local governments in facing the statewide homelessness crisis and put $4.85 billion toward housing assistance and prevention grants for local jurisdictions; $1 billion to assist local jurisdictions to support people living in encampments; and $3.3 billion for Homekey to rapidly expand emergency housing options.
The governor’s office said these investments helped lift more than 165,000 people out of homelessness and into interim or permanent housing between 2022 and 2023.
The Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson found that enforcing city laws regulating camping on public property does not constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” as prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in dissent that the originating city of Grants Pass, Oregon, was punishing people for their status of homelessness and criticized the ruling for allowing cities to carry out similar policies.
In the wake of the ruling, cities around Northern California began taking strong-armed actions and telling homeless people living in encampments that they have the ability to use anti-public camping ordinances.
Oakland officials this week removed encampments near the San Francisco Bay Bridge. San Francisco Mayor London Breed said that she plans to start clearing encampments within the city during the month of August, following the Ninth Circuit’s removal of part of a court injunction preventing enforcement actions.
The Bay Area Council, a business-sponsored, public-policy advocacy organization for the nine-county region, said Thursday that it approves of Newsom’s order.
"This is not about criminalizing the unhoused, it’s about meeting our responsibility to help our neighbors,” said Jim Wunderman, the council's president and CEO.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California also said in a statement Thursday that Newsom's approval of Caltrans to clear encampments is alarming, given that the state agency recently settled lawsuits from advocates claiming it unlawfully seized and destroyed people's belongings, for $1.3 million.
"Once again, elected officials are demonstrating a disregard for human dignity and have opted to address a systemic problem with a superficial fix," the ACLU said. "Politicians appear more concerned about optics and the visibility of homelessness than they are with providing services and tackling California’s affordable housing crisis."
Eric Tars, attorney and director at the National Homeless Law Center, said the order could worsen the homelessness crisis because it doesn't include strategies to prioritize sustainable, long-term housing and support for people.
Newsom’s order prioritizes removing encampments without explicitly stating that every person in encampments will have access to funds and housing once they’re displaced, Tars noted.
He said the only way to eliminate homeless encampments is to ensure that every person living in them has safe, affordable housing. “All of this hurts everyone, but it falls hardest on Black and Brown communities, and will take California further away from the state’s own racial equity goals," Tars said.
Tars said he expects to see more lawsuits filed on behalf of homeless residents displaced across the state as a large number of people face removal.
“More people continue to fall into homelessness than the homeless system can take out," Tars said. "It means that most likely, people are going to end up being displaced without having any alternatives. That means they’ll either go to jail, or somewhere else with even fewer resources.”
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