California governor wants cities, counties to enact homeless camp bans

Bloomberg News

California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants local governments to take a hard line on homeless encampments in conjunction with the release of $3.3 billion in grants from the Proposition 1 bond measure.

The $6.4 billion bond measure was approved by voters in 2024 to expand behavioral health housing and treatment options for mentally ill and homeless people.

The funding is not contingent on cities banning encampments.

Newsom released a model ordinance Monday for cities and counties that would ban tent camps on sidewalks, bike paths and in parks.

"Local leaders asked for resources — we delivered the largest state investment in history. They asked for legal clarity — the courts delivered," Newsom said in a statement. "Now, we're giving them a model they can put to work immediately, with urgency and humanity, to resolve encampments and connect people to shelter, housing and care."

The governor renewed a call for every local government to adopt and implement policies without delay, invoking last year's U.S. Supreme Court decision.

The high court handed down a 6-3 opinion in June reversing a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that restricted the ability of states and cities to clear homeless encampments unless there are "adequate" shelter options available.

The state has allocated $27 billion in various programs to eradicate homelessness since Newsom was elected governor in 2018, he said. The state and major cities have allocated billions of dollars in bond funds to support efforts.

The ordinance language instructs local governments to tailor programs to fit local needs. The governor's model cites as an example, restricting camping at all times in certain locations, such as near schools, or limiting camping to no more than one night in the same location.

Though the model would appear to criminalize homelessness, it also instructs localities to ensure interim housing options are available — and that "no person should face criminal punishment for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go."

When the Supreme Court decision came down last year, the mayors of San Diego and San Francisco lauded it, saying it strengthened camping bans they installed.

But Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she has had success with her "voluntary" Inside Safe program, which has housed more than 4,000 people and cleared 86 encampments since its inception in December 2022.

Los Angeles experienced a 2.2% decrease in homelessness, and a 38% drop in makeshift shelters county-wide in 2024 compared to a year earlier, according to a greater Los Angeles homeless count released in June 2024.

Despite his call to action, the governor's office said the state's 3% growth in homelessness indicates it is holding the line on homelessness while nationwide homelessness has increased by 18%.