Newsom orders removal of homeless encampments following Supreme Court ruling

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) ordered the removal of homeless encampments in the state following the recent Supreme Court ruling that empowers cities to enforce bans on sleeping outside in public.

Newsom’s executive order directs state agencies and departments to develop “clear policies” to “urgently address” the thousands of homeless encampments located across California, his office said Thursday.

The order requires agencies to prioritize clearing encampments with safety risks and to provide advance notice of the clearance. Officials were also told to work with local service providers who can support the people at the encampments and help store their belongings for at least 60 days.

“I don’t think there’s anything more urgent and more frustrating than addressing the issue of encampments in the state of California,” Newsom said Thursday in a video.

The governor noted that the courts previously prevented the local government and state from cleaning up the encampments, but the Supreme Court decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson changes things.

In the decision, the high court ruled cities can ticket homeless people for camping in public even when there is no alternative shelter available.

The justices sided 6-3 with the Oregon city of Grants Pass, which asked the high court to review a lower court’s decision blocking the enforcement of a public camping ordinance.

The lower court initially determined banning camping where shelter beds were limited amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, but Grants Pass officials argued the restrictions imposed by the decision prevented them from implementing “common sense” laws against camping in some public places.

“Today I announced an executive order to move the process forward. We’re done, it’s time to move with urgency at the local level to clean up these sites, to focus on public health and focus on public safety. There are no longer any excuses,” Newsom said. “We now have no excuse with the Supreme Court decision.”

California has so far invested more than $1 billion in encampment resolution grants to clean up homeless encampments and address the underlying issues, per the governor.

California has about one-third of the nation’s population of homeless people, and Newsom has been a vocal advocate for addressing the issue. His office touted his administration has spent about $24 billion total to clean up the streets and house people.

Earlier this year, he supported a ballot measure to allow the state to borrow about $6.4 billion to build 4,350 housing units, which passed with a thin margin, The Associated Press reported.