California governor vows to defund cities and counties that don’t clear out encampments

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom had a message for local governments Thursday: Clean up homeless encampments now or lose state funding next year.

Standing in front of an evicted homeless encampment in Los Angeles, Newsom vowed to begin withdrawing state funding from cities and counties that aren’t doing enough to get people out of camps and into shelters. The governor joined the California Department of Transportation, known as Caltrans, on Thursday in evicting several encampments in the area.

“I want to see the results,” Newsom told reporters at a news conference. “I don’t want to read about them. I don’t want to see the data. I want to see them.”

Thursday’s announcement was part of Newsom’s growing campaign to pressure local governments to conduct more raids on homeless encampments. Last month, Newsom ordered state agencies to begin clearing encampments on state land. He also pressured local government to do the same, though he can’t legally force them to act.

The executive order came after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that said governments could not force people to leave encampments if shelter beds were unavailable. Newsom’s administration wrote in support of the cities’ arguments that previous rulings, including one barring San Francisco from evicting encampments, have prevented the state from solving a critical problem.

California is home to about a third of the country’s homeless population, a problem that has dogged Newsom since he took office. There are thousands of tents and makeshift shelters across the state lining freeways and filling parking lots and public parks.

The state has spent roughly $24 billion under Newsom’s leadership to clear streets and house people. That includes at least $3.2 billion in grants given to local government to build shelters, clear encampments and connect homeless people with services they deem necessary, Newsom said.

These have been unprecedented investments by the state, he added, but his administration will begin to redirect that money in January.

“This is not about criminalization,” Newsom said. “What is criminal is neglecting the people who struggle, suffer and die on our watch.”

It’s not the first time Newsom has promised to cut funding over what he sees as lackluster efforts by local governments to address homelessness. In 2022, he threatened to withhold $1 billion in homeless spending from cities and counties over a lack of progress. Last month, his office took back a $10 million grant sent to San Diego to build tiny houses because the county didn’t act quickly enough.

The mayor of San Francisco has taken more aggressive steps to clear out the encampments.

But others, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles County officials, have responded by saying the governor’s approach won’t work. Newsom on Thursday praised Bass’s work in successfully reducing the number of people sleeping rough in Los Angeles and added that his frustration is directed primarily at the counties.

The California State Association of Counties, which represents 58 California counties, said it would not comment on the governor’s announcement Thursday. Instead, a spokesperson pointed to a statement in response to Newsom’s order last month that counties “will continue to work alongside the governor and share his sense of urgency.”