Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom recently issued an executive order for California officials to dismantle homeless encampments across the Golden State.  For years, California’s cities have been plagued by rampant homelessness.  However, it appears that the state’s leadership is finally determined to take substantive action on the issue.

On Thursday, Newsom announced the initiative that directed state agencies to “urgently” clean up the homeless encampments in a manner that is respectful of “the dignity and safety of Californians experiencing homelessness.”  The move follows the recent Supreme Court decision in Grant Pass v Johnson, which ruled that localities have the authority to address dangerous homeless encampments.

“This executive order directs state agencies to move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them — and provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same. 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,” Newsom said in a statement.

Governor Newsom shared a video message to X in which he explained the executive order that “directs state agencies & urges locals to address encampments while connecting those living in them to housing & supportive services.”  Newsom explained that the recent ruling has removed the obstacle that courts previously imposed, while localities now have all the “tools” they need to address the homelessness problem that has persisted for decades

Newsom stated, “I don’t think there’s anything more urgent and more frustrating that addresses the issue of encampments in the state of California, of course, the last number of years, the state has stepped up, where in the past, we provided no support, no resources to cities and counties to clean up encampments like this. Today, we’ve invested now over $1 billion in encampment resolution grants not only clean up sites like this, but to address the underlying issue in the first place.

“One of the big issues, though, that has been an impediment, was the courts.  In the past, the courts have denied the ability of the local government, including the state, to clean up many of these encampments,” Newsom continued, illustrating the legal hurdles to cleaning up encampments.  The governor added, “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.”

The Democratic governor emphasized that in light of the Supreme Court ruling, localities in California no longer have “excuses,” so now they will push with “urgency” to utilize the investment provided by the state. “There are no longer any excuses.  A billion dollars the state has invested to support communities to clean up these encampments. We have now no excuse with the Supreme Court decision.  This executive order is about pushing that paradigm further and getting a sense of urgency that’s required of local government to do their job,” he concluded.

Watch Gov. Gavin Newsom’s video message about the new homelessness initiative below:

https://x.com/CAgovernor/status/1816502328671027395?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1816502328671027395%7Ctwgr%5E101044579aa8930abcc369a28cccf7a63d6c1efd%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.ca.gov%2F2024%2F07%2F25%2Fgovernor-newsom-orders-state-agencies-to-address-encampments-in-their-communities-with-urgency-and-dignity%2F