Newsom Making New Attempt to Crack Down on Homeless Encampments

California Governor Gavin Newsom is trying again to crack down on the insane homeless encampments across the state, telling cities they have no option but to implement policies that will remove the makeshift tent camps lining freeways, underpasses, waterways, and downtown districts.

A press release from the governor’s office on Monday said it was providing cities a roadmap about how to “immediately address dangerous and unhealthy encampments,” with California accounting for a quarter of the homeless population in the U.S., with nearly 190,000 Californians in need of housing, the Associated Press reported.

California Gov. Newsom calls on cities to ban homeless encampments on public property https://t.co/kEgSvKgX86 pic.twitter.com/otHOVZ81iw
— New York Post (@nypost) May 12, 2025

“The time for inaction is over. There are no more excuses,” Newsom said in a statement to the AP.

As part of California’s ambitious push to tackle the nationwide homelessness crisis head-on, Governor Gavin Newsom released a model ordinance for cities and counties to address unhealthy and dangerous encampments. The Governor is calling on every local government to adopt and implement local policies without delay, backed by billions in state funding and authority affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. The model ordinance follows and builds on the Governor’s 2024 executive order, which urged all local jurisdictions to quickly address encampments and use state and local funding to connect people experiencing homelessness with the care and support they need.
This announcement is coupled with the release of $3.3 billion in voter-approved Proposition 1 funding, which will be made available later today to communities statewide to expand behavioral health housing and treatment options for the most seriously ill and homeless in California.

Newsom has spent billions of taxpayer dollars while in office to address the problem, but this is being seen as the first strict approach, The New York Times noted:

Mr. Newsom’s administration has raised and spent tens of billions of dollars on programs to bring homeless people into housing and to emphasize treatment. But his move on Monday marks a tougher approach to one of the more visible aspects of the homelessness crisis. The governor has created a template for a local ordinance that municipalities can adopt to outlaw encampments and clear existing ones.

It follows Newsom’s 2024 Executive Order N-1-24 which is based on the Supreme Court decision, "City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson et al." It reversed a lower court ruling that had “restricted the government’s authority to enforce laws regulating encampments, recognizing that jurisdictions may tailor their enforcement practices to reflect policy-driven approaches to addressing homelessness."

Supreme Court Rules Homeless Do Not Have a Right to Camp on Public Property

Newsom’s EO in 2024 states in part:

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: 1) Agencies and departments subject to my authority shall adopt policies, generally consistent with California Department of transportation’s Maintenance Policy Directive 1001-R1, to address encampments on state property, including through partnerships with other state and local agencies, and shall prioritize efforts to address encampments consistent with such policy.
"Addressing" these encampments, as you look through the entire order, may be interpreted to mean, "Enough is enough — we aren't going to allow you to camp on the streets and in public parks any longer."

As RedState has reported numerous times, Newsom has struggled to fix the homeless problem as the head of the Golden State. However, with his eyes on the presidency in 2028, he may have finally realized the homeless problem was created by his inaction.

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