Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that he will cut funding for cities and counties that fail to reduce homelessness, according to CNN.
Newsom issued an executive order in July that greenlit the removal of homeless encampments on state property. Now, the Golden State’s governor is threatening to redirect funds from jurisdictions that don’t enforce the policy, CNN reported. (RELATED: Gavin Newsom’s Budget Slashes Public Safety Funding, Expands Climate Programs Amid Massive Budget Deficit)
“If we don’t see demonstrable results, I’ll start to redirect money,” Newsom said at a press conference Thursday, according to the LA Times.
Newsom spent more on homelessness than any state and it only got worse. https://t.co/zZjfGAiIM5
— Carl Higbie (@CarlHigbie) August 9, 2024
The governor also called out municipal governments for not doing enough to combat California’s homelessness problem, despite “unprecedented resources,” CNN reported.
“No more excuses. You’ve got the money, you got the flexibility, you got the green light, you got support from the state, and the public is demanding it of you,” Newsom said, according to the outlet. “I’m here on behalf of 40 million Californians that are fed up. I’m here because I’m one of them. I want to see results.”
Newsom’s July executive order requires “state agencies to move urgently to address dangerous encampments,” according to a July press release.
The order comes after a June Supreme Court ruling upheld an Oregon city’s ban on camping on public property, effectively giving government officials the authority to regulate homeless encampments on public property. It also follows years of surging homelessness in the Golden State under his leadership, with the total number of homeless people in California rising 20% between 2019 and 2022, despite the state spending more than $24 billion to combat the problem during that period.
Prior to the executive order, Newsom’s policy proposals on homelessness often focused on increasing public housing. In 2023, Newsom helped put a $6.4 billion bond on the ballot that provided housing options for homeless individuals grappling with mental health and addiction issues. Meanwhile, in 2020, he signed an executive order deploying $150 million to house homeless Californians during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a 2020 press release.
“This is not one of those political things,” Newsom said at his press conference Thursday regarding the need to remove encampments. “This is a sincerely held belief that we need local government to step up. This is a crisis, act like it.”
Governor Newsom’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
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