California governor orders state agencies to remove homeless encampments
Gov. Gavin Newsom orders the state to remove homeless encampments.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered state agencies to remove homeless encampments from public property in one of the most sweeping reactions to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing such bans.
Newsom said he issued the executive order because the makeshift camps, which lack electricity and running water, pose an urgent public health and safety hazard.
The move was met with skepticism from homeless services providers who said it would do nothing to solve the crisis in a state with some of the most expensive housing in the country and with applause from some cities and counties that said they would follow suit and clear their own streets and sidewalks.
"That has been the biggest concern all along," said John Maceri, CEO of the Los Angeles-based social services provider The People Concern. "The broom theory of sweeping people from here to there, it doesn't solve anybody’s problem."
The executive order requires state agencies, such as the California State Parks department, to prioritize clearing encampments that pose the greatest safety risks and directs them to provide notice and to connect people living in the encampments with service providers that can help them store their belongings for at least 60 days.
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