Gavin Newsom issues order to clear homeless encampments on California state land

California Gov. Gavin Newsom directed state agencies on Thursday to dismantle homeless encampments on state land after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for states and cities to move more aggressively.

Newsom’s order tells state agencies to identify sites where unhoused people have pitched tents and to make plans to relocate them. The Democratic governor is taking advantage of a high court ruling that overturned a ban on moving people off of public property unless there are sufficient shelter beds for them.

“The state has been hard at work to address this crisis on our streets,” Newsom said in a statement. “There are simply no more excuses.”

Homelessness has become a paramount issue in California and a political liability for Newsom and other Democrats as voter frustration has grown. Tents have proliferated around sidewalks, parks, and highway underpasses as the number of unhoused people trudges ever upwards.

The Newsom administration has poured billions of dollars into addressing the issue, but the governor has argued that he was hamstrung by court decisions limiting local governments from acting . He implored the Supreme Court to loosen those restrictions, aligning himself with Republicans and a conservative high court majority that he often opposes.

Thursday’s executive order expands on Newsom’s work more broadly to move people off the street. The California Highway Patrol has acted on thousands of sites in recent years — figures Newsom has touted as signs of progress — and the governor has clashed with local governments that he’s accused of dragging their feet, threatening to withhold funds .

Under the order, all state agencies must inventory encampments and formulate plans to begin addressing them. They will need to work with local service providers but, thanks to the Supreme Court decision, they do not need to ensure there are enough shelter beds for everyone before removing an encampment.

Newsom’s order drew some bipartisan praise from California mayors, including Stockton's Kevin Lincoln, a Republican, and San Diego's Todd Gloria, a Democrat.

Lincoln, who is also challenging Democratic Rep. Josh Harder for his seat in Congress, said Newsom’s order was a “critical moment” for the state to address “dangerous” homeless encampments and improve public safety.

Officials across California have been moving swiftly to ramp up encampment clearances since the top court ruling. San Francisco Mayor London Breed has promised a “very aggressive” sweep and Oakland has begun to move people .

But Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has taken a more cautious stance as one of the few Democratic officials in California to criticize the Supreme Court’s decision. Bass in a statement Thursday said she preferred a more comprehensive approach to homelessness “that leads with housing and services, not criminalization.”

“Strategies that just move people along from one neighborhood to the next or give citations instead of housing do not work,” Bass said in a statement. “We thank the Governor for his partnership thus far and hope that he will continue collaboration on strategies that work.”

Housing advocates, meanwhile, slammed Newsom’s move. Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the nonprofit National Low Income Housing Coalition, described Newsom’s order as a choice of “political expediency over real solutions” that will worsen homelessness.

“That’s not leadership, it’s cowardice,” Yentel said in an X post .