California Just Made a Big Move on Homelessness

Emboldened by a major Supreme Court decision in June, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has just taken a big step toward removing many of the state's homeless encampments:

• New order: Newsom issued an executive order telling state agencies to take down encampments within their jurisdictions, reports the Los Angeles Times. He also encouraged—but did not require—cities to do the same. However, the governor could pressure them to act by withholding money for cities and counties, per the AP.
• Humanely: Newsom emphasized that the people in such encampments should be treated humanely. "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," Newsom said, per CNN. "There are simply no more excuses. It's time for everyone to do their part."

• Context: Homeless encampments have sprung up all over the US, but they are most prevalent in California, whose homeless population is estimated to be 180,000, per the New York Times. In June, the Supreme Court cleared the way for municipalities to ban people from sleeping outdoors, overturning a lower court ruling that it was unconstitutional to do so. The ruling was out of Oregon, but it's now being applied elsewhere. Most jurisdictions in California do not guarantee a right to housing, unlike New York City, for example.
• Criticism: The governor "could have issued this order before the (Supreme Court) decision," Chris Herring, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of California Los Angeles, tells CNN. "The only difference now is that states and localities are free to confine and arrest people even when there is no shelter available."
• Politics: The complexity of the issue has divided Democrats in California and elsewhere, and the Times takes note of the political stakes. Republicans have blamed rising homelessness on the policies of Newsom and other Democratic leaders, "and they are expected to do the same with (Kamala) Harris in the coming weeks."

(More homeless encampment stories.)