Governor Newsom issued a strong warning to cities and counties across the state Thursday, urging them to start clearing out homeless camps so they can avoid losing state funding.
Newsom, who issued an executive order to remove encampments on state property last month, said homelessness is the biggest scar in the reputation of the state.
As he helped remove a homeless encampment in Mission Hills Thursday afternoon near the 5 Freeway and 118 Freeway interchange, he said he, like many Californians, is frustrated about makeshift shelters set up by the unhoused all over the state.
“I’m here on behalf of 40 million Californians who are fed up, I’m here because I’m one of them. I want to see results,” Newsom said.
Officials from the city and county of Los Angeles have been critical of the executive order, which does not mandate local cities to comply but could threaten state funding for non-compliant municipalities, with some local officials saying clearing out the camps will just move the unhoused from one area to another.
While Newom said he’s not specifically singling out Los Angeles County, he said any local government that isn’t following the directive should be prepared to lose state funding.
“Any county that wants to partner with us and step up with a sense of urgency that can demonstrably produce results, we’re going to double down on our support. Any county that’s not interested in that, and holding on to stale talking points from the 70’s and 80’s, we’re not interested in continuing to fund you,” he said.
Newsom said the state will start reducing funding for homelessness in the next budget for any county that doesn’t follow the order.
“I’m a taxpayer, not just the Governor. It’s not complicated. We’ll send that money to counties that are producing results,” Newsom added.