California governor urges cities to 'take back the streets' from homeless
May 12 (Reuters) - California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday urged localities to "take back the streets" from homeless encampments, proposing language for every city and county to use in a local ban on camping in public.
Newsom, a Democrat often mentioned as a potential presidential candidate for 2028, has taken a harder line on homelessness as California's unhoused population has grown to 180,000. His stance has alienated some liberal allies who advocate affordable housing over crackdowns.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled a year ago it was legal to ban camping in public even when there is no shelter space available, 42 of California's 482 cities and two of its 58 counties have passed some form of a camping ban, according to the National Homelessness Law Center.
Nationwide, some 160 cities and counties have passed similar bans in response to increasingly visible homelessness, with people pitching tents on sidewalks and public spaces.
"It is time to take back the streets. It's time to take back the sidewalks. It's time to take these encampments and provide alternatives," Newsom, who filed a brief before the Supreme Court last year supporting camping bans, told a press conference.
While urging compassion and dignity, Newsom's model ordinance would ban camping or semi-permanent structures on public land and allow city officials to remove them provided they notify the unhoused at least 48 hours in advance.
The proposal requires city officials to "make every reasonable effort" to provide shelter for those affected. An introduction to the proposal states, "No person should face criminal punishment for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go."
The announcement drew criticism from homeless advocates who said it fails to address the root cause of housing shortages and soaring housing costs.
"This is a problem that built up through years and years of under investment, and it's going to take some level of consistency and commitment to the problem to actually make headway," said Alex Visotzky, a fellow at the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
The Cicero Institute, a conservative think tank, urged California to follow the example of Republican-led states that have passed laws allowing them to sue cities that fail to clear encampments.
"This approach is far more effective in ensuring that cities are not derelict in their duties to protect the homeless and the public alike," said Devon Kurtz, public safety policy director for the Cicero Institute.
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