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California Gov. Gavin Newsom has called on the state’s localities to address the presence of homeless encampments on their streets.

“There’s nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets,” said Newsom in a statement. “Local leaders asked for resources — we delivered the largest state investment in history. They asked for legal clarity — the courts delivered. Now, we’re giving them a model they can put to work immediately, with urgency and with humanity, to resolve encampments and connect people to shelter, housing, and care. The time for inaction is over. There are no more excuses.”

Newsom’s exhortation came with the release of a model ordinance for cities and counties to address unhealthy and dangerous encampments. The ordinance, which follows Newsom’s 2024 executive order on the subject, calls for the banning of “persistent camping in one location” and “encampments that block free passage on sidewalks.” It would also require local officials to “provide notice and make every reasonable effort to identify and offer shelter prior to clearing an encampment” while taking a “balanced approach to address and prevent encampments with compassion and care.”

Newsom’s announcement was coupled with the release of $3.3 billion in Proposition 1 funding to communities to expand behavioral health housing and treatment options for the state’s most seriously ill and homeless.

Photo: Gage Skidmore / Flickr Creative Commons