A month after the Supreme Court’s decision to permit cities to enforce prohibitions on sleeping outside in public spaces, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on Thursday that instructs state agencies on how to start cracking down on homeless encampments.
Newsom’s order is directed at the thousands of tents and makeshift shelters that occupy municipal parks, clog shopping center parking lots, and line freeways throughout the state.
The order explicitly states that the decision to eliminate the encampments is in the hands of the local community.
The order is the result of a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this summer, which authorized cities to enforce prohibitions on sleeping outside in public spaces.
This case was the most significant on the subject to be heard by the high court in decades.
It was brought to the court in response to the politically complex issue of how to address the increasing number of individuals without permanent housing and public frustration over related health and safety concerns.
Cities throughout the nation have been grappling with this issue.
Although Newsom is unable to compel local authorities to take action, his administration can exert pressure by withholding funding for counties and cities.
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