SACRAMENTO, CA – Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday unveiled a new statewide initiative aimed at giving local governments clear guidance and legal tools to address homeless encampments swiftly and humanely. The announcement comes alongside the release of $3.3 billion in new Proposition 1 funds to support behavioral health housing and treatment services.
The centerpiece of the initiative is a model ordinance that cities and counties can adopt immediately to manage encampments that pose health and safety risks to unhoused individuals and surrounding communities. It outlines procedures that emphasize notice, outreach, and shelter placements—paired with clear enforcement provisions.
“There’s nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets,” Governor Newsom said. “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. The time for inaction is over. There are no more excuses.”
The announcement represents a major step in the administration’s multi-pronged approach to homelessness. To date, the state has committed more than $27 billion toward housing, shelter, and behavioral health care. With Proposition 1 passing earlier this year, a fresh injection of billions will be available to help communities expand services and housing for the most vulnerable, including those with serious mental illness and substance use disorders.
Governor Newsom’s office emphasized that this latest model ordinance builds on the state’s 2024 executive order, which called for faster, coordinated action at the local level to resolve unsafe encampments and provide real pathways into housing and care.
The model ordinance, which will be distributed to every city and county, lays out a framework for local jurisdictions to regulate and clear encampments in a way that complies with both public safety standards and recent legal rulings. Its provisions include restrictions on persistent camping in one location, prohibitions on encampments that obstruct sidewalks and public passageways, and mandatory notice and outreach requirements. These include a minimum of 48 hours’ notice before any clearing, engagement with service providers, and proper storage of belongings.
According to the administration, the model reflects a strategy the state has already deployed along Caltrans rights-of-way, which has resulted in over 16,000 encampments cleared and more than 311,000 cubic yards of waste removed since July 2021. Officials say these outcomes show the policy is effective and scalable and can be implemented broadly with the right mix of urgency, resources, and compassion.
The ordinance aims to walk a careful line between enforcement and care, providing local governments with a legal foundation to act while insisting on basic procedural safeguards. It mandates outreach to service providers, notice to affected individuals, and continuity of care through shelter referrals and case management. The Newsom administration notes that encampments often expose unhoused residents to disproportionate risks—including theft, violence, sexual assault, and disease. The model policy is designed to mitigate those dangers while offering structured exits from homelessness.
As part of the rollout, the state is promoting a new transparency tool: accountability.ca.gov, a data dashboard that tracks local progress on homelessness and housing production. The tool aggregates thousands of locally reported data points, allowing the public to see which communities are delivering results—and which are falling short. This approach mirrors the administration’s growing emphasis on local accountability. While the state has significantly increased funding, it has also passed legislation tying those funds to results. Under laws like SB 1338 and AB 799, cities must now provide detailed plans for spending homelessness dollars and meeting performance benchmarks.
Despite persistent challenges, Newsom’s office pointed to encouraging trends in California’s homelessness data. While the nation saw an 18% spike in homelessness in 2024, California held its increase to just 3%—a lower rate than 40 other states. The state also posted the largest reduction in veteran homelessness nationwide last year and has seen modest progress in stemming the growth of unsheltered homelessness, which increased by just 0.45% in 2024—far below the 7% national average.
Administration officials argue these numbers show that state-led coordination, coupled with significant investments, is starting to make a dent. But, they emphasize, more must be done—especially at the local level.
Governor Newsom’s push for faster encampment resolution has also gained traction from a key 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which upheld the right of jurisdictions to regulate public camping under certain conditions, provided that shelter is available. This legal clarity has emboldened state and local leaders to act. The model ordinance is being promoted as a constitutionally sound, actionable tool that complies with the ruling while reinforcing California’s values of dignity, care, and housing-first solutions.
The administration has made it clear that jurisdictions can no longer cite legal ambiguity or funding limitations as reasons for inaction. With legal authority now reaffirmed, and billions in new resources flowing to local governments, the expectation is clear: address unsafe encampments now, and do it with care.
With local governments under increased scrutiny and the state demanding measurable results, the pressure is mounting for cities and counties to either adopt the new model ordinance—or explain why they’re not.
Governor Newsom’s message is unequivocal: the status quo is not acceptable, and cities must step up.
“We’ve created the path forward,” Newsom said. “It’s time for every local government in this state to walk it.”
