Newsom points finger at cities and counties for failing to get people off the street

Whose fault is the California homelessness crisis?

According to Gov. Gavin Newsom, cities and counties are to blame for failing to get people off the street — despite all the money he’s given them to do so.

That was the message the governor pushed Thursday as he signed a package of housing and homelessness bills at an event in San Francisco with legislators, carpenters’ union members, and members of the press.

“There’s never been more support to address all of those concerns than in the last four or five years,” Newsom said. “So what gives? Time to do your job. Time to address the crisis of encampments on the streets in this state. And yes, I’m not going to back off from that. And you will see that reflected in my January budget. I’m going to fund success and I’m not going to fund the rhetoric of failure anymore.”

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Newsom says of cities: 'They need to participate'

When asked by a reporter how the state will make sure cities such as San Francisco meet their housing goals, Newsom said: “(It’s) not the state’s job to figure out how to do that.” Instead, Newsom said his office is focused on enforcing housing laws; It threatened the city of Norwalk with legal action earlier this week.

“No local government, no local jurisdiction, no local entity needs to do everything,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta, also at Thursday’s press conference. “But every jurisdiction, every local government needs to do something. They need to participate. They need to build housing in their jurisdiction.”

Speaking at an affordable housing development in San Francisco, Newsom also gave an update on the $6.4 billion mental health and housing bond passed earlier this year. The state will use $2.2 billion to extend Homekey, which helps cities and counties turn hotels and other buildings into homeless housing. The new program, dubbed Homekey+, will start doling out funds in May 2025 for housing for people with mental health and/or substance use disorders.

About the bills

The 32 housing and homelessness bills Newsom signed Thursday include:

• SB 1395 by Sen. Josh Becker: makes it easier for cities and counties to use tiny homes as temporary housing for homeless residents
• SB 450 by Sen. Toni Atkins: works out kinks in a controversial 2021 upzoning law
• AB 1893 by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks: updates the controversial “builder’s remedy” law 
• AB 799 by Assemblymember Luz Rivas: lays out requirements for reporting on the outcomes of state-funded homelessness programs

SB 7 by Sen. Catherine Blakespear: requires local governments to plan housing for their lowest-income residents