Some LA County leaders want clarity on Newsom's 'expectations' after state order to clear encampments

Elected leaders in the city and county of Los Angeles are offering mixed reviews of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s threat to cut off state funding to local governments that don’t do more to remove homeless encampments from public spaces.

Some hailed Newsom’s effort to light a fire underneath local governments, but others complained the governor’s criteria for progress is unclear.

“I think it really comes down to what the governor’s expectations are,” said L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger.

Newsom issued the warning last week during a news conference in Pacoima, where he was helping Caltrans workers clean up trash from an encampment near a freeway overpass. Last month, he ordered state agencies to clear encampments on state land.

The governor cannot directly order local governments to remove tents from public places but he can pull back state money by the tens of millions if they don’t. The governor said his comments last week were directed more at what counties, rather than cities, need to do to address the problem of homelessness.

“I want to see results,” Newsom said. “We’re done with the excuses.”

An ‘indictment’ of counties

The governor said cities and counties in the L.A. area alone have received $144 million in encampment resolution grants in recent years, yet he is not seeing enough progress.

“You’ve got the money, you’ve got the flexibility, you’ve got the green light, you’ve got the support from the state and the public is demanding it of you,” Newsom said.

In June, the U.S, Supreme Court granted cities more power to arrest, cite and fine people who sleep outside in public places. The ruling overturned six years of legal protections for homeless residents in California and other western states.

“I’ll be candid with you, this is more broadly an indictment of counties,” Newsom added last week.

“I hear the governor’s frustration,” said Barger, whose supervisory district includes Pasadena, Burbank, Glendale and Santa Clarita. “My constituents are frustrated, too.”

She wondered aloud what would trigger a cut in funding by Newsom. She said it was unclear "exactly what threshold" would be used.

“I think it would be helpful to understand what the expectation is,” she said.

The California State Association of Counties, which represents the state’s 58 counties, did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

In his news conference, Newsom faulted L.A. County for delaying implementation of a conservatorship law that expands the criteria by which people can be detained against their wills by police and crisis teams. Many unhoused people were dealing with debilitating mental illnesses or severe substance use disorder.

“They said they wanted reforms on conservatorships. They have it,” Newsom said. “But they aren’t even implementing conservatorship programs in L.A. County.

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath cited “the immense amount of work” that is going to be required to implement the law by Jan. 1, 2026.

The 2024 point-in-time count found that 24% of unhoused people over the age of 18 self-reported that they live with a serious mental illness, according to the Los Angeles Homelessness Services Authority, which conducts the count. That amounts to more than 15,600 people who are unhoused and living with a serious mental illness like schizophrenia.

Barger defended the county’s progress on addressing homelessness.

“Is it fast enough? No, but this problem did not happen overnight,” she said. “I’m confident we are going to get it done.” The governor defended himself against accusations by some advocates that removing homeless encampments is criminalizing unhoused people.

“This is not about criminalization,” he said. “What’s criminal is neglecting people that are struggling and suffering and die on our watch.”

City of LA may be spared

It's not the first time Newsom has threatened to cut homelessness funding. He did so in 2022.

And last month he followed through on it. His office clawed back a $10 million from San Diego County that was supposed to build tiny homes. Newsom said the county wasn’t acting fast enough.

In his remarks last week, the governor indicated he did not intend to take money away from the city of L.A.

“This, by the way, is not an indictment of L.A. city,” he said. “In fact, I want to applaud Mayor (Karen) Bass. She saw a 10.4% reduction in unsheltered homelessness last year.”

“She’s been a good partner,” Newsom said.

Bass favors providing services and housing to unhoused people before removing their tents from the streets.

“Strategies that just move people along from one neighborhood to the next or give citations instead of housing do not work,” Bass said after Newsom issued his state order. “We thank the Governor for his partnership thus far and hope that he will continue collaboration on strategies that work.”

L.A. City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield praised praised the governor’s effort to turn up the heat.

“Go Gavin!” Blumenfield said. “He’s basically saying that we as local governments… need to move on a balanced approach, which includes providing housing and services but also includes making certain areas off-limits to encampments.”

Why focus on encampments?

Other elected leaders acknowledged the governor was reflecting deep frustration over the homelessness crisis, but wondered about his focus on encampments.

“Sometimes when people talk about getting rid of encampments, they talk about that because it's easier to talk about that than it is to talk about how to get the system to work right,” said L.A City Councilmember Nithya Raman.

The governor said he would begin evaluating whether to defund homelessness programs that don’t measure up to his standards during the budget process that starts in January.

Raman said state funding has been key to L.A.’s efforts.

“The progress we have made in addressing homelessness here in the city of Los Angeles would not have been possible without the state support, without this governor’s support,” she said.

The governor would not be able to arbitrarily cut homelessness funding, according to Fernando Guerra, director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University. He would need to set up some criteria for progress.

“They have to be fair about it,” said. “If you're picking out one city, it's problematic. But when you are picking out a class of cities or counties, it's a lot easier.”

In any case, the threat is good politics for Newsom, Guerra said, because he appears to be addressing the most visible and pressing issue of the day.

“It makes it look like ‘I’m doing things’ instead of just sitting back,” he said.

The annual homeless count estimated 45,252 people were unhoused in the city of L.A. at the time of the January tally, including an estimated 29,275 people living unsheltered.

In the rest of L.A. County, the count shows unsheltered homelessness increasing slightly, by about 3%. Overall, 75,312 people were estimated to be unhoused countywide.

Editor's note: Guerra is a lifetime trustee on LAist's board of directors.