SAN FRANCISCO - California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered agencies to remove homeless encampments on state land and urged local officials to follow suit, citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last month allowing cities to enforce bans on sleeping in public spaces. "In the past, the courts have denied the ability for local government, including the state, to clean up many of these encampments," Newsom said in a Facebook video discussing his executive order. " ... We have now no excuse with the Supreme Court decision." California is home to more than 180,000 unhoused people - nearly a third of the country's total - and almost 70 percent of them live without shelter outside, a larger share than in any other state, according to federal statistics.

Source: Washington Post July 26, 2024 04:55 UTC