Governor releases encampment ordinance and Prop. 1 funds ahead of May Revise

By CarolineGrinder, legislative advocate (community services)

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday released a model ordinance for local governments to address encampments and awarded the first round of Proposition 1 funding. The announcement came just days before his revised May budget, which included no new funding to help cities prevent and reduce homelessness.

It also comes after the administration placed an inflated price tag on a Cal Cities co-sponsored bill that would increase coordination between state agencies and cities when addressing encampments.

"When it comes to addressing homelessness, the question is not how many cities have encampment ordinances," said Cal Cities Executive Director and CEO Carolyn Coleman in a statement. "It is whether cities have the ongoing funding from the state to match the scale of the crisis."

What's in the ordinance?

The model ordinance mirrors a 2024 executive order that directed state agencies to address encampments on state property and encouraged local governments to adopt similar policies. The ordinance has three main components:

1. It would make it unlawful to sleep three consecutive days on public property.
2. It would require city officials to provide notice 48 hours before enforcement action.
3. It would require agencies to store personal belongings for 60 days.

The state also awarded over $3 billion in Prop. 1 funding. Cal Cities supported the $6 billion behavioral health bond on the ballot back in March 2024. While this funding will create over 5,000 behavioral treatment beds across California, it cannot be used to implement the Governor's encampment order.

A recent Cal Cities survey reveals that cities are hard at work addressing encampments in their communities. Eight in 10 cities already have policies or ordinances in place to address encampments. Nearly 40% recently updated their ordinances to align with last year's executive order.

Perhaps more telling: Four in 10 cities cite coordinating with state agencies as a top barrier to addressing encampments in their communities.

Encampment coordination bill gets high price tag ahead of key committee

Despite the Governor's interest in expediting local efforts to address encampments, his own office has placed an inflated price tag on SB 569 (Blakespear). Co-sponsored by Cal Cities, the bill would increase communication and coordination between state agencies and cities when addressing encampments on state property.

Extensive reporting by CalMatters found that it sometimes takes Caltrans, the state agency tasked with encampment resolutions on state-owned property, months to respond to requests to address encampments. The agency doesn't consistently notify cities about planned removals, and in at least one case, it's not clear if Caltrans is offering services to people.

SB 569's large price tag will make it challenging for lawmakers to move it off the Senate Appropriations' suspense file next week. Cities should call Senate Appropriations Committee members and urge them to support this important measure.