California governor ordered that homeless encampments be removed. Has anything changed? BY WILLIAM MELHADO UPDATED AUGUST 26, 2024 12:04 PM
Residents of a homeless camp in midtown Sacramento are forced to move, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, during a Caltrans cleanup. “Imagine the bulldozers gonna come and the number they gave you for
services is literally disconnected,” says homeless activist. BY HECTOR AMEZCUA Reality Check is a Bee series holding officials and organizations accountable and shining a light on their decisions.
Have a tip? Email realitycheck@sacbee.com. One month after Gov. Gavin Newsom escalated his approach to clearing homeless encampments from state property, progress has been slow.
“There are no longer excuses,” Newsom said in a July 25 video, unveiling an executive order that directed state departments to replicate a well-worn policy from the California Department of Transportation to move people and their belongings off of state property. Since then, Caltrans has removed 142 encampments around the state as of Aug. 15, according to data provided by the department, while other state agencies have yet to take any measurable action. During fiscal year 2023, Caltrans removed 2,682 encampments from state property, for an average of about 223 per month. The removals conducted this past July and August occurred at about the same rate.
An outlier was fiscal year 2024, which ended June 30, when Caltrans removed significantly more encampments — 7,083 — around the state. Over the past three years, Caltrans said it has cleared over 11,000 encampments and 250,000 cubic yards of debris found at these sites.
In that span, those sweeps removed more than 38,000 people from those encampments,
according to the department’s data. Based on the data provided, the numbers can fluctuate, with many more sweeps conducted some months and fewer in others. Since Newsom issued the order,
Caltrans has continued conducting homeless sweeps, relying on its existing infrastructure across the state that includes private contractors who are responsible for collecting items at the sites, throwing away debris and cleaning the spaces. Other state departments already have existing policies that need to be updated or are in the process of writing their own versions of Caltrans’
guidelines, spokespersons said.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles told The Sacramento Bee that there currently are not any encampments on any of its properties. In the event there are people living on the department’s property, the DMV will follow guidelines set by Caltrans’ policy, which includes hiring outside contractors to do the work, department Public Information Officer Ronald Ongtoaboc said.
California State Parks said the governor’s executive order complements the department’s existing policy on homeless encampments. The Department of Parks and Recreation manual outlines similar guidelines to Caltrans’ policy, the agency said in an email. When removing an encampment, state parks employees should collect and store items, notify people living in encampments ahead of the sweep and connect those individuals to services.
The Department of General Services told The Bee it is still in the process of drafting its policy, but expects it to be completed soon. The governor’s directive came after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling empowered local governments to take more aggressive actions, like arrests or fines, against people who lack other shelter and camp in public areas. Newsom urged California cities and counties to pick up the pace on clearing encampments. And he’s threatening to withhold funding from counties that don’t make swifter progress on an issue that has beleaguered the state for years.
“It’s time to move with urgency at the local level to clean up these sites, to focus on public health, to
focus on public safety,” Newsom said.
