Governor Gavin Newsom is now suggesting that cities and counties solve homelessness in their areas, or face the consequences.
A Homelessness Advisory Council that Newsom created has recommended imposing tough sanctions on municipalities that don't do enough to to provide shelter to people who need it. Putting such a rule in place would require a ballot measure approved by voters.
Currently, operating homeless shelters is an optional service for local governments.
Without state mandates, the burden of providing assistance to homeless people can fall on bigger cities like San Francisco and Oakland while towns and counties don't take on the responsibility to the same extent, according to critics of the current model.
“There’s been no standard of care. There has been no accountability on any layer of government to reduce homelessness and that must change," said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who's also a member of Newsom's advisory council. "It should be the law that cities and counties are doing what they can with their existing powers and their existing funding to really reduce homelessness.”
Oakland's homeless population shot up by 47% form 2017 to 2018. The city is spending more to buy foreclosed properties and turn them over to developers building sub-market rate housing.
