What to know about California Gov. Gavin Newsom's move to ban encampments

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California's governor called upon the state's cities and counties to ban homeless encampments this week, even providing blueprint legislation for dismantling the tents lining streets, parks and waterways throughout much of the state.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, made homelessness a priority of his administration when he took office in 2019. It had previously been an issue primarily for mayors and other local officials, but Newsom pumped money into converting old motels into housing and launched other initiatives to tackle the issue.

Still, he has repeatedly called out cities and counties to do their part, and on Monday, he unveiled draft language that can be adopted by local governments to remove encampments. Here is what to know:

Newsom’s model ordinance includes prohibitions on “persistent camping” in one location and encampments blocking sidewalks and other public spaces. It asks cities and counties to provide notice and make every reasonable effort to identify and offer shelter before clearing an encampment.

Organizations representing California's cities and counties balked at the suggestion that they are to blame for street conditions. They say they need dedicated, sustained funding over multiple years for permanent projects instead of sporadic, one-time funding.

Carolyn Coleman, executive director and CEO of the League of California Cities, said that eight in 10 cities have policies to address encampments but they need money to address the root causes of homelessness, such as more housing.

The California State Association of Counties said the state has not provided as much money to address homelessness as it says it has and that half of the money has gone to housing developers.

Studies have shown that encampment bans and other punitive measures make it even harder for people to find stable housing and work, said Alex Visotzky with the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

People may lose critical documents or lose contact with a trusted case manager, forcing them to start all over again.

In Los Angeles, Jay Joshua watches over a small encampment in which he also lives. He says encampments can be a safe space for those living there.

Major cities with Democratic mayors have already started cracking down on encampments, saying they present a public health and safety hazard.

In San Francisco, new mayor Daniel Lurie vowed to clean up city sidewalks. In San Jose, Mayor Matt Mahan has proposed arrests if a person refuses shelter three times.

Newsom can't make cities and counties adopt an encampment ban.

But the proposed encampment legislation was paired with an announcement of $3.3 billion in grant money for facilities to treat mental health and substance abuse disorders, suggesting that he could condition state funding on compliance.

In 2022, he paused $1 billion in state money for local government, saying that their plans to reduce homelessness fell short of the acceptable.

A person sleeps on a sidewalk, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Jay Joshua cleans up around a homeless encampment where he currently lives, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Tents are set up in a homeless encampment Monday, May 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Scott Robertson Serge eats lunch in a homeless encampment where he currently lives, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A man carries a mattress into a tent set up on a sidewalk, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

LONDON (AP) — The U.K.'s home secretary on Wednesday urged the head of one of the country's leading police forces to resign following a report on how fans from Israeli soccer team Maccabi Tel Aviv were banned from a match against Premier League side Aston Villa in Birmingham last year.

Shabana Mahmood told lawmakers that the independent report found “a failure of leadership” on the part of West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford, adding that he "no longer has my confidence.”

The ban came at a time of heightened concerns about antisemitism in Britain following a deadly attack on a Manchester synagogue and calls from Palestinians and their supporters for a sports boycott of Israel over the war with Hamas in Gaza.

The decision to ban Maccabi fans from the match with Aston Villa on Nov. 6 was widely criticized, including by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

West Midlands Police said at the time it had deemed the match to be high risk “based on current intelligence and previous incidents,” including violence and hate crimes that took place when Maccabi played Ajax in Amsterdam last season.

Guildford did not immediately comment on the report Wednesday.

Mahmood said the report by the chief inspector of constabulary, Andy Cooke, found that West Midlands Police had overstated the threat posed by Maccabi fans while understating the potential risks to them, and “conducted little engagement with the Jewish community" before a decision was taken.

She said the report noted that "the force sought only the evidence to support their desired position to ban the fans.” The report did not find the police force was antisemitic.

Mahmood also noted a police reference at the time to a nonexistent match between Maccabi and Premier League side West Ham in 2023, which was deemed to be an “AI hallucination.” Guildford previously denied that AI was to blame for that error but apologized for it Wednesday ahead of the report’s publication.

Mahmood said she didn't have the power to fire Guildford herself as a result of a policy change by the previous Conservative government in 2011, but she was looking to reinstate that power to home secretaries. Currently, locally elected police and crime commissioners have that power.

FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, is reflected as Britain's Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood speaks to members of the Jewish community at the Community Security Trust (CST) in north west London, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (Carlos Jasso, Pool Photo via AP, file)

FILE - Maccabi Tel Aviv's fan is escorted by police ahead of the Europa League soccer match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Birmingham, England, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Darren Staples, file)