LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Governor Gavin Newsom sent a clear message to local governments on Thursday, saying the process of clearing homeless camps in counties like Los Angeles County is progressing too slowly.

Speaking in front of an evacuated homeless camp in Los Angeles, Newsom vowed to cut federal funding from cities and counties that do not do enough to move people from the camps into emergency shelters. This could happen as early as January.

“We’re tired of the excuses. The last big excuse was, ‘Well, the courts say there’s nothing we can do.’ Well, that’s not the case anymore, so we had a simple injunction: Do your job,” Newsom said. “There are no more excuses. You have the money, you have the flexibility, you have the green light, you have the state’s support and the public is demanding it of you.”

Thursday’s announcement was part of Newsom’s escalating campaign to pressure local governments to do more encampment clearances. Newsom had ordered state agencies last month to begin clearing encampments on state land. He also put pressure on local governments to do the same, even though he cannot legally force them to do so.

The order came after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that said governments cannot force people to leave their encampments if no shelter is available. Newsom’s administration backed up the cities’ arguments with a letter saying that previous rulings, including one that barred San Francisco from clearing encampments, had prevented the state from addressing a critical problem.

Newsom praised the city of Los Angeles and Mayor Karen Bass’s Inside Safe program, but argued that Los Angeles County’s claim that the executive order criminalizes homelessness is incorrect because it sets out a strategy for services and supports.

Most Los Angeles county supervisors are in Paris for the Olympics, but Eyewitness News spoke with County Supervisor Kathryn Barger on Friday, who said the homeless crisis cannot be solved by pointing fingers.

“I would love to explain to the governor what we are doing, because that is what we are doing,” she said. “I am not going to criticize him for issuing this order, because actually I support what he wants to do. My goal is for us all to be moving in the same direction. You can go in and clear the encampment, but if you don’t coordinate with the various surrounding jurisdictions, you are just shifting the problem.”

Barger says Pathway Home was modeled after Inside Safe, and while it takes longer than the 48-hour notice Caltrans gives camps under the executive order, it works, she says.

“We are on the same team. We are (elected officials) “We’re working in a great state to get him back where he needs to be. It’s not him versus us or us versus him,” Barger said.

A statement from Los Angeles County said in part: “New beds must be created to accommodate large numbers of patients requiring closed facilities for involuntary treatment. Without these steps, the work of getting people off the streets for their own health and safety would fail. That does not mean Los Angeles County is standing still. Our Pathway Home program to resolve the refugee camps has already moved hundreds of people indoors, and we have also fully supported the City of Los Angeles’ Inside Safe program, which has provided shelter to thousands of others.”

The county also said the Pacoima encampment, which the governor helped clear on Thursday, had previously been visited by county-funded relief teams offering shelter.

About a third of the country’s homeless live in California, a problem that has dogged Newsom since he took office. Across the state, thousands of tents and makeshift shelters line highways and fill parking lots and public parks.

The state has spent about $24 billion under Newsom’s leadership to clean up streets and house people. That includes at least $3.2 billion in grants to local governments to build shelters, clear encampments and provide services to the homeless as they see fit, Newsom said.

These are unprecedented investments by the state, he added, but his government will begin redirecting these funds from 2025.

“This is not about criminalization,” Newsom said. “What is criminal is neglecting people who are struggling, suffering and dying on our watch.”

This is not the first time Newsom has announced plans to cut funding because of what he sees as lacking efforts by local governments to combat homelessness. In 2022, he threatened to withhold $1 billion in funding from cities and counties to combat homelessness due to a lack of progress. Last month, his office cut a $10 million grant that had been sent to San Diego to build tiny homes because the county had not responded quickly enough.

The mayor of San Francisco has taken a more aggressive approach to clearing the camps.

The California State Association of Counties, which represents 58 counties in California, said it would not comment on the governor’s announcement Thursday. A spokesperson instead referred to a statement in response to Newsom’s order last month that counties “will continue to work with the governor and share his sense of urgency.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.