SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Governor Gavin Newsom broke from tradition to focus his 2020 State of the State Address almost entirely on a single issue: homelessness.

After some brief opening remarks that included an acknowledgment of California's robust economy and a non-too-subtle jab at President Donald Trump, Newsom took a deep dive into the topic of homelessness, and how his administration planned to address it.

During the address delivered before a joint convention of the California Legislature at the State Assembly Chamber, Governor Newsom spoke of replacing the state’s “scattershot approach with a coordinated crisis-level response.” He advocated dealing with the crisis by leveraging a new comprehensive and multi-tiered program to get people off the streets.

"The problem has persisted for decades — caused by massive failures in our mental health system and disinvestment in our social safety net," Newsom said.

Warning that the problem has become “normalized,” the governor made the case “that the State of California can no longer treat the homeless and housing insecure, as someone else’s problem.”

In response to the rampant problem, which at last count has seen the number of un-housed individuals in Los Angeles County swell to near 59,000, Newsom outlined a five-point framework for how his administration will tackle the crisis moving forward.

The framework included plans to reduce street homelessness quickly and humanely through emergency actions, a laser-focus on getting the mentally ill out of tents and into treatment, providing stable funding to get sustainable results, tackling the underproduction of affordable housing in California, and doing it all with “real accountability and consequences.”

Newsom talked about emergency actions already undertaken, including an Executive Order he issued in January, deploying emergency mobile housing trailers and services for homeless families and seniors. The first of these trailers have been deployed to Oakland and L.A. County. Newsom revealed that plans are underway to follow up with deployments to Santa Clara, Riverside, Contra Costa, and Sonoma Counties, along with the City of Stockton.

State properties including vacant lots, fairgrounds, armories, and state buildings are also being implemented in the state's plan under Newsom for housing the homeless.

Additionally, the Governor stated that his administration has directed Caltrans to make better use of unoccupied spaces for homeless housing. 

Addressing one of the often cited underlying causes of homelessness, Newsom also spoke of a new approach to tackling the state's housing shortfall in the form of a new California Access to Housing Fund. The fund as stated by the Governor, would provide "gap financing for innovative housing models like hotel/motel conversions and securing vacant units."

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Newsom  cited a need to cut the red tape when it came to housing the homeless. He also called on the state's legislature to invest $750 million into this fund. This would be in addition to the $1.5 billion Newsom cited that has already been allocated to help local governments tackle the broader homelessness problem.

In his addresss, Newsom proposed strict accountability and comprehensive audits to hold local governments responsible for implementing the plan in what the governor defined as a "do-it-of-lose-it" policy.

"It's time to match our big-hearted empathy with tight-fisted accountability," Newsom said.

Addressing the difficult balance required in dealing with the crisis, Newsom said all efforts must be undertaken "within the bounds of deep respect for civil liberties and personal freedoms —but with n equal emphasis on helping people into the life-saving treatment they need at the precise moment they need it."

In a seeming effort to strike a nonpartisan tone, Newsom stated that "homelessness isn't a blue or a red issue. It's an everyone issue."

In terms of a sustainable path forward for overcoming the homelessness problem, Newsom called for a massive increase in housing production and cited his administration's accomplishments to date in terms of cracking down on rent spikes and unjust evictions, while implementing renter protections. 

Newsom spoke of the need to build affordable housing near transit centers and downtown areas.

The governor closed on an optimistic note, stating "I don't think that homelessness can be solved. I know it can be solved."

He also cited his previous success as Mayor of San Francisco with Project Homeless Connect, an initiative that brought local government services directly to people. Project Homeless Connect has since been implemented in 250 other cities, including Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted that Newsom's plan was "ambitious" and called the Governor a "champion in the fight against homelessness."