SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California filed a lawsuit against a Los Angeles suburb on Monday, claiming the city’s recent moratorium on homeless shelters and temporary housing violates the state’s fair housing and anti-discrimination laws.

The lawsuit is part of an ongoing effort by Gov. Gavin Newsom to push back on what he sees as local resistance and defiance of state law in the face of California’s desperate need for new housing. The crisis has led to an increase in the homeless population in the nation’s most populous state.

Norwalk, a city of 100,000 about 15 miles southeast of Los Angeles, is becoming the latest city to face legal action from the state over housing policies. That came after the city council voted in September to extend a temporary ban on new homeless shelters and emergency housing.

City council members in a recent statement said Norwalk has done its fair share to address the homelessness crisis, but past state programs, including one that places homeless people in motel rooms, have led to concerns regarding public safety. The moratorium, which remains in effect until next year, already blocked a Los Angeles County plan in September to move homeless people into a city hotel.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleges the city violated a half-dozen housing laws by enacting such a moratorium. Ask the court to stop the city law.

“Our message is clear, our message is consistent,” Attorney General Rob Bonta said Monday. “If local governments try to circumvent state housing laws, if they refuse to do the bare minimum to address California’s dire shortage of affordable and affordable housing. , we will hold them accountable.”

Monday’s lawsuit comes after Newsom publicly criticized Norwalk and urged local elected officials to reconsider the policy. In September, the state warned the city of potential legal action and last month revoked the city’s housing plan, effectively disqualifying it from receiving state funding for housing and homeless programs. Bonta said state officials also met with the city last week, but to no avail.

“The failure of the Norwalk City Council to overturn this ban, despite knowing it to be illegal, is inexcusable,” Newsom said in a statement Monday. “No community should turn its back on its residents in need.”

The city’s mayor and a city spokesman did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment about the lawsuit.

California has stepped up enforcement of state housing laws in recent years. He sued at least two cities last year for rejecting affordable housing projects and homeless shelters. Last month, Newsom also signed a package of 32 housing bills to make it easier for the state to go after local cities that defy housing laws.

The lawsuit is likely to escalate the conflict between state and local governments over how many housing projects cities should approve and how quickly they should build them. California needs to build 2.5 million homes by 2030 to keep up with demand, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development. But the state averages only about 100,000 new homes a year, including just 10,000 affordable units.

The Democratic governor, who has ambitions on the national stage, has made housing and homelessness a top priority as California’s leader. His administration has spent about $40 billion to help build affordable housing and $27 billion on homelessness solutions. Earlier this summer, he began pressuring local governments to clean up encampments that lined streets and cluttered business entrances, even threatening to withdraw state funding next year if he didn’t see results.