LA Board of Supervisors votes to put half-cent sales tax on November ballot

By ANUSHA SHANKAR, City News Service

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday, June 25, to place on the November ballot an initiative that would repeal the county’s quarter-cent sales tax for homelessness-prevention measures and replace it with an indefinite half-cent sales tax to be used for the same purpose.

The county Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s Office announced last week that backers of the Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions and Prevention Now measure had collected enough valid signatures to get the initiative on the ballot.

Supporters of the measure said they submitted more than 410,000 petition signatures, well above the required 238,922.

The ballot measure would repeal Measure H, a quarter-cent sales tax approved by county voters in 2017, and replace it with a half-cent sales tax to create a dedicated stream of revenue to address homelessness. Measure H had a 10-year lifespan, meaning it is set to expire in 2027.

The new proposed measure, if approved by voters, would not have a sunset date.

Backers say the new initiative would be a game changer for the county and its approach to addressing the homelessness crisis. Proponents have said the measure would produce $1.2 billion annually.

The coalition of supporters includes more than 80 organizations such as the L.A. County Federation of Labor, California Community Foundation, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, SEIU 721, among others.

They aim to focus more funding generated by the half-cent sales tax to build more affordable housing, increase access to mental health and substance abuse treatment, and bolster accountability measures — including a legal requirement to deliver results.

The proposed ballot measure notes that 60% of the revenue would cover costs for homelessness services and 15% of that would be distributed to cities based on the annual point-in-time count of homeless people. Another 35.75% would support the L.A. County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency, which was created last year by the state Legislature to oversee homeless solutions.

Yvonne Wheeler, President of the L.A. County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO called the joint efforts to get signatures “an incredible achievement,” adding, “The Housing and Homeless Solution Measure will build affordable housing for workers and for all income levels across the county.”

Miguel Santana, CEO of the California Community Foundation and a former Los Angeles city administrative officer, called the measure a “people-driven initiative.

“The reason I’m here today and why CCF so proudly supports this initiative is this will provide long-term systemic and accountable change to get the results all Angelenos deserve.”

Before the board voted, Supervisor Hilda Solis rattled off a list of projects and services that have been funded through Measure H — countering claims by some critics who say there’s no accounting for how the money is being spent.

“Since Los Angeles voters passed Measure H back in 2017, the county has placed well over 108,000 people into permanent housing and another 148,000 have been moved into interim housing and over 34,000 individuals have been prevented from falling into homelessness,” she said.

Solis also added that the 2024-25 budget includes $58.7 million from Measure H to support the county’s Pathway Home Program, “which is tackling the encampments and offering immediate access to interim housing.”

Addressing the state budget cuts announced Saturday, Supervisor Holly Mitchell said the initiative will be a “game changer” amid potentially dramatic financial losses many affordable housing programs could face due to the state budget deficit.

“This measure has the potential of annually providing $1 billion dollars for services to those already experiencing homelessness and funding again to (the L.A. County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency) to actually produce new housing,” Mitchell said.