Los Angeles County, California, Sales Tax for Homeless Services and Prevention, Measure H (March 2017)
| Measure H: Los Angeles County Sales Tax for Homeless Services and Prevention |
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| The basics |
| Election date: |
| March 7, 2017 |
| Status: |
 ApprovedMajority required: 66.67% |
| Topic: |
| Local sales tax Expires in: 10 years |
| Related articles |
| Local sales tax on the ballot March 7, 2017 ballot measures in California Los Angeles County, California ballot measures County tax on the ballot |
| See also |
| Los Angeles County, California |
A sales tax measure to fund homeless services and prevention was on the ballot for Los Angeles County voters in Los Angeles County, California, on March 7, 2017. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of authorizing a 0.25 percent county sales tax for 10 years in order to fund homeless services and prevention. |
| A no vote was a vote against authorizing a 0.25 percent county sales tax for 10 years in order to fund homeless services and prevention. |
The specific services and programs to be funded by Measure H would comply with the "Approved Strategies to Combat Homelessness," which was drafted by the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative and approved by the county board of supervisors on February 9, 2016. A copy of this document is available here.
A two-thirds (66.67%) vote was required for the approval of Measure H.
Election results
| Measure H | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 585,905 | 69.34% | ||
| No | 259,098 | 30.66% | ||
- Election results from Los Angeles County Elections Office
Text of measure
Ballot question
The following question appeared on the ballot:[1]
| “ | Los Angeles County Plan to Prevent and Combat Homelessness.
Los Angeles County Plan to Prevent and Combat Homelessness. To fund mental health, substance abuse treatment, health care, education, job training, rental subsidies, emergency and affordable housing, transportation, outreach, prevention, and supportive services for homeless children, families, foster youth, veterans, battered women, seniors, disabled individuals, and other homeless adults; shall voters authorize Ordinance No. 2017-0001 to levy a ¼ cent sales tax for ten years, with independent annual audits and citizens’ oversight?[2] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of Los Angeles County Counsel:[3]
| “ |
Approval of Measure H (“Measure”) would authorize the County of Los Angeles (“County”) to impose a one-quarter percent (0.25%) special transactions and use tax on the gross receipts of any retailer from the sale of all personal property in the incorporated and unincorporated territory of the County (“Tax”). This Measure was placed on the ballot by resolution of the County Board of Supervisors (“Board”) and, if approved, will result in the enactment of Ordinance No. 2017-0001 (“Ordinance”). Proceeds from the Tax will be used to generate ongoing funding to prevent and combat homelessness within Los Angeles County, including funding mental health, substance abuse treatment, health care, education, job training, rental and housing subsidies, case management and services, emergency and affordable housing, transportation, outreach, prevention, and supportive services for homeless children, families, foster youth, veterans, battered women, seniors, disabled individuals, and other homeless adults, consistent with the strategies developed through the Homeless Initiative adopted by the Board, and as otherwise directed by the Board to address the causes and effects of homelessness. The Ordinance provides that the County shall contract with the California State Board of Equalization (“SBE”) to administer the Tax. The Ordinance requires the SBE contract ensure the combined local transactions and use tax rate limit (currently two (2) percent) is not exceeded in any city or district such that the Tax, when aggregated with all other transactions and use taxes within the city or district subject to the combined rate limit will (1) not cause the rate of all such taxes to exceed the combined rate limit, (2) not cause any person subject to the Tax to pay more than combined rate, and (3) have no impact on the revenue received by each city and district from transactions and use taxes previously imposed. The Tax will commence the latter of the first day of the first calendar quarter that is more than 110 days after approval of this Measure or the first day of the first calendar quarter after the execution of the SBE contract (“Commencement Date”). The Tax will expire ten (10) years after the Commencement Date. If this Tax is approved by voters, the County Auditor-Controller shall have an independent auditor prepare and file a report with the Board by December 31 of each year the Tax is imposed. The report shall state: (1) the amount of Tax revenues collected and expended each year; and (2) the status of any project and description of services or programs funded from proceeds of the Tax. If approved, the Measure creates a Citizens’ Oversight Advisory Board composed of five members appointed by the Board which shall review semi-annually all expenditures from the Tax, annually publish a complete accounting of all allocations each year, and submit periodic evaluations to the County. The Tax proceeds shall be deposited into a special account, created and maintained by the County, and shall only be used for the specific purposes outlined in the Ordinance. This Measure requires a two-thirds (2/3) vote for passage.[2] |
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Full text
The full text of the ordinance that approval of Measure H enacted is available here.
Support
A Vote Yes on H campaign was launched to urge voters to approve the measure.[4]
Supporters
The following individuals signed the official argument in support of Measure H:[3]
- Jackie Lacey, L.A. County District Attorney
- Elise Buik, United Way of Greater Los Angeles
- Mary Leslie, President - Los Angeles Business Council
- Yvette J. Kelley, President & CEO, New Directions For Veterans
- Alex Johnson, Executive Director, Children’s Defense Fund-California
The Los Angeles Times editorial board endorsed a yes vote on Measure H.[5]
A full list of endorsements of Measure H can be found here.
Arguments in favor
| "Vote Yes on Measure H!" video |
Supporters of Measure H made the following arguments:[4]
- funds from Measure H would be used to prevent and end homelessness for tens of thousands of people across the county;
- homelessness is a large problem in LA county and it is only going to grow unless something is done.
- funds will be used responsibly;
- Measure H was designed to set up a citizen committee to monitor the use of Measure H revenue.
- revenue from Measure H is legally restricted to homeless prevention, so it will not be used for other services.
The Los Angeles Times editorial board wrote:[5]
| “ |
There are no easy or fast fixes for homelessness. If there were, we would not have 47,000 homeless people in Los Angeles County. We cannot shoo homeless people off our streets or out of their parked cars and off to some netherworld. But providing people the help they need to get and stay housed depends on Measure H.[2] |
” |
Official arguments
The following argument in support of Measure H was submitted for inclusion on the ballot:[3]
| “ |
Vote YES on Measure H to help end homelessness in L.A. County. The growing homeless crisis is disrupting nearly every community in the county — compromising public health and safety and hurting local businesses. The longer we wait, the more expensive it will be to help the 47,000+ homeless population, including many women and children. We need to act now to help them get off the streets and into housing with services. The Board of Supervisors, including Democrats and Republicans, unanimously voted to place Measure H on the ballot and declared a State of Emergency, with the support of a broad coalition of health and mental health service providers, business leaders, paramedics, firefighters, religious and neighborhood leaders because it will provide essential treatment and services to get the homeless off the street. They don’t just need housing – they need health/mental health treatment, job training and counseling. Measure H would accomplish just that. In just the first five years, the proceeds of Measure H would enable 45,000 families/individuals to exit homelessness into permanent housing and help an additional 30,000 families/individuals avoid homelessness. — Over 4,000 local children are homeless, and they are sick four times more often and four times more likely to show delayed development. Measure H will work to ensure all children are protected. — It is our duty to help the veterans who have sacrificed for us by assisting them in dealing with the effects of combat trauma and drug addiction, finding jobs, and making sure they have homes. Measure H will help stabilize the homeless veterans population. — One in three of the homeless in L.A. County are women who are especially vulnerable to rape and assault. Measure H will help women get off the street. Please do your part to help end homelessness throughout L.A. County and Vote YES on Measure H.[2] |
” |
Opposition
Arguments against
Opponents of Measure H made the following arguments:[6][7]
- Measure H would not actually be able to prevent or eliminate homelessness;
- spending more money on homeless services is not the solution to the homeless problem;
- Measure H would just be another tax increase that fails to achieve a significant result;
- taxes in Los Angeles county are already too high.
Brian Baker, in a column for The Signal, wrote the following:[6]
| “ |
When is enough going to be enough? Because let’s face it; when this program ends up not actually “preventing” homelessness, which is exactly how things will turn out, what do you think is going to happen? They’re going to come back to the well for another drink. Yet another tax increase in some form or another will be put on the table. The very personification of “creeping socialism.” Let’s put a stop to this right now. Vote “no” on Measure H.[2] |
” |
Nick VaVerka posted an argument in opposition to Measure H on KFI AM 640:[7]
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It's a 1/4 cent sales tax that will last ten years. The County already has money to take care of this stuff, and it doesn't know how to spend it. Throwing more money at the homeless problem won't fix it.[2] |
” |
According to KCET, the following are the chief arguments in opposition to Measure H:[8]
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Official arguments
No organized opposition campaign against Measure H was formed, and no official arguments in opposition to Measure H were submitted for inclusion on the ballot.
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a unanimous vote of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in December 2015.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Los Angeles County Local sales tax Measure H. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- Los Angeles County Elections Office website
- Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative, "Approved Strategies to Combat Homelessness"
Support
Footnotes
- ↑ Los Angeles County Elections Office, "CONSOLIDATED MUNICIPAL AND SPECIAL ELECTIONS MARCH 7, 2017: MEASURES APPEARING ON THE BALLOT," accessed January 8, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Los Angeles County Elections Office, "Sample Ballot for Election on March 7, 2017," accessed February 2, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Vote Yes on H, "Home," accessed February 2, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Los Angeles Times, "Endorsement Homeless people don't just need housing – they need services to get and stay housed. Vote yes on Measure H," February 18, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Signal, "Brian Baker: High cost of feel-good taxes," February 15, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 KFI AM 640, "Vote NO on L.A. County Measure H!" February 25, 2017
- ↑ KCET, "Measure H in 90 Seconds," February 8, 2017
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