Will Voters Decide to Extend, Increase Homelessness Sales Tax?

Los Angeles County voters will weigh in again Tuesday on a measure aimed at paying the region’s way out of homelessness, this time by replacing an expiring sales tax with a higher levy without a sunset date.

If approved by a majority of county voters, Measure A would repeal a quarter-cent county sales tax approved by voters in 2017 under then-Measure H. That sales tax had a 10-year lifespan, so it is set to expire in 2027.

Measure A — the Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions and Prevention Now measure — would replace Measure H with a half-cent sales tax with no end date, meaning it would be in effect in perpetuity or until it is repealed by voters.

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

The coalition of supporters who led the initiative drive that got the measure on the ballot included more than 80 organizations, including 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.

The proponents said 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.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is among those backing the county measure, saying that without action, the expiration of the Measure H tax in 2027 would strip away “critical funding” for anti-homelessness efforts.

But detractors, most notably the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, argue it would create a never-ending tax burden for residents that comes with no assurances that it would end the homelessness problem.

“Measure A is a sales tax increase to pay for the same failed homelessness programs,” the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association said in a statement. “Auditors are still trying to figure out where all the money went and why homelessness is worse than before the tax increase. Measure H doesn’t expire until 2027, so there is time for the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to develop a better plan to address homelessness, without raising taxes.”

Other critics said there needs to be more oversight as to how money would be used.

According to Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the issue is that tax dollars are awarded to non-governmental organizations that are not transparent.

“Homelessness increased from about 46,000 in L.A. County before the Measure H tax increase in 2017 to about 75,000 now. This is a failure, and this broken model should not be made permanent,” the association added.

Bass assured that the measure was written with mandates for “clear outcomes and expectations.”

“Money will be taken away from programs that do not deliver results,” Bass said. “I want to make it clear that I mean business, and Measure A means business.”

L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna is also among the measure’s backers.

“We’re here to continue to make sure that our law enforcement officers, our first responders, continue to have options to help people dealing with homelessness, mental health and addiction, so it doesn’t lead to possible incarceration,” Luna said at a recent news conference.

He described Measure A as a means to “helping our neighbors, and keeping our neighborhoods safe.”