Supporters of a proposed countywide half-cent sales tax to fund affordable housing and homeless services submitted a petition with over 410,000 signatures to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office on Tuesday, May 7, to get their measure onto the November 2024 ballot.
Known as the Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions & Prevention Now initiative, the measure proposes to end the current quarter-cent sales tax that funds homeless programs in L.A. County and replace it with a new half-cent sales tax that aims to both prevent and reduce homelessness.
Voters approved Measure H in 2017, authorizing the current sales tax that’s set to expire in 2027.
But some of the county’s leading housing advocates and homeless services providers want to replace the Measure H tax with a permanent half-cent sales tax. Backers say the money generated from the tax would pay for things like new affordable housing, immediate and interim housing, mental health and substance abuse treatments for homeless people, and rental or legal assistance for tenants at risk of eviction.
“This measure is new, bold, and critically important,” said Elise Buik, president and CEO of United Way of Greater Los Angeles, in a statement. “It will make sure that nearly 30,000 people currently receiving housing and services are not cut off from that critical support and pushed back into homelessness, while at the same time scaling up homelessness prevention and new strategies to make housing more affordable across L.A. County.”
United Way is one of the main backers of the initiative.
Those who support the measure say there’s a need for ongoing funding to combat the county’s homelessness crisis.
More than 75,500 people were homeless in L.A. County in 2023 – a 9% increase from the year before. What’s more, the number of unsheltered individuals living on the streets jumped 14%, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.
The city of L.A. alone had about 46,260 homeless residents last year, a 10% increase from 2022.
These increases in local homeless populations over the years have come despite multiple efforts to fund programs and services to help the unhoused.
In 2016, voters in the city of L.A. approved Prop. HHH, a $1.2 billion bond measure to build affordable housing for people living on the streets and those at risk of becoming homeless. Although many of the housing units funded by Prop. HHH have recently opened or will soon be ready for occupancy, the projects have cost way more and taken much longer to build than many who voted for Prop. HHH had expected, leaving many taxpayers frustrated.
And in 2017, voters in L.A. County passed Measure H, the quarter-cent sales tax to raise about $355 million a year for 10 years to help homeless people transition into affordable housing units.
Supporters of this newly proposed half-cent countywide sales tax say use of the funds would come with greater accountability than previous taxes.
Service providers who receive funding must meet specific performance goals, report how they’re spending the money and undergo annual audits. Those that underperform could have their funding reduced or taken away. Those funding decisions would be recommended by a county executive committee, with the county Board of Supervisors and the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency making the final determination, according to the proposed ballot measure.
Still, not everyone is sold.
“Business leaders are committed to advancing homelessness solutions that work. That’s why BizFed supported Measure H in 2017. However, we have deep concerns about the proposed half-cent sales tax in Los Angeles County because it lacks meaningful oversight and accountability measures,” Tracy Hernandez, CEO of the Los Angeles County Business Federation, better known as BizFed, said in a statement.
Hernandez called the measure “rushed,” noting that there is still about three years left in the Measure H tax, and said the proposed ballot measure would result in a “forever tax.”
Proponents of the proposed half-cent sales tax know that some people may be wary of voting for another tax, given that the area’s homeless population has only increased since Prop. HHH and Measure H were approved.
Ryan Smith, president and CEO of St. Joseph Center, said more homeless people are being housed now than ever before. The problem, he said, is that the number of people becoming homeless is still outpacing the number that are being housed.
“This is going to address that issue by focusing on prevention as well as housing solutions,” he said. “As much as we’re housing people, we need to make sure that people are not falling into poverty, and this measure does that.”
About 200 to 300 supporters of the measure – including housing and tenant rights advocates, homeless services providers and labor union members – rallied outside the county registrar’s office late Tuesday morning before campaign organizers submitted a petition to the registrar’s office.
The petition contained more than 410,000 signatures of people seeking to place the initiative on the November ballot. According to campaign organizers, the campaign needs 238,922 valid voter signatures to qualify for the 2024 ballot.
The registrar’s office has 30 business days to verify the signatures and confirm whether the measure has qualified to appear on the ballot.
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