Measure J approved by LA County voters: Here's what happens now

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- L.A. County's budget will soon look different with the approval of Measure J.

Isaac Bryan of the UCLA Black Policy Project co-chaired the campaign for Measure J.

"I'm incredibly excited about what's happened here in Los Angeles, I think in terms of prioritizing justice on the ballot, L.A. has set a standard for the rest of the country and the rest of the state," said Bryan.

Supervisor Sheila Kuehl co-authored the measure, which amends the county's charter. It's essentially the county's constitution, and it will now require 10% of locally-generated revenue go to community investment and alternatives to incarceration.

"The kinds of services you need in order to get on with your life, which jail doesn't give you," Kuehl said. "The other part of it is for community Investment, and in Measure J that's spelled out broadly in terms of investments in jobs, job training, housing, homeless services, youth services."

Measure J backers draw a direct connection between the Black Lives Matter movement's massive turnout over the summer and voter support.

"The infrastructure has been in place for years. With the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, Dijon Kizzee were catalysts for bringing people out of their homes and into a new level of consciousness when it comes to questioning the size of our carceral system," Bryan said.

What is 10% of locally generated L.A. County revenue? It could vary between $600 million to $900 million annually, according to Kuehl.

"In L.A. County right now we spend $280,000 a year to incarcerate just one young person for that year," said Bryan.

Next Tuesday the L.A. County Board of Supervisors will take up a motion to establish a committee that will make concrete recommendations on how the funds should be used. The board will have the final word on how funds will be allocated, which will primarily start in the 2021-2022 budget.