Los Angeles County Measure A backers declare victory, say tax will help homelessness crisis

LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Backers of a Los Angeles County measure to extend and increase a sales tax to fund anti-homelessness programs, a tax that will have no sunset date, declared victory Wednesday as vote counting continued.

Updated results from Tuesday's election released Wednesday afternoon by the county Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's Office showed Measure A passing with 55.8% of the vote, holding a nearly 300,000-vote lead over its opponents.

The video in the player above is from a previous report.

That was a slight increase in the measure's lead from the semi-final results that were released early Wednesday morning.

According to the county registrar, more than 1.1 million ballots from Tuesday's election still need to be counted -- roughly 1 million vote-by-mail ballots, 104,000 conditional voter registration ballots, and 12,100 provisional, or questioned, ballots. The county will also continue to accept vote-by-mail ballots for a week as long as they were postmarked by election day.

Despite the outstanding ballots, the Yes on Measure A campaign on Wednesday afternoon declared victory.

"The passage of Measure A demonstrates the power of what can be accomplished when working families join with over 150 community organizations, homeless services providers, housing advocates, local and elected officials to find solutions to the issues facing our communities," Yvonne Wheeler, president of the LA Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, said in a statement. "We look forward to continuing to work together to bring about the change voters want and our county needs."

David Green, president of the Service Employees International Union Local 721, called the outcome a "historic vote" for the county.

"Voters are clear that they want bold solutions to addressing our county's most pressing issue,'' he said in a statement. "Measure A gives us the tools to do just that. Because of the investment voters are willing to make, we'll be able to implement and expand proven solutions to reduce homelessness while making Los Angeles County more affordable."

Measure A will 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 -- replaces Measure H with a half-cent sales tax with no end date, meaning it will be in effect in perpetuity unless it is repealed by voters.

Backers said the initiative will be a game changer for the county and its approach to addressing the homelessness crisis, saying it 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 ballot measure noted that 60% of the revenue will cover costs for homelessness services and 15% of that will be distributed to cities based on the annual point-in-time count of homeless people. Another 35.75% will 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 was 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, argued 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 was 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."