Mayor Karen Bass met with people at an encampment on Sunset Boulevard during an Inside Safe operation on May 31. (photo courtesy of Mayor Karen Bass’ office)

Voters will decide on Nov. 5 how homeless services will be funded in the future with Measure A, a countywide ballot initiative that will replace the existing quarter-cent Measure H sales tax with a half-cent sales tax.

Measure H, which was approved by voters in 2017 to raise money for homeless services, will expire in 2027. If approved, Measure A will raise the countywide sales tax from 10.25% to 10.5%.

A large coalition of  service providers and public officials are backing Measure A, which is expected to raise approximately $1 billion annually for affordable housing, mental health care and addiction treatment services. Supporters said it will enable local governments to continue programs to end the homelessness crisis. To ensure a continued source of revenue, Measure A stipulates that the half-cent sales tax increase remain in place until repealed by voters.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna joined representatives of the Los Angeles Business Council and organizations providing services to the unhoused on Oct. 21 to urge support for Measure A.

“Businesses and health care leaders have come together to endorse this important measure. We cannot go backwards, we must change the status quo to address the homelessness crisis,” Bass said. “Don’t wait, vote right now to bring more support for efforts to bring people across L.A. County inside and make our neighborhoods safer.”

“People left living on the street become extremely vulnerable, becoming victims of crime and unlikely to get the mental health and addiction services they need,” Luna said. “Our first responders and outreach workers need resources to get people the help, housing and treatment they so desperately need. I want law enforcement to keep our streets safe and focus on reducing crime in every one of our neighborhoods. To do that, we need to house people, get them treatment and get them off the streets.”

Measure A supports also include People Assisting the Homeless.

“We’ve made tremendous progress in connecting individuals and families to housing, but we can’t stop now,” PATH CEO Jennifer Hark Dietz said. “Measure A will provide the funding to not only help more people make it home but also offer them the support they need to retain their housing and thrive. Without Measure A, we will go backwards and tens of thousands of individuals who are currently housed will once again face homelessness. We can’t let that happen.”

Opponents of Measure A include the California Republican Party and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. They contend the current system is not delivering results,  as evident by a large number of homeless people remaining on the streets. Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association spokeswoman Susan Shelley said Measure A is a tax increase with no guarantee the funds will solve the problem. She also said there is no rush to replace Measure H, which does not expire for more than two years.

“The problem with this is it’s a sales tax increase for the same failed homelessness programs and it’s permanent, which entrenches this broken system,” Shelley said. “This is the wrong way to do it. This is a broken system and it’s more of the same.”

The measure is also opposed by fiscal watchdog Jack Humphreville, who called it “a reward for poor performance” in his voter guide published online on CityWatch.

Information on Measure A is available from the Los Angeles County Clerk/Registrar Recorder at lavote.gov/home/voting-elections/current-elections/upcoming-elections.