Sales Tax Hike Appears To Pass In LA County, Supporters Declare Victory

LOS ANGELES, CA — A proposed countywide half-cent sales tax intended to help fund healthcare services appears to have been narrowly approved by voters. Backers of the measure celebrated victory on Wednesday.

Measure ER, known as the Essential Services Restoration Act, would increase the county sales tax by one-half cent for five years, through Oct. 1, 2031, to help offset anticipated cuts in state and federal funding, according to county officials.

County officials estimated the measure would generate roughly $1 billion annually.

As of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's latest update Tuesday evening:

• 1,005,998 voters, or 50.59%, voted in favor of the measure
• 982,593 voters, or 49.41%, opposed it.

Though remaining ballots — about 23,000, according to county election officials — will continue to be counted in the coming days, backers of the measure declared victory on Wednesday.

"When you fight, we win," county Supervisor Hilda Solis said during a gathering of supporters Wednesday morning. "We have to continue to fight for these residents and their families. If we don't stick up for them, who the hell is?"

Los Angeles County's current sales tax rate is 9.75%, though it's higher in some cities that have their own sales tax measures on the rolls.

If approved, Measure ER would raise the rate to 10.25%.

The county Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 in February to place the measure before voters. Supervisor Kathryn Barger cast the lone dissenting vote.

Barger in a statement released Wednesday said that while she opposed the measure, she will "respect the will of the voters."

"Moving forward, my responsibility is to ensure the revenues generated are managed with accountability and measurable results," Barger said. "Taxpayers deserve to know how these funds are being spent, whether promised outcomes are being achieved. I will be a strong advocate for rigorous oversight and fiscal responsibility every step of the way.

Supervisor Holly Mitchell previously argued that healthcare services in the county will face dire losses if no action is taken to restore funding that she said was slashed under the federal budget bill passed earlier this year, which she said was "the largest federal funding cut to Medicaid in our nation's history."

Last year's federal budget bill, known as the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," which was approved and signed by Congress and President Donald Trump, detailed billions of dollars of reductions in healthcare funding, according to the motion. Those reductions to Medi-Cal, coupled with eligibility changes, will impact county residents, who could face loss of coverage and reduced access to care.

County officials say money raised by Measure ER would be spent as follows:

• up to 45% would support the county Department of Health Services
• 5% would be allocated based on patient visits to nonprofit health agencies serving low-income and underserved populations
• about 4% would benefit school-based health needs and programs as determined by the governing board of L.A. Care Health Plan
• 10% would support the county Department of Public Health and its core public health functions
• about 3% would be allocated to the county Department of Public Social Services to support Medicaid outreach and enrollment activities, and volunteer programs
• 2.5% would go toward the Correctional Health Services
• some 22% would fund DHS to safeguard public hospitals and clinic services
• about 5% would be allocated to support nonprofit hospitals in the county, and provide funding to entities that meet certain criteria
• 2.5% would support in-home supportive services for seniors and people with disabilities
• about 1% would support the cities of Pasadena and Long Beach, which have separate Public Health Departments from the county
• any remaining funds would be disbursed in a need-based manner focused on emergency department volume.

City News Service contributed to this report.