Sales-tax increase aims to offset fed funding loss
Aaron Schrank
has been on the ground, reporting on homelessness and other issues in L.A. for more than a decade.
Updated June 9, 2026 2:54 PM
Published June 5, 2026 7:52 PM
Measure ER took the lead in the L.A. County vote count Monday and appears on track to pass.
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LAist
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Topline:
Measure ER — a proposed half-percent local sales tax increase aimed at generating healthcare funds to offset massive federal cuts —in now ahead in the vote and is on track to pass if the trend continues.
What ifs: If it passes, Measure ER would raise county sales tax from 9.75% to 10.25% for five years, generating an estimated $1 billion a year for the county’s general fund, proponents say. County supervisors approved a spending plan directing those dollars to offset cuts to Medi-Cal under the Trump administration's One Big Beautiful Bill.
If the measure fails, it would be the first time in more than a decade that county voters rejected a sales tax measure. Even if it scrapes by, the margin signals that affordability concerns are eroding support in a historically tax-friendly electorate.
What's next: Vote counts update daily through June 12, with final certification by July 2. Several more tax measures are expected on the November ballot — including a firefighters' sales tax in the city of L.A. and a statewide billionaire's tax that has already qualified.
Read on ... for details on Measure ER.
Measure ER — a proposed half-percent local sales tax increase aimed at generating healthcare funds to offset massive federal cuts — is ahead in the vote and is on track to pass if the trend continues.
The votes are still being counted, but as of Monday, yes votes on Measure ER had squeaked ahead of the no votes — 50.35% to 49.65%.
The ballot measure requires a simple majority to pass.
Measure ER was able to narrow its deficit since initial Election Day results, as later mail ballots tended to skew toward Democratic voters, according to poll-watchers.
“If that trend continues, it's possible that ER could pass,” said Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.
About our live results
Keep in mind that, in tight races particularly, the winner may not be known for days or weeks after Election Day. That's because early voting and mail-in ballots have fundamentally reshaped how votes are counted and when election results are known.
Measure ER was ahead by about 13,000 votes as of Monday. L.A. County has processed more than 2 million ballots, according to election officials who estimate about 150,000 are yet to be counted.
L.A. County voters have not rejected a sales tax measure in more than a decade.
“It’s been almost like any tax measure will pass," said Fernando Guerra, Loyola Marymount University political science professor. “I think it's likely to pass, barely, but it could go either way,” he added.
Prior to Election Day, Guerra said he figured L.A. County voters would have approved Measure ER by a margin of 5 percentage points or more.
"So I am a little taken aback,” he said. “It shows that there is something that's going on with a very progressive voter in L.A. about, ‘OK, maybe enough taxes.’”
Experts say affordability concerns may be eroding support even among L.A. County's traditionally tax-friendly voters.
“Number one, we're spent,” Guerra said. "Number two, we don't trust the general decision-making. Number three, when we've given you specific dollars for specific issues, you haven't done it.”
Measure ER would raise county sales tax from 9.75% to 10.25% for five years, generating an estimated $1 billion a year for the county’s general fund, proponents say. County supervisors approved a spending plan directing those dollars to offset cuts to Medi-Cal under the Trump administration's One Big Beautiful Bill.
But that plan is not legally binding — a detail that critics of Measure ER hammered throughout the campaign.
The Yes on ER campaign committee, called Restore Healthcare for Angelenos, was backed largely by nonprofit health clinics and led by St. John's Community Health, a nonprofit that operates a large network of health clinics in Southern California.
The campaign raised nearly $10 million to spread its message in TV ads that told voters, “Trump’s cuts are threatening hospitals and ERs,” and in mailers that urged them to raise the tax a “temporary half a penny to save healthcare access.”
“While we still do not know the final outcome of Measure ER, we have been encouraged as yes votes have been scoring high in every count since Wednesday,” Teresa Eilers, Yes on ER campaign manager said in a statement Monday.
The No on ER campaign committee, No Blank Checks LA County, was led by the L.A. County Taxpayers Association. It raised less than $10,000, according to L.A. County campaign finance filings. Aidan Chao, chairman of the taxpayers group, said that the fight continues, in this election and beyond.
“As we keep watching the vote count, one conclusion is clear: this will be razor thin, and it showed everyone that Angelenos will not let a tax increase cruise to victory as we did in years past,” Chao told LAist Monday.
Tax fatigue?
The No on ER campaign said narrow race reveals a rising anti-tax feeling among L.A. County voters.
“We knew there was an abnormal aversion to taxation right now, which is completely off from the precedent,” Chao told LAist. “Voters were frustrated with taxes in general. They were frustrated with the way counties spend the money.”
L.A. County residents already pay some of the highest sales tax rates in the country. The county’s base sales tax rate is 9.75%, while the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale have sales tax rates above 11%.
In 2017, about 69% of county voters approved Measure H, a temporary quarter-percent special sales tax to fund services for homeless people.
Then in 2024, a narrower 57% voted to double the homelessness sales tax and make it permanent though Measure A, which now generates an estimated $1 billion a year for L.A. County’s homeless services and affordable housing efforts.
Yaroslavsky, a former L.A. County supervisor, said L.A. County voters are feeling the pinch of inflation and cost of living increases. In a UCLA survey he oversees, the number of people concerned about taxes as part of their cost of living ticked up this year.
"The less you earn, the more painful it is," he said. “And that's why I think this is gonna be closer than the measures that were passed with 70%. This one is not gonna get much more than 51% or 52%, if it passes.”
The coalition against Measure ER included dozens of representatives from cities that argued another sales tax increase was the wrong answer to the county’s budget problems.
The tax measure’s most prominent opponent was Kathryn Barger. She was the sole L.A. County Supervisor to vote against putting the measure before voters, while the other four backed it.
Barger appeared in a video ad for the No on ER campaign urging voters to reject it. The ad was recorded on the supervisor’s personal time, her office told LAist.
“We all support quality healthcare, but Sacramento should step up before asking taxpayers to pay more,” Barger says in the video. “And despite what supporters claim, the money goes straight into the county’s general fund with no guarantee where it will end up.”
Supervisor Holly Mitchell and Measure ER backers at rally for supporters.
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Yes on ER
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Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who backed putting the bill on the primary ballot, has said a sales tax increase wasn’t ideal, but she was out of options.
“As the county government, we are required by statute to be the safety net level provider of last resort for healthcare services, and yet the federal government pulled the funding rug out from under us,” Mitchell told LAist.
Yaroslavsky said he understands why the County Supervisors put the measure on the ballot. L.A. County is looking to save crucial healthcare programs.
“This is not a transit program or bikeways — things you can live with or live without,” he said. “This is a matter of life and death.”
What’s next?
A spokesperson for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a statewide anti-tax group, told LAist the organization is hopeful a movement against higher taxes is gaining momentum throughout California.
“It's clear from the election results in Los Angeles and statewide that voters are frustrated and even angry that the taxes they already pay are apparently disappearing, while every urgent need, from firefighting to hospitals, somehow can't be funded without more tax increases,” Susan Shelley, a Howard Jarvis spokesperson, told LAist.
Voters in Palos Verdes Estates defeated a parcel tax. San Diego shot down a tax on vacant homes. Contra Costa County voters rejected a sales tax increase.
And, yet, several tax measures are expected to land on the November ballot.
Firefighters with the Los Angeles Fire Department have gathered enough signatures to qualify a proposal for another half-percent sales tax to provide additional funding for the department. A committee backing the measure has raised more than $1.4 million, with major funding from the firefighters’ union, the California Community Foundation, a personal injury law firm representing firefighters, Airbnb and Rick Caruso.
Meanwhile, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has collected enough signatures to qualify a statewide ballot measure in California that, if passed, would effectively repeal the city of L.A.’s so-called “mansion tax” and make it harder for voters to pass local tax increases like Measure A or Measure ER in the future.
It would change the law to require a two-thirds supermajority of voter support to approve tax increases that land on the ballot through citizens’ initiatives — instead of a simple majority.
“We're confident that voters will approve it,” Shelley said. “We think this trend will continue in the November election.”
And the so-called “billionaire’s tax” is on California’s November ballot. The proposed one-time 5% tax on Californians worth over $1 billion aims to fund Medi-Cal programs.
Guerra says any proposed sales tax measures will face scrutiny in November.
"I think they're gonna have a little bit tougher time, and the strategy has to be much better developed,” he said.
L.A. County election officials said they plan to release new vote count results every day until June 12, followed by regular updates until June 26.
They are required to complete and certify the county’s final official results by July 2.
Celebrate Orange County's Latino communities at Santa Ana's Fiestas Patrias on Sept. 12 and 13.
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Courtesy City of Santa Ana
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A play looks back on 9/11, NFL season kicks off, a Mexican Independence day celebration in Santa Ana, postcards from Ukraine and more of the best things to do this week.
Highlights
NFL season is here again, and the Rams first game of the year is taking on our neighbors to the north, the 49ers. Head to the Regent for a free watch party.
There’s still plenty of good weather for a free outdoor Americana folk concert, and that’s exactly what’s in store at Santa Monica’s Gandara Park.
Celebrate Orange County's vibrant Latino communities at Santa Ana's Fiestas Patrias in honor of Mexico’s Independence Day.
I was fortunate to get a sneak peek at the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art last week and given how many thoughts our Best Things to Do readers had on the new LACMA Geffen Galleries, I can’t wait to hear what you think of the Lucas once it opens to the public on Sept. 22. Please share your thoughts when you go!
I was blown away by the building — it’s light and airy while feeling futuristic and somewhat imposing at the same time. The gardens are green and have plenty of places to sit and soak up the sun or the shade, and the reading room (which will be free and open to all) is definitely going on the "best places to cowork" list. The art collection is mostly organized by subject rather than era and includes works by artists from Norman Rockwell to Frida Kahlo to Banksy to Lucas himself via the many pieces of Star Wars history on display. There's truly something for everyone.
Thursday, Sept. 10, 5:35 p.m. The Regent 448 Main St., Downtown L.A. COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Courtesy The Regent Theater
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I guess summer really is over because football season is here again and the Rams first game of the year is taking on our neighbors to the north, the 49ers. Head to the Regent for a free watch party; there’s a state-of-the-art sound system and LED video wall, plus it’s free.
Americana in the Park
Sunday, Sept. 13, 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. Gandara Park 1819 Stewart Ave., Santa Monica COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Alright, kids are back in school and football season started, but is it ever really not summer here? There’s still plenty of good weather for a free outdoor Americana folk concert and that’s exactly what’s in store at Santa Monica’s Gandara Park. Put on by our friends at McCabe’s Guitar Shop, there will be performances from Albert Lee, Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca, Abby Posner & the Big Fall, Jason Luckett, the Bob Baker Marionettes.
Fiestas Patrias Festival
Sept. 12-13 Multiple locations, Downtown Santa Ana COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Celebrate Orange County's vibrant Hispanic and Latino communities at Santa Ana's Fiestas Patrias in honor of Mexico’s Independence Day. There’s a parade and street fair, live entertainment from local bands, carnival rides, food, and more.
Steel Magnolias
Thursday, Sept. 10, 7:35pm Rooftop Cinema Club 888 S. Olive St., 4th Floor, Downtown L.A. COST: $31.05; MORE INFO
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Rooftop Cinema Club
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Rooftop Cinema Club is honoring Dolly Parton’s legacy with a screening of the ultimate ode to Southern female friendship, Steel Magnolias (in both Spanish and English), with 10 percent of ticket sales benefiting Parton's Imagination Library.
Staged reading of WTC View
Friday, Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m. Celebration Theatre & LA LGBT Center The Village at Ed Gould Plaza (Renberg Theatre) 1125 N. McCadden Place, Hollywood COST: FROM $29; MORE INFO
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Los Angeles LGBT Center
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Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) directs this special September 11 anniversary reading of WTC View, Brian Sloan’s 2003 play about the weeks following 9/11 in Lower Manhattan. The story looks at a gay photographer’s struggle to find community in a time of societal and personal change. “I was just beginning my third year of drama school in New York on 9/11, and I vividly remember how raw we New Yorkers still were when we premiered the play in 2003,” said Urie. “Now Brian’s beautiful play is a time capsule of those weeks following 9/11, when we were all babies in a new world and the interactions we had with strangers were so intimate and heartfelt.”
Spotlight Arts Festival
Sunday, Sept. 13, 2 to 5 p.m. Bank of America Performing Arts Center 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Eventbrite
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The first-ever Spotlight Arts festival in Thousand Oaks brings together local artists, performers, and community organizations for a free afternoon of art, music, creativity, and connection. The festival will feature 15-minute live performances from a range of local groups, artist booths, hands-on activities, live painting, and more.
Maria Koutsogiannis in Conversation with Gaby Dalkin
Saturday, Sept. 12, 11 a.m. Now Serving 727 N. Broadway, #133, Chinatown COST: FROM $11.49; MORE INFO
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Eventbrite
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Didn’t get to the Greek Islands this summer? No problem. Greek chef, author, and Instagram favorite Maria Koutsogiannis is bringing Greece to us as her debut cookbook, Greek Out, launches at Now Serving. The book features more than 120 Greek-inspired recipes alongside personal stories rooted in family, culture and tradition. She’ll be in conversation with Gaby Dalkin at Now Serving.
Come as You Are: The Musical
Tuesday, Sept. 15, 7 p.m. The Ripped Bodice 3806 Main St., Culver City COST: $22.58, MORE INFO
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Eventbrite
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Emily Nagoski, PhD has the answers to all the things you were afraid to ask about sex – and now you can sing along. The New York Times best-selling author of Come As You Are and Come Together has packed her ukulele for a fun night of music and sex talk (what could be better?) at the best romance book store around, Culver City’s The Ripped Bodice.
Postcode Ukraine: Diary of a Volunteer
Sept. 11-30 Westwood Contemporary 1101 Westwood Blvd., Westwood Village COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Postcode Ukraine
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postcodeukraine.com
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As we head into a fifth year of war in Ukraine, the Wende Museum’s Westwood Contemporary is highlighting the work of British photographer Mark Neville, who has been documenting the lives of everyday Ukrainians through his expansive project, Postcode Ukraine. Postcode Ukraine: Diary of a Volunteer is here through the end of the month, ahead of a larger international tour.
By Christopher Weber and Amy Taxin | Associated Press
Published September 8, 2026 5:09 PM
Emergency vehicles repond to the chemical leak in LA Habra on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026.
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Jae C. Hong
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Associated Press
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Topline:
A slow leak from a chemical tank smeared an orange cloud across the sky of a Southern California neighborhood on Tuesday, but authorities said they quickly got it under control.
Why it matters: Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Aaron Katon said authorities responded to a La Habra business that makes cleaning products after receiving a call shortly before noon about the cloud. Police evacuated a nearby middle school as a precaution, Katon said.
The chemical: They do not yet know what the chemical was, but all shelter-in-place orders have been lifted, Katon said.
What's next: The regional air quality management district has deployed staff to the area to investigate, said Connie Villanueva, a spokesperson for the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
A slow leak from a chemical tank smeared an orange cloud across the sky of a Southern California neighborhood on Tuesday, but authorities said they quickly got it under control.
Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Aaron Katon said authorities responded to a business that makes cleaning products after receiving a call shortly before noon about the cloud. Police evacuated a nearby middle school as a precaution, Katon said.
They do not yet know what the chemical was, but all shelter-in-place orders have been lifted, he said. The regional air quality management district has deployed staff to the area to investigate, said Connie Villanueva, a spokesperson for the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
The company, Shepard Bros., could not immediately be reached for comment.
Three company employees reported minor respiratory irritation and declined further treatment, Katon said.
The leak occurred in the city of La Habra near a mix of residential neighborhoods and industrial warehouses about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Anaheim.
Keary Godinez, who works in a nearby restaurant, said she saw what appeared to be a dark yellow cloud spread across the sky. The 20-year-old said she watched students across the street board buses to evacuate, but police told her the eatery could remain open.
“It looked like pollen dust,” Godinez said, adding she didn’t detect a smell from the cloud. “It just kind of smeared in the sky and started going away.”
La Habra Mayor Jose Medrano had urged residents to shelter in place and said some streets were being evacuated.
Luis Gomez, who manages a nearby pickleball program, said earlier Tuesday he saw the cloud, called police and was told anyone within a mile radius of the location was under an evacuation order.
Keep up with LAist.
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Lakers head coach Phil Jackson celebrates after defeating the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals.
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Christian Petersen
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Getty Images North America
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Topline:
The Los Angeles Lakers will unveil a statue of former coach Phil Jackson outside their downtown arena next year. The Lakers announced the plan Tuesday to honor Jackson, who led the Lakers to five championships and seven NBA Finals appearances during two stints totaling 11 seasons as their head coach.
The backstory: After his famed tenure leading Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls to six championships, Jackson joined the Lakers in 1999 and immediately began another era of major success for the 17-time NBA champion franchise. His first three teams in Los Angeles won championships behind the dynamic duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, and the Lakers added two more titles in 2009 and 2010 led by Bryant and Pau Gasol. His Lakers also made the NBA Finals in 2004 and 2008.
What's next: The statue will be unveiled April 9 before the Lakers’ home game against Minnesota.
The Los Angeles Lakers will unveil a statue of former coach Phil Jackson outside their downtown arena next year.
The Lakers announced the plan Tuesday to honor Jackson, who led the Lakers to five championships and seven NBA Finals appearances during two stints totaling 11 seasons as their head coach.
The statue will be unveiled April 9 before the Lakers’ home game against Minnesota.
After his famed tenure leading Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls to six championships, Jackson joined the Lakers in 1999 and immediately began another era of major success for the 17-time NBA champion franchise.
His first three teams in Los Angeles won championships behind the dynamic duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, and the Lakers added two more titles in 2009 and 2010 led by Bryant and Pau Gasol. His Lakers also made the NBA Finals in 2004 and 2008.
Jackson set the Lakers franchise record for coaches with 610 victories while leading his teams to the playoffs in every year of his tenure, which ended in 2011.
“Phil Jackson defines championship basketball for a reason,” Lakers governor Jeanie Buss said in a statement. “His masterful approach to coaching brought out the best in some of the greatest athletes to ever play the game. After he accepted my dad’s invitation to join the Lakers, Phil’s unmatched creativity and commitment to excellence restored our championship legacy, bringing five titles and setting a standard of excellence for generations to come. It is a great joy to be able to mark that achievement with the statue he so richly deserves.”
Jackson will be the ninth person associated with the Lakers to be honored with a statue in Star Plaza outside their arena. He joins Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Bryant, O’Neal, broadcaster Chick Hearn and former coach Pat Riley, whose statue was unveiled earlier this year.
Jackson’s 11 championships as a head coach are the most in NBA history. The North Dakota native and former New York Knicks forward is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Lucas Brady Woods
covers the weather and disasters, among other climate and science topics.
Published September 8, 2026 3:25 PM
Clouds form over Venice Beach in August. Tropical moisture from Hurricane Marie is currently causing extreme humidity in Southern California this week.
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Apu Gomes
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Getty Images North America
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Topline:
The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat warning for much of Southern California from Wednesday morning through Thursday.
The details: This week’s combination of heat and humidity could be worse than it has been all summer. Forecasters say temperatures will peak on Wednesday. Highs could get up to the triple digits. Overnight lows will also stay elevated. They may only get down to the 70s in places, offering little relief from the heat.
The humidity: Climate experts say the humidity this week could be some of the highest on record in Southern California, even after a summer marked by repeated humid heatwaves. The moisture in the air, combined with the extreme heat, makes it increasingly difficult for the human body to cool down, especially when outdoors. It’s also driving scattered rain and thunderstorms that will continue for the next few days.
The backstory: The tropical moisture is due in large part to the leftovers of Hurricane Marie hundreds of miles away in the Pacific Ocean. On top of that, record high ocean temperatures off the Southern California coast are adding to the humidity.
