LA County Voters Weigh 0.5-Cent Measure ER Tax to Raise $1 Billion a Year
Updated
Updated · Los Angeles Daily News · May 29
LA County Voters Weigh 0.5-Cent Measure ER Tax to Raise $1 Billion a Year
3 articles · Updated · Los Angeles Daily News · May 29
June 2 ballots in Los Angeles County ask voters to decide Measure ER, a half-cent sales tax increase designed to generate about $1 billion a year for healthcare.
Federal cuts to county healthcare services drove the proposal, which county officials say could help prevent clinic and hospital closures by providing stop-gap funding.
The tax would flow into the county general fund for five years, expiring in October 2031, under an allocation plan aimed mainly at nonprofit providers, county health departments and hospitals.
Measure ER needs 50% plus one vote to pass after the Board of Supervisors placed it on the ballot in a 4-1 vote led by Supervisor Holly Mitchell and backed by clinics, labor unions and physician groups.
The measure lands alongside countywide races for supervisor, sheriff and assessor, with several supervisor candidates split over whether a tax hike is the right answer to healthcare funding gaps.