December 3, 2024

LOS ANGELES, CA — On December 2, 2024, Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath completed her year as Chair of the Board of Supervisors and her second year as Supervisor for the Third District. Her year as Chair was filled with progress as Los Angeles County made historic investments to protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of our diverse communities and our planet.

As Chair, Supervisor Horvath set three priorities: addressing our homelessness crisis, advancing bold climate action, and preventing gender-based violence.

“In reflecting on my year as Chair of the Board, I am filled with tremendous gratitude. We made progress in each of our priority areas and took on initiatives I couldn’t have imagined just one year ago,” said Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath. “We delivered results on homelessness, adopted the County Water Plan and climate budget, stood up a new office to prevent gender-based violence, and led the charge for historic changes to County governance. In the face of daunting challenges, the Board of Supervisors has proven that we can come together, united by a shared purpose to move Los Angeles County forward. We are five fearless women who get the job done, and that continues into 2025.”

Through her leadership, Los Angeles County took bold steps to advance these goals and many others to build a strong foundation for Los Angeles County’s future. Here’s a look at key accomplishments for 2024:

Supervisor Horvath shares a recap of her year as Chair of the Board for 2024.

Homelessness Emergency Action

• First reduction in Point-in-Time Homeless Count since 2017. The estimate for unsheltered homelessness in the County decreased by approximately 5.1% to 52,365 compared with 2023, while the shelter count increased by 12.7% to 22,947.
• Homeless services system payment reform. Created a new payment system that keeps nonprofit service providers in business and streamlines processes for greater accountability.
• Housed more people than ever before – 29,000 last year – and continue to move with urgency in scaling up the Pathway Home encampment resolution program.
• Strengthened the County’s Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protections Ordinance (rent increases capped at 3%) for unincorporated communities to prevent vulnerable renters from falling into homelessness following a countywide increase in evictions.
• Made housing safer by passing and beginning implementation of the Rental Housing Habitability and Rent Escrow programs (RHH and REAP).
• Protected tenants from eviction by establishing a Right to Counsel program, affirming and funding the work of Stay Housed LA, providing legal representation for tenants facing eviction.
• Established an Emergency Centralized Response Center (ECRC) to further accelerate homelessness solutions across Los Angeles County.
• Historic passage of Measure A, ushering in a new chapter for accountability, prevention, and scaling services to continue to house an unprecedented number of Angelenos.
• In closing her year as Chair, introduced a motion to develop a unified, accountable County department to lead on homelessness, streamlining the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority following the release of the Auditor-Controller’s financial audit of LAHSA.

Urgently Addressing the Climate Crisis

• Led approval of LA County’s Climate Action Plan, which will see Los Angeles County achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.
• Introduced a Climate Budget to ensure LA County appropriately invests in the solutions that will help keep communities resilient given our changing climate.
• Championed and led approval of the LA County Water Plan, the visionary strategy to unite LA’s more than 200 water agencies towards a shared goal of reaching 80% local water supply by 2045 and more than doubling the amount of stormwater captured for beneficial reuse. She also hosted a Water Summit in April.
• Began the development of tenant protections from extreme heat which would require landlords to provide safe indoor temperatures, including for existing buildings.  The County’s Heat Action Plan and Climate Ready Communities initiatives are together ensuring that the County’s infrastructure, from bus shelters, to street trees, to emergency cooling shelters are planned to protect Angelenos from a warming climate.
• Initiated the creation of LA County’s first Zero Emissions Vehicle Master Plan.  LA County already operates the largest number of EV chargers in our region, and is working to expand charging infrastructure to reduce barriers to owning an electric vehicle.
• Supported adoption of Community Forest Master Plan — a roadmap to protect and expand our neighborhood trees and ensure every neighborhood has access to the benefits they provide.
• Co-authored a motion to overhaul the County’s outdated food policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and expand healthier food options at County facilities.

Gender-Based Violence Prevention

• Moved from a framework of intervention to one of proactive prevention to address the root causes of gender-based violence in our communities.
• Invested in gender-based violence prevention through the final budget with additional, dedicated staff positions and programmatic funding secured.

Historic Governance Reform

• Led the passage of Measure G, the most historic governance reform package in LA County history, creating a more transparent, accountable, and representative County government for all Angelenos.
• Led the unanimously supported launch of Measure G implementation, including the creation of a Governance Reform Task Force comprised of members of the public who will lead LA County through these reforms over the course of the next decade.

Health & Wellbeing

• Supported and expanded the Reaching the 95% initiative that was launched by DPH-SAPC to ensure engagement of 95% of individuals that can benefit from substance use services but are not accessing them. Supported increased access to substance use disorder treatment through support for state and federal legislation.
• Invested $500,000 was invested in community outreach and education to raise awareness and prevent workers from developing silicosis, a deadly, but completely preventable respiratory illness.
• Continued to support and move forward the Hollywood 2.0 pilot initiative to ensure that individuals struggling with mental health have access to services through a whole-person care first approach, including launching Fountain House Hollywood.
• Allocated an additional $9.4 million for Food Equity grants, which build capacity and support food security work in alignment with the LA Food Equity Roundtable’s Strategic Plan.
• Successfully secured $3 million to invest in the Log Cabin—a project of the West Hollywood Recovery Center providing essential sobriety programs.

Community Safety & Support

• United state and local leaders around a plan of action for a safer PCH, and hosted a weeklong safety event at Malibu High School. Successfully advocated for new legislation to bring speed cameras to PCH, with ongoing roadway improvements. Supported the launch of the safety awareness campaign Go Safely PCH in partnership with the City of Malibu and CalTrans.
• Prioritized fire safety by investing in our County Fire resources throughout the District, and hosting more than a dozen emergency preparedness fairs.
• Ensured safety along unincorporated PCH near Sunset Mesa through coordination with Caltrans, CHP, and Coastal Commission to protect the bluff from fire risk (related to unsafe parking practices).
• Advanced protections for our Jewish community by advancing a Jewish Community Safety Plan for LA County with new community safety resources released in November.
• Gathered and coordinated County resources across five agencies to cite and enforce code violations in the Santa Monica Mountains to address safety concerns and stop unpermitted development and land uses.
• Grew the Department of Youth Development by 28 positions and the Jail Closure Implementation Team in the CEO’s office by 10 positions to continue investment in progress of Care First accountability and interventions.
• Transitioned to unleaded fuel at Whiteman Airport and initiated an economic study to guide the future of the property.

Transportation

• Introduced and secured approval for a motion to accelerate the implementation of the County’s Bicycle Master Plan and Vision Zero improvements, prioritizing pedestrian and cyclist safety in unincorporated LA County.
• Secured $893 million in federal funding for the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit Project, the Valley’s first rail development since 2000, connecting key communities along Van Nuys Boulevard.
• Spearheaded the creation of Metro’s Permanent Business Interruption Fund to mitigate financial impacts on small businesses near transit project sites.
• Oversaw planned improvements to Metro’s G Line (Orange), including grade separations and signal upgrades, ensuring readiness for the 2028 Olympic Games.
• Advanced the North San Fernando Valley Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Project, enhancing reliability and safety for commuters and CSUN students.
• Celebrated completion of tunneling for the Metro Purple Line Extension Project, a transformative subway line set to significantly improve regional connectivity by 2027.
• Championed Metro’s TAP-to-Exit program, reducing violent incidents on public transit by 45% during its initial implementation.
• Facilitated Metro’s Joint Development projects, aiming to deliver 10,000 new housing units near transit hubs, with key projects in Santa Monica and the San Fernando Valley.

Arts & Culture

• Launched “88 for 28” to bring cities across Los Angeles County together to coordinate activities and actions ahead of the 2028 games.
• Attended the Paris Games for a first-hand look of how to create a sustainable, transit-first, and culturally vibrant Olympic experience.
• Advocated for a larger allocation of grant funds for arts organizations and secured $1.2 million increase to the Organizational Grant Program (OGP) – the first increase in over 15 years for LA County’s longest-running arts grant program.

Uplifting Diverse Communities

• Led on using gender-inclusive language in County Code.
• Championed LGBTQ+ initiatives through key commission appointments, Pride celebrations, and funding for community-based organizations.
• Initiated the groundbreaking “State of AANHPI LA” report, focusing on the needs of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.
• Stood in solidarity with our Jewish community in times of rising antisemitism with the creation of the precedent-setting Jewish Community Safety Plan.

Children & Family Wellbeing

• Continued leadership of the County’s Mandated Supporting Initiative, including new training under AB2085.
• Launched LGBTQ+ resource closet pilot for youth in foster care in partnership with philanthropy and DCFS.
• Expanded near-peer mentorship for DCFS youth with complex care needs in Temporary Shelter Care Facilities.
• Launched crib pilot at Olive View, with expansion planned for Harbor and LA General.
• Led the expansion of the availability of library cards to teens statewide in an effort to support young people without access to certain banned books.
• Created Child Trafficking Leadership Team, which elevates issues related to child labor trafficking and the leadership of young people and launched the new five-year Strategic Plan to Combat Child Trafficking.
• Advanced strategies to increase access to housing vouchers for youth aging out of foster care.

Supporting Local Businesses and Working Families

• Launched Entertainment Business Interruption Fund and awarded over $4 million to 363 local businesses that support the entertainment industry such as prop houses, caterers, small production companies.
• Granted $250K to businesses significantly impacted by the landslide that closed Topanga Canyon Boulevard, and advocated for its swift reopening.
• Supported Governor’s budget proposal to increase state film and television tax credits to $750 million.
• Successfully convened the CEO and SEIU Local 721 to avert a strike, ensuring continuity of County services.

Celebrating in Community

• Celebrated Pride and Harvey Milk Day across the Third District – from the Valley to Hollywood to WeHo with a message of LA County Loves You! Kicked it off with a pride flag raising ceremony above HOA.
• Celebrated the Dodgers winning the World Series.
• Gave the Topanga Beach Bus a makeover.
• Continued expansion of Pelota de Trapo program in LA County
• Hosted Older Americans Recognition Day, honoring local older adult leaders in LA County
• Celebrated Latino Heritage Month at Plaza de Valle
• Recognized Jane Fonda for her years of climate activism

###