July 15th, 2025

LOS ANGELES, CA – Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath and Janice Hahn’s motion reaffirming Los Angeles County’s commitment to Measure J was approved by the Board of Supervisors today. The Board directed County Counsel and the Executive Office to come back to the Board with options to ensure Measure J is enshrined in the County Charter—something that should have happened following the overwhelming support of voters in 2020.

“Measures J and G were both passed by voters after a powerful groundswell of community advocacy—and their will must be honored. Even if Measure G had never happened, the harm from the bureaucratic failure to properly include Measure J in the County Charter is unacceptable and must be addressed without delay,” said Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath. “This motion sets us on a clear path to action: to create a plan, ensure transparency, and invite community members to help shape the way forward. As we implement the historic reforms of Measure G, this moment must serve as a wake-up call—a reminder of why accountability, transparency, and clear checks and balances are not optional. They are essential to a government that truly serves the people.”

“In 2020 the voters spoke loud and clear: they approved Measure J because they believed we needed to focus on care-first investments in our communities. Since then, this Board has done exactly that by establishing the Care-First Community Investment policy,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “Measure J is the law of the land, and it must continue to be when Measure G goes into effect in 2028. We cannot, and will not, let an administrative error invalidate the will of the voters.”

Measure J requires the County to dedicate at least 10% of its locally generated, unrestricted funds to investments that address racial justice and expand care-first services like youth development, job training, small business support, supportive housing, and alternatives to incarceration. But due to a failure to update the County Charter after the passage of Measure J in 2020, the language of Measure G—passed in 2024 to create an independent Ethics Commission, expand the Board of Supervisors, and created an elected County Executive—did not include it.

Through the motion, which passed in a 4-0 vote (Chair Kathryn Barger was absent for the vote), the following actions will be taken:

• County Counsel will explore and report back confidentially on potential legal actions, including the possibility of declaratory relief, to confirm the will of the voters and preserve Measure J beyond 2028.
• County Counsel and the Chief Executive Office’s Legislative Affairs team will evaluate whether state law can be changed to correct the administrative error without requiring a new ballot measure.
• The Executive Officer and County Counsel are instructed to review how this error occurred and develop policies to ensure the County Charter is accurately and promptly updated to reflect all voter-approved amendments.
• County Counsel will draft an ordinance to ensure the continued implementation of Measure J after 2028 and return it to the Board for consideration as soon as possible.
• County Counsel will prepare a proposed Charter Amendment to permanently incorporate Measure J into the County’s new governance structure, and report back with a plan to place it on the 2026 ballot.
• The Executive Officer of the Board, in consultation with County Counsel, will update the publicly available County Charter to include Measure J as passed by the voters of Los Angeles County on November 3, 2020.

The motion is available here, including amending language.

###