July 11th, 2025

LOS ANGELES, CA – Supervisors Lindsey P. Horvath and Janice Hahn introduced a motion today to reaffirm Los Angeles County’s commitment to Measure J and ensure its continued implementation beyond 2028. The motion follows the recent discovery of an administrative error: after voters approved Measure J in 2020, the County Charter was never updated to reflect its passage. As a result, Measure G—which was passed in 2024 to restructure County government—did not account for Measure J. The motion will be heard at the July 15, 2025 meeting of the Board of Supervisors.

“In 2020, the people of Los Angeles County overwhelmingly approved Measure J to shift County resources away from incarceration and toward community-based investments,” said Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath. “This measure was the result of a hard-fought, community-led effort that I wholeheartedly supported—and remain deeply committed to upholding. When five people are in charge, no one is in charge. This is a quintessential example of why the governance reforms in Measure G are so urgently needed.”

“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. “Now as we move to implement Measure G, it’s critical that we codify Measure J first to safeguard those community investments. One technical error should not invalidate the clear 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.

The motion seeks to correct the error and preserve the intent of both Measures J and G by directing a series of coordinated actions:

• County Counsel is directed to 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 motion to be heard Tuesday is available here.

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