{"id":946,"date":"2026-06-03T04:30:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=946"},"modified":"2026-06-03T04:30:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:30:04","slug":"early-returns-indicate-l-a-county-voters-have-doubts-about-healthcare-sales-tax-measure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/california-relocation-journal.com\/?p=946","title":{"rendered":"Early returns indicate L.A. County voters have doubts about healthcare sales tax measure"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Los Angeles County\u2019s half-cent sales tax to fund healthcare services was trailing Tuesday, with early returns showing a majority of voters rejecting the measure. <\/p>\n

Read more Inside the race to rebuild AI data centers before the grid hits its limit<\/a><\/p>\n

The tax \u2014 a half-penny of every dollar spent in the county \u2014 is meant to prop up local hospitals and clinics that are hemorrhaging funding after recent federal cuts.<\/p>\n

The sales tax, which needs a simple majority to pass, would take effect Oct. 1 and last five years. Officials say it would pull in $1 billion annually to help plug the budget holes hitting local hospitals and clinics.<\/p>\n

L.A. County health officials anticipate the One Big Beautiful Bill Act<\/u>, signed into law by President Trump last summer, will more than $2 billion from the county\u2019s health services budget within the next three years. Due to eligibility changes, the county will no longer be able to get reimbursements for many Californians who have lost Medi-Cal.<\/p>\n

The measure was championed by a coalition of healthcare advocates called Restore Healthcare for Angelenos<\/u> who warned that mass layoffs and emergency room closures could be imminent if new funding didn\u2019t come fast. The Department of Public Health recently closed<\/u> seven clinics \u2014 a grim sign, supporters said, of service cuts to come.<\/p>\n

Voters haven\u2019t rejected a sales tax hike since 2012,<\/u> when a transportation measure fell just short with 66.1% support. It needed 66.7% to pass.<\/p>\n

Read more Supreme Court rules Alabama may redraw congressional maps to oust a Black Democrat<\/a><\/p>\n

A majority of county supervisors had supported the new tax proposal, voting 4 to 1 this February<\/u> to put it on the ballot. But the measure faced significant opposition from local cities, with opponents arguing the sales tax hike would unfairly burden the poorest county residents and encourage people to spend their dollars across the county line.<\/p>\n

Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the board\u2019s lone opponent of the tax, said she was concerned it was a \u201cgeneral\u201d tax, meaning the money wouldn\u2019t be earmarked for healthcare costs. Instead, she argued, politicians would have final say over how the money gets spent.<\/p>\n

The supervisors have created a the tax money, with the largest chunk of the money meant to cover the costs for patients without insurance. The measure also asked voters to sign off on a nine-member oversight committee.<\/p>\n

The county currently has a base sales tax rate of 9.75%, and cities impose local taxes on top of that.<\/p>\n

Read more The final 2? An anxious California waits to see who advances in drama-filled governor\u2019s race<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Voters in L.A. County were asked to decide on increasing the sales tax by half a cent in order to offset federal spending cuts on healthcare.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nEarly returns indicate L.A. 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