Measure ER was losing, with about 54% of votes against, and 46% in favor, according to early returns released Tuesday night, June 2.
The first vote tally, occurring at about 8:37 p.m., were vote-by-mail ballots returned before Election Day, said the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder’s Office.
The measure, put on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors, asks voters to support a half-percent sales tax increase to help stave off the effects of federal cuts affecting county healthcare facilities, including the risk of some clinics and even hospitals closing.
• Also see: June 2 Primary Election Results
If approved, it would raise $1 billion annually to pay for clinics, workers and nonprofit entities that provide healthcare services administered by LA County.
The measure is led by Second District L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell and is supported by a coalition of clinics, labor unions and physician groups.
Jim Mangia, president and CEO of St. John’s Community Health, leads a group of clinics and healthcare workers called the Restore Healthcare for Angelenos coalition at a rally in Venice for a sales tax measure that would raise backfill dollars in LA County cut by H.R. 1. (image courtesy of Restore Healthcare for Angelenos)
The general sales tax increase puts money into the county’s general fund for five years and the tax sunsets in October 2031.
The Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to place the measure on the ballot, with an allocation plan that will move revenue primarily to nonprofit health care providers and county health departments and hospitals, but also to Planned Parenthood and city health care departments in Pasadena and Long Beach.
The measure needs 50% of the vote plus one for approval.
Also, besides a majority of votes, the measure needs a law that would allow the county to exceed a 2% tax rate. The county tax rate is 7.25%. So while there could be multiple sales taxes, also referred to as district taxes, within a county – issued by a county, city or local district, or a combination of these entities – those tax rates, taken together, can’t add up to more than 2%.
Any additional tax that would cause a county to exceed this 2% cap would require permission from the state.
On Monday, June 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1768 into law. It would grant that permission to L.A. County to implement Measure ER should voters approve it.
