Los Angeles County leaders are rushing to restore a massive racial justice initiative that voters accidentally abolished. This is a mistake that could threaten hundreds of millions of dollars dedicated to reducing the number of people in prison.
The county supervisor voted unanimously on Tuesday to ask his attorney to find a way to regain the voting measurement known as Measure J.
Last week, voters voted for a completely unrelated measure to overhaul county government last November, and learned that they unconsciously abolished the landmark criminal justice reform passed in 2020 amid the Black Life Matter movement.
Supervisor Lindsey Horvath led the county overhaul known as Measure G, and along with supervisor Janice Hahn called it “Colossal Fiasco.”
“This situation that unfolds is furious and unacceptable at all levels. “It’s a bureaucratic disaster with real consequences.”
The county says it is considering multiple options to permanently return J to the charter deciding how the county governs, including changes to state law, court rulings, or voting measures in 2026.
“We cannot negate the will of the voters,” Hearn said.
County lawyers say the mistake is due to a “management error” that was recently discovered.
Last November, voters expanded their five-person oversight committee to nine members, including elected chief executives, and approved other overhauls.
What no one, including the county lawyers, wrote the voting measures, seemed to have noticed is that one measure wipes out other measures.
Major G rewrites the charter chunks without mentioning anti-acquisition funds, effectively wipes out the county’s promise to keep people out of jail and put hundreds of millions of people in services that will support them when they leave.
The repeal comes into effect in 2028, and the county gives it three years to amend it.
“I agree there are all sorts of reasons to be furious, but the sky hasn’t fallen. Even if you think the sky is falling, it won’t fall until December 2028.” “There are multiple opportunities to fix this.”
The mistake was first discovered last month by former Duarte City Councilman John Fasana, who is sitting on the task force responsible for implementing the county government’s overhaul. The county confirmed the mistake in the Times last week, the day after Fasana publicly filed it with fellow unsuspecting task force members.
Critics of the measure say the mistake adds credibility to their argument that the county’s overhaul was rushed and put too close.
“If you have to go back to the voting, that’s [Measure] g,” Fasana said.
Otherwise, he says, the county has set an uneasy precedent.
“It’s like setting a blueprint to steal an election,” Fasana said. “You basically have this way to invalidate something passed by the voters.”
Some people may be worried that if one of the measurements is back to the poll, this time there is a risk that voters will refuse it.
Major G faced important opposition from two seating customers who claimed that the elected chief executive was too strong. I passed just slightly over 51% of the vote.
Anti-group measures also faced intense opposition in 2020, particularly from the ASSN. For the Los Angeles deputy sheriff, it spent more than $3.5 million on advertising on television and social media. The measure was passed with 57% of votes.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge found it unconstitutional after arguing that a group of unions, including the sheriff’s deputies coalition, had hindered the taxpayer’s ability to properly manage money. The appeals court later reversed the decision.
Major J requires 10% of locally generated unlimited LA counties to be spent on social services such as housing, mental health treatment and other prison detour programs. This amounts to approximately $288 million this year. The county is prohibited from spending money on physical systems, including prisons, prisons and law enforcement agencies.
Derek Haye, head of the Deputy Sheriff’s Deputy Coalition and a member of the Governance Reform Task Force, said the county believed that if the coalition consulted with an attorney and tried to resolve the issue through a court decision, the county would succeed.
“Modifying state law or implementing another voting measure — it’s kind of upstream swim,” he said. “These are the most expensive and difficult things.”
Megan Castillo, coordinator of the Reimagine La Coalition, who promoted the anti-comprehensive action, said that if the group has to return to the vote, he would try to cut down on languages that would give the county too much wiggle room on how funds are allocated. The Union has repeatedly clashed with county leaders over a sum that was actually intended to be put aside under J.
“If we have to go to the ballot box, we’re going to demand more,” she said.
Councilman eunisses Hernandez helped to implement anti-violation measures on the vote, but said he was suspicious of the mistakes made by the county lawyer.
“I feel like I’m too good at my job to get this error,” Hernandez said.
County leaders stress that the error was purely coincidence and put aside concerns that there are specific differences in what the abolition is funded.
When Measurement J was temporarily overturned by the court, the board promised to continue both the “spirit and letter” of the measure, booking a chunk of budgets for services that would keep people out of prisons and support returnees. Even if Measurement J is not revived, it still applies.
The motion passed Tuesday directs the county to work on the ordinance to ensure “continuous implementation of Measurement J” beyond 2028.
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