LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to rescind last week’s vote to put a marijuana tax on the November ballot to fund the fight against homelessness.
Supervisor Sheila Kuehl recommended backing away from the tax proposal, saying she was concerned by a lack of support among homeless advocates.
Kuehl said it would take about $3 million to successfully mount a campaign for the measure, making it important to be sure “everyone is with you.”
The board itself was divided on the measure, with Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas pushing hard last week for a quarter-cent general sales tax rather than a gross receipts tax on marijuana businesses.
But Ridley-Thomas failed to get the four votes he needed and then stood firm against the marijuana tax, despite his belief that homeless is an emergency issue for the county.
Kuehl did not cite Ridley-Thomas’ opposition as a factor. However, Ridley-Thomas successfully campaigned against a 2014 ballot measure to fund county parks with a parcel tax because he thought it didn’t allocate enough resources to underserved communities.
To fund a host of strategies to fight homelessness, which county Chief Executive Officer Sachi Hamai has said will cost $450 million annually, the board has also considered a parcel tax and a so-called millionaire’s tax, a half-percent tax on personal income in excess of $1 million.
State legislators who would have had to grant the county the right to levy the millionaire’s tax failed to take the issue up before the summer recess, leaving the measure unable to meet deadlines for the November ballot.
The board will work with the community before deciding on its next step, according to Kuehl, who sought to reassure residents and advocates that the county is still very serious about homeless services.
She also reminded attendees at the board’s weekly meeting about the money the county has already put to work.
“The media seems to sneeze at $150 million we put in this year,” Kuehl said. “That’s a big sneeze for me.”
Previous related story: County to ask voters for marijuana business tax to help homeless
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Anon says
Much better to use a Pot Tax not only because you would take the load off of struggling in debt homeowners, but because it would help eliminate the Mexican/Salvadorian mafia! Right now, there are umpteen illegal pot growers in all sorts of areas, large-scale, whether they built huge growing facilities right in Palmdale in what looks like huge mobile homes in back of homes or large mountain areas where no one notices who in turn hire illegal immigrants and rape the girls and women, then threaten them, so they cannot go to an officer or agency for help. These illegal pot growing larger scale domains are cutting into funding that Ca needs, plus there is no real oversight on the type of pot needed for medical conditions. It is a proven fact that much of the time, many folks with illnesses, such as kidney disease, cancer, and so forth do quite well on a little pot instead of the hard core narcotic drugs that medical professionals hand out. Hard core medicines all have side effects but most people are not educated enough to even understand this factor if it was presented to them in reading format or a short form essay! All meds, even non narcotic types of meds have side effects, which can be dangerous!!!! Marijuana is in fact non addictive and has no real physical side effects, except for a small minority who just can’t stand the mental effects of pot. The dangers of pot are this: Mexican cartel and mafia; cutting into the USA’s profits and tax margins; dangerous treks and human sex trafficking connected with foreign mafia pot sales and growth; and the fact that illegals are growing large scale pot farms right here in California and the USA without any authority knowing about these huge farms. The issue is is that only certain types of pot and real defined rules need to apply so that special oils are made available from the pot without getting children high or affected who have epilepsy. This special oil cures and has been known to help various serious conditions; whereas, Western type of narcotic related medicines cannot or have not helped! There are proven substantial reports, videos, newscasts available on these epileptic children whose lives were saved by the oil. There are oils available which do not effect the mentality of a person as well. There are factors involved with pot growing, which I don’t know the details but a lower ingredient or type makes it safer to use. All the safety rules may cause danger in the mountainous areas, on backlots of homes in the AV, where immigrants come to sell their stuff. If legal, only those with medical conditions need apply and would have to provably have a condition and they cannot combine a bunch of drugs with pot maybe! Also, drinking & pot does not mix or is not beneficial to any condition. Drinking more than a small glass of wine even more than once a day, is usual a signal to alcoholism. If legal, only legal sales locations who pay taxes need apply and those will fill prescriptions and pay taxes to support those communities. This will oust the illegals, including dangerous Mexican mafia, Salvadorean mafia, and so forth. They will no longer compel and force slaves into the US to do their bidding either eliminating part of the crime that enters the USA. Legal sales medical spots with licenses and full oversight as to where they purchase and from whom means taxes for communities and incentives to lower taxes on homeowners or the poor and middle class!
Better yet: The alcohol industry should pay more taxes for the homeless, because I would bank that 85% of the homeless are alcoholic! Why not allow the perpetrator of this chemical pay for the damages and clean up as well? The oil industry should do that to and has done so with the BP oil spill.
Concerned Person says
I wonder if this had anything to do with grace decision to decrease it’s shelter number on the 15 of August.
Blue B. says
What is a better way for the board to “work with the community” than to leave the issue up for their vote? So now this won’t be on the ballot? How does the board plan on hearing from “the community”?
Be equal says
I know right