A drafting error in LA County's Measure G accidentally wiped out $288 million a year in mental health and housing funding. Pasadena voters will decide in November whether to restore it.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday, July 28, to place a charter amendment on the Tuesday, November 3 ballot that would restore funding mandated by Measure J, a 2020 initiative that 57% of county voters approved. The measure requires 10% of unrestricted, locally generated county funds go toward alternatives to incarceration. In fiscal year 2025, that amounted to about $288 million countywide.

The problem: when voters approved Measure G in November 2024, the sweeping governance reform inadvertently repealed Measure J. County attorneys had never formally added Measure J's language to the county charter after its 2020 passage, according to the Los Angeles Times. So when Measure G rewrote the charter to create an elected county executive and expand the Board of Supervisors from five to nine members, it effectively erased Measure J from the books.

A member of the county's governance reform task force, which oversees Measure J implementation, discovered the mistake.

Without the November fix, the repeal would take effect in December 2028, cutting off funding for jail diversion programs including mental health services, housing assistance, and youth development.

How the board voted

Supervisor Holly Mitchell was absent. Supervisor Kathryn Barger abstained, saying the county should not "tie the hands of future Boards through mandated funding requirements."

Barger said Tuesday, July 28, that the board should retain flexibility to make budget decisions based on community needs rather than lock in mandated spending.

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who championed placing the measure on the ballot, said in a July 1 statement that correcting the administrative oversight was essential to ensuring the charter accurately reflects the law.

The remaining supervisors voted unanimously to send the fix to voters.

What it means for Pasadena

Pasadena residents voted on Measure G in 2024 as LA County voters and will vote again on the correction November 3. No Pasadena-specific breakdown of Measure J funding is available in county records, but the $288 million countywide pot funds programs that serve residents across all supervisorial districts.

The November 3 election is the next milestone. Pasadena voters can weigh in by casting a ballot on the charter amendment.