Los Angeles residents vote against Measure S, pass Measure M, H
By Madeleine Pauker
March 8, 2017 9:04 a.m.
About 11 percent of Los Angeles County residents voted in municipal elections Tuesday, deciding the future of several ballot initiatives.
Measure S failed. The measure would have put a two-year moratorium on development that increases housing density, banned projects from amending the city’s general plan, required city staff rather than developers to complete environmental impact reports and mandated a public review of the general plan every five years.
The measure aimed to curtail donations from developers to city officials in exchange for their support of development projects. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation provided 99 percent of the measure’s campaign funding.
Measure H secured the two-thirds approval vote needed to pass. Measure H levies a 0.25 percent sales tax to fund mental health, substance abuse treatment, housing, education and other services for homeless individuals.
Measure H was endorsed by Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey, the California Children’s Defense Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.
Measure M passed, while Measure N failed. Measure M, which competed with Measure N, will allow the city council to regulate recreational marijuana sales and consumption, effect penalties on unauthorized marijuana activity and levy new taxes on recreational marijuana.
The measure would create a 10 percent gross tax on recreational marijuana sales and 5 percent for medical marijuana sales.
Measure M was endorsed by Los Angeles police chief Charlie Beck, the Los Angeles Business Council and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor.
Measure N was citizen-sponsored and proposed a framework for the commerce of recreational marijuana. However, the measure’s initial backers stopped supporting it and asked voters to reject it and vote in favor of Measure M instead.
