This week’s special elections yielded important results for hospitals, including the defeat of a Los Angeles ballot measure that would have taxed hospitals. Measure EE, proposed by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), would have enacted a parcel tax (a type of property tax ) to generate money that would support smaller class sizes and staffing increases for the next 12 years. Hospitals in the LAUSD would have been subject to the new tax.
Parcel taxes require a two-thirds majority of voters to pass; measure EE only gained 45% of the vote. CHA and the Hospital Association of Southern California joined in the opposition of Measure EE to protect hospitals in the LAUSD from these increased costs.
Two special elections were also held in other parts of the state — Lena Gonzalez (D) won Senate District 33 in Long Beach, and Brian Dahle (R) won Senate District 1, which covers parts of Northern California. CHA looks forward to working with Gonzalez and Dahle as we continue advocating on behalf of our members.