Los Angeles County Measure J, also known as “Budget Allocation for Alternatives to Incarceration Charter Amendment,” is on the ballot this November for Santa Clarita residents and seeks to provide funding for community programs and alternatives to incarceration.

If passed, the county’s charter would be amended to require no less than 10 percent of the county’s general fund to be allocated to community programs and alternatives to incarceration, such as youth development programs and mental health services.

The general fund is the amount of Los Angeles County’s budget drawn from local taxes, which under the 2020-21 county budget amounted to approximately $8.8 billion. The 10 percent called for in Measure J is drawn from the “unrestricted funds” in the general fund, which is the money not already designated to a specific purpose, which amounts to roughly $4.9 billion.

This translates to somewhere in the range of $360 million and $500 million to be allocated to Measure J’s programs, according to projections provided by Los Angeles County CEO Fesia Davenport’s office.

More detailed information on the county’s budget is available at the L.A. County CEO’s website, here.

In addition, the passage of the measure would authorize the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to develop the process to allocate the funds as well as endowing them with the authority to reduce the amount allocated with a vote of 4-1 during a declared fiscal emergency.

The measure is supported by four out of five members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the sole opponent on the board is Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who serves the Santa Clarita Valley as part of her constituency.

The measure was initially put on the ballot through a 4-1 vote on the county Board of Supervisors in August, at which time Barger released a statement voicing her dissent.

“The county is facing monumental economic upheaval created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting prolonged closures and health care costs,” said Barger. “The county should be even more judicious with taxpayers’ dollars and allocate funds accordingly. Unrestricted funds can be used in a variety of ways during this financial crisis, including to close the county’s current budget deficit and minimize future layoffs.”

Other official opponents of the measure include Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, the Association for Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputies, the Coalition of Probation Unions and the Association of Deputy District Attorneys.

Villanueva has cited fears of cuts to the Sheriff’s department as the primary motivation for his opposition, particularly in the wake of the “defund the police” rhetoric that swept into political spheres across the nation in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis this summer.

1/2 As of 9/29/20 the Board of Supervisors continued their campaign to defund the LASD. $105 million additional dollars are being diverted to support CRIMINAL offender programs such as the Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) initiative. pic.twitter.com/nTNoU8Lwsz

— Alex Villanueva (@LACoSheriff_33) October 2, 2020

Proponents of Measure J however argue that it is not an attack on the police budget as the measure does not specify where the cuts will come from to fund the initiative.

“I believe it is our collective intention to ensure that Los Angeles County’s budget reflects the diverse needs and values of our constituencies, but many of us know there is more work to do to drive towards a more equitable Los Angeles County,” said Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.“A reimagining that de-emphasizes the punitive system and reemphasizes the rehabilitative and restorative. A reimagining that truly prioritizes community health and wellbeing.”

The 2020-21 budget projections show the Sheriff’s Department is slated to be appropriated approximately $2.2 billion in funding. A ten percent cut of funding from the general fund, which is not a guarantee under the measure, would amount to roughly $114 million.

More information from the supporters and opponents of the measure are available on the official site for Yes on Measure J here, and the No on Measure J site here.

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