Los Angeles County voters will be voting on a half-cent sales tax increase in June to plug the gap in healthcare services created by cuts in Medi-Cal by Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration.

The county Board of Supervisors voted to place the sales tax measure on the ballot after a lengthy discussion and public testimony from dozens of residents on Tuesday, Feb. 10. The board voted 4-1, with Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, a Republican, voting no.

Cuts from the House Resolution 1 (“One Big Beautiful Bill”) approved in July will reduce the county healthcare funding by $2.4 billion over the next three years, removing hundreds of thousands of low-income residents from federal health care coverage, while cutting funds to county Department of Health Services and Department of Public Health for medical services provided by 24 clinics, numerous county hospitals and also prevention services such as vaccines and ocean water testing for toxics and bacteria.

The motion was sponsored by Second District Supervisor Holly Mitchell, co-sponsored by First District Supervisor Hilda Solis. The two supervisors said this is a way for voters in the county to ensure healthcare access.

“This motion gives the voters a choice: Are you willing to support this half-cent general sales tax increase? From my perspective, there is no other option for Los Angeles County to close a $2.4 billion gap from H.R. 1,” said Mitchell.

State funding reductions in healthcare are exacerbating the issue. Due to budget constraints, California rolled back health care coverage for undocumented immigrants and reduced funding for other initiatives.

In January, the California Department of Health Care Services stopped enrolling new adult patients without legal status in its state-funded health care program, Medi-Cal. The state is expected to cut non-emergency dental care for immigrants here illegally who are already enrolled in the program.

State officials agreed to enact a $30 monthly premium starting in July 2027 for immigrants who remain on the program, including those with legal status.

Federal dollars do not support these initiatives, as using federal funding for those here illegally is against the law.

A similar sales tax hike was approved in November by voters in Santa Clara County to address reductions in federal funding on health care, and some labor unions are pushing for a proposed statewide billionaires tax to support the health care system.

If approved by county voters, the proposed measure would further establish a nine-member citizens’ oversight committee to ensure fiscal accountability for any revenue raised, which involves annual independent audits and making recommendations on how to allocate the funding.

Committee members would serve three-year terms and they would be eligible for reappointment by the Board of Supervisors.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has criticized the proposed sales-tax measure.

“The sales tax is already too high in Los Angeles County, so high that the most recent half-percent increase for homelessness services required special legislation from the state to allow it to exceed the cap on local sales taxes that is in state law. Raising the sales tax again is unreasonable and unfairly harsh on those who are least able to afford it,” the association said in a statement.

The organization is working to qualify an initiative constitutional amendment to rescind recently approved special taxes and ensure a two-third vote requirement for all local special taxes.