As LA County Sales Tax Goes Up Another 0.25% "For the Homeless," a Federal Judge Questions Where the Money Went

A new quarter-cent sales tax aimed at funding homelessness programs in Los Angeles County starts on Tuesday. This increases the county's base sales tax from 9.5% to 9.75%. This change comes shortly after a federal judge raised concerns about how previous homelessness funds were used. Such timing has sparked worries about transparency, especially since there have been indications that millions in public funds may have been mismanaged by agencies meant to tackle homelessness.

The new Measure A, also known as the Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions and Prevention Now, replaces Measure H. Measure H was a half-cent tax voters approved in 2017, which was set to end in 2027. Unlike Measure H, Measure A is permanent unless voters decide to repeal it.

About 60% of the revenue from this tax is designated for homelessness services. Additionally, 35.75% will go to the newly established L.A. County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency. The remaining 15% will be distributed to cities based on their yearly homeless population counts.

US District Court Judge David O. Carter criticized the spending of public homeless funds primarily due to a persistent lack of transparency, accountability, and effective oversight in how these funds were being utilized, particularly by the city and county of Los Angeles.

His frustration stemmed from evidence that billions of dollars allocated to address the homelessness crisis were not being tracked properly, leading to potential waste and fraud, with little tangible improvement in conditions for the homeless population.

Carter's critiques were notably highlighted during a series of court hearings and rulings tied to a lawsuit filed by the LA Alliance for Human Rights, which he has overseen since 2020. For instance, in a March 2025 hearing, he described the situation as a "slow train wreck," pointing to multiple audits-dating back to 2007 and as recent as 2024-that revealed the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) failed to maintain adequate data systems or hold vendors accountable for how funds were spent.

An independent audit he ordered, covering $2.4 billion spent by the city over four years ending in mid-2023, found that LAHSA's deficiencies made it impossible to accurately determine where the money went or what services were actually provided. This lack of documentation led Carter to assert, "If there isn't documentation of the work being done, it's not being done."

Additionally, Carter expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the spending, noting that despite significant financial commitments, the homelessness crisis persisted unabated. He challenged officials to justify why funds weren't translating into measurable results, such as reduced numbers of unhoused individuals or improved services. His criticism extended to specific initiatives, like Mayor Karen Bass's Inside Safe program, which he pushed to be audited independently, though Bass resisted, citing legal constraints. Carter also called out LAHSA's leadership, including its CEO Va Lecia Adams Kellum, for ethical lapses and delays in providing data, further fueling his distrust in the system.

His broader concern was that the funds were not reaching the intended recipients-homeless individuals-due to bureaucratic inefficiencies and a lack of coordination between city and county officials. This led him to threaten drastic measures, such as appointing a court-ordered receiver to take control of the spending, underscoring his belief that the current approach was failing both taxpayers and the unhoused population. Carter's hands-on approach, including personal visits to homeless encampments, reinforced his view that the system was broken and required urgent, court-enforced reform.