Los Angeles County, California, Measure J, Budget Allocation for Alternatives to Incarceration Charter Amendment (November 2020)

Los Angeles County Measure J
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Local law enforcement
Status a Approved
Type Referral	Origin Lawmakers
List of California measuresCalifornia Proposition 13 (March)California Proposition 14California Proposition 15California Proposition 16California Proposition 17California Proposition 18California Proposition 19California Proposition 20California Proposition 21California Proposition 22California Proposition 23California Proposition 24California Proposition 25Submit

A charter amendment to allocate money from the general fund to alternatives to incarceration was on the ballot for Los Angeles County voters in California, on November 3, 2020. It was approved. On June 17, however, Los Angeles County Superior Court Mary Strobel announced a tentative decision to overturn Measure J.

A "yes" vote supported: amending the county's charter to require that no less than 10% of the county's general fund be appropriated to community programs and alternatives to incarceration, such as health services and pre-trial non-custody services; authorizing the Board of Supervisors to develop a process to allocate funds; and authorizing the Board of Supervisors to reduce the amount allocated with a vote of 4-1 during a declared fiscal emergency.

A "no" vote opposed amending the county charter to require that no less than 10% of the county's general fund be appropriated to community programs and alternatives to incarceration.

Aftermath

Lawsuit

  

Lawsuit overview
Issue: Constitutionality; whether the measure unconstitutionally restricts the ability of the board of supervisors to allocate revenue
Court: Los Angeles County Superior Court
Timeline: Filed in 2020 about a 2020 ballot measure
Ruling: Tentative ruling in favor of plaintiffs overturning Measure J
Plaintiff(s): The Coalition of County Unions, including the Assn. of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs	Defendant(s): Los Angeles Board of Supervisors
Plaintiff argument: Measure J unconstitutionally limited the ability of the county board to allocate revenue	Defendant argument: The county charter addresses many budget issues, and Measure J is just another of many budget restrictions in the charter

  Source: Los Angeles times

On June 17, 2021, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mary Strobel announced a decision to overturn Measure J. Strobel said that Measure J unconstitutionally limited how the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors could decide revenue allocations. Strobel gave 15 days for both plaintiffs and defendants to submit more evidence. The county appealed the ruling.

The Coalition of County Unions, which includes the Assn. of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, filed the lawsuit against the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors.

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approves funding

On August 10, 2021, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the allocation of $187.7 million to projects within its care first, jails last vision. The program was created through input from an advisory committee created to provide ideas for alternatives to incarceration.

Measure J not added to county charter before Measure G approval

During a task force meeting for the implementation of Measure G, which was approved in 2024 and also amended the county charter, it was reported that Measure J was never added to the county charter, so the approval of Measure G effectively repealed Measure J. On July 15, 2025, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to direct their lawyers to find a way to bring back Measure J.

Election results

A simple majority vote was required for the approval of the amendment.

Los Angeles County Measure J
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		2,159,690	57.12%
No		1,621,198	42.88%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Measure design

The charter amendment was designed to require that 10% of the unrestricted general funds be appropriated to community investment and alternatives to incarceration. For community investment, the amendment included allocations of funds to the following:

• youth development programs,
• job training and low-income jobs,
• investment in small minority-owned businesses,
• rent assistance, housing vouchers, and transitional housing.

For alternatives to incarceration, the amendment included allocations of funds to the following:

• community-based restorative justice programs,
• pre-trial non-custody services and treatment, and
• health services, counseling, and mental health and substance use disorder services.

The amendment was designed to become effective on July 1, 2021, and implement the 10% allocation over three years with the full set-aside in effect by June 30, 2024. The amendment was also designed to authorize the Board of Supervisors to reduce the 10% allocation with a 4-1 vote during declared fiscal emergencies.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Measure J was as follows:

“

Shall the measure, annually allocating in the County's budget no less than ten percent (10%) of the County's locally generated unrestricted revenues in the general fund to address the disproportionate impact of racial injustice through community investment and alternatives to incarceration and prohibiting using those funds for carceral systems and law enforcement agencies as detailed in the ordinance adopting the proposed charter amendment, be adopted?

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Support

Re-imagine Los Angeles led the campaign in support of the charter amendment.

Supporters

Officials

• County supervisor Janice Hahn (Nonpartisan)
• County supervisor Sheila Kuehl (Nonpartisan)
• County supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas (Nonpartisan)
• County supervisor Hilda Solis (D)

Arguments

• Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter: "It's time to go back to the ballot. Reforming L.A. jails through Measure R was phase 1. Now it's time re-imagine and reinvest in a whole new paradigm for dignity, safety, and health."
• Elizabeth Alcantar, mayor of Cudahy: "Allocating 10% towards community investment is what we need for our communities of color, like mine, to address long standing inequities and disproportionate incarceration rates."
• Los Angeles Times Editorial Board: "In July, the Times editorial board criticized the supervisors for even putting the measure before voters because there was so little time to shape the details and analyze the possible consequences. In the weeks since, we have gotten answers and worked through our misgivings. We urge voters to say yes, because the measure correctly resets the county’s spending priorities to match the needs of its people. Measure J hardly evens the playing field, but it makes it a bit less slanted by ensuring that at least 1 of every 10 unencumbered, locally generated dollars is invested in services geared toward treatment and economic development rather than law enforcement and punishment."

Opposition

Opponents

Officials

• County supervisor Kathryn Barger (Nonpartisan)
• County sheriff Alex Villanueva

Unions

• Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
• Coalition of Probation Unions

Organizations

• Association of Deputy District Attorneys

Arguments

• Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger: "The county is facing monumental economic upheaval created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting prolonged closures and health care costs. 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."
• Michele Hanisee, president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys: "The proposed Charter amendment is a knee-jerk reaction to the recent civic unrest and not the product of thoughtful deliberation from a broad cross-section of stakeholders."

Background

George Floyd death and protests

See also: Policy changes in response to the killing of and protests about George Floyd

On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officers arrested George Floyd, a black man, after receiving a call that he had made a purchase with a counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd died after Derek Chauvin, a white officer, arrived at the scene and pressed his knee onto Floyd's neck as Floyd laid face-down on the street in handcuffs. Both the Hennepin County Medical Examiner and an independent autopsy conducted by Floyd's family ruled Floyd's death as a homicide stemming from the incident. The medical examiner's report, prepared by Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson, said that it was "not a legal determination of culpability or intent, and should not be used to usurp the judicial process."

Floyd's death was filmed and shared widely, leading to protests and demonstrations over racism, civil rights, and police use of force. The first protests took place in Minneapolis-St. Paul on May 26. A protest in Chicago organized by Chance the Rapper and Rev. Michael Pfleger took place the same day, making it the first major city outside of Minneapolis to host a protest over Floyd's death.

Click here to read more about responses to the killing of and protests about George Floyd.

Related 2020 ballot measures

See also: Local police-related ballot measures following the killing of and protests about George Floyd (November 2020)

Ballotpedia identified 18 local police-related or law enforcement measures on the ballot for November 3, 2020, that qualified following the death of George Floyd. The local ballot measures were on the ballot in nine cities and four counties within six states. The local ballot measures concerned police practices, police oversight boards and auditors, police staffing and funding levels, recordings from police body and dashboard cameras, and other policies.

State	Jurisdiction	Title	Description	Result
California	Los Angeles County	Measure J	Requires that no less than 10% of the county's general fund be appropriated to community programs and alternatives to incarceration	a
California	Oakland	Measure S1	Changes the powers, duties, and staffing of the Oakland Police Commission and creates the Office of Inspector General	a
California	San Diego	Measure B	Replaces the Community Review Board on Police Practices with the Commission on Police Practices that would be appointed by the city council to conduct investigations and subpoena witnesses and documents related to deaths resulting from police interactions and complaints made against police officers	a
California	San Francisco	Proposition D	Creates the Sheriff's Department Oversight Board and the Sheriff's Department Office of Inspector General	a
California	San Francisco	Proposition E	Removes the mandatory police staffing level from the city's charter	a
California	San Jose	Measure G	Authorizes the independent police auditor to review reports and records related to officer-involved shootings and uses of force	a
California	Sonoma County	Measure P	Makes changes to the powers and duties of the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO)	a/ot
Illinois	DuPage County	Law Enforcement Budget Advisory Referendum	Advises the county to continue to consider law enforcement and public safety as its top budgeting priority	a
Illinois	DuPage County	Law Enforcement Injury Risk Training Advisory Referendum	Advises the county to continue to fund and support law enforcement training methods that decrease the risk of injury to officers and suspects	a
Ohio	Akron	Release of Recordings from Police Body and Dashboard Cameras after Use of Force Charter Amendment	Requires recordings from police body and dashboard cameras documenting police use of force that results in death or serious injury to be released to the public	a
Ohio	Columbus	Issue 2	Creates the Civilian Police Review Board to investigate alleged police misconduct, subpoena testimony and evidence during the investigations, make recommendations to the Division of Police, and appoint and manage the new position of Inspector General for the Division of Police	a
Oregon	Portland	Measure 26-217	Establishes a new police oversight board in the city's charter	a
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	Question 1	Adds language to the Philadelphia City Charter calling on the police department to "eliminate the practice of unconstitutional stop and frisk, consistent with judicial precedent"	a
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	Question 3	Creates a Citizens Police Oversight Commission to replace the Police Advisory Commission	a
Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh	Independent Citizen Police Review Board Charter Amendment	Requires police officers to cooperate with investigations conducted by the Independent Citizen Police Review Board	a
Texas	Kyle	Proposition F	Amends the city charter to authorize the city council to adopt procedures and a committee to review the police department	a
Washington	King County	Charter Amendment 1	Requires investigations into all police-related deaths and to provide public attorneys to represent the decedent's family in the investigation	a
Washington	King County	Charter Amendment 4	Amends the county charter to authorize the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight (OLEO) to subpoena witnesses, documents, and other evidence in its investigations of law enforcement personnel	a
Washington	King County	Charter Amendment 5	Returns the office of the sheriff from an elected position to an appointed position that is appointed by the county executive and confirmed by the county council	a
Washington	King County	Charter Amendment 6	Gives the county council the authority to specify the duties of the sheriff	a

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in California

This measure was put on the ballot through a 4-1 vote of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on August 4, 2020. County Supervisors Sheila Kuehl, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Hilda Solis, and Janice Hahn voted in favor of the amendment. Supervisor Kathryn Barger voted against the amendment.

See also

Local measures

• Local measures in 2020
• Local law enforcement on the ballot
• County budget on the ballot
• Los Angeles County measures

California

• November 3, 2020 measures in California
• Local ballot measures, California
• Los Angeles County, California

News and analysis

• State and local preemption conflicts
• Measures advancing national agendas

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Los Angeles County Elections Office website