League of Women Voters, Los Angeles
Placed on the ballot by vote of the Los Angeles City Council
A 2/3 vote is required for passage
To provide safe, clean affordable housing for the homeless and for those in danger of becoming homeless, such as battered women and their children, veterans, seniors, foster youth, and the disabled; and provide facilities to increase access to mental health care, drug and alcohol treatment, and other services; shall the City of Los Angeles issue $1,200,000,000 in general obligation bonds, with citizen oversight and annual financial audits?
| Proposition HHH |
Votes |
Percent |
| Yes |
909,486 |
77.12% |
| No |
269,814 |
22.88% |
1,700 of 1,700 precincts reporting (100.00%) | 2/3 of votes cast
The Question: Should the city issue $1.2 billion in bonds to provide safe, clean
affordable housing for the homeless and those in danger of being homeless, and
provide facilities to increase access to mental health care, drug and alcohol treatment
and other services?
Bonds: Bonds are a way of borrowing a large sum of money and paying it back with
interest over a number of years. School districts, cities and the state use bonds to raise
money to pay for expensive building projects.
The Situation: According to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA),
there are approximately 26,000 homeless individuals in Los Angeles, a growth of 11%
in the past year. Homelessness and homeless encampments have increased citywide
and are a safety and public health issue. In February, 2016, the city adopted the
“Comprehensive Homeless Strategy” that determined that 13,000 units of new housing,
including 10,000 units of supportive housing, are needed to house the homeless, at an
estimated cost exceeding $1 billion. The city’s strategy, in accordance with the position
of the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and LAHSA, is that
providing stable housing to homeless individuals as a first step is more effective than
providing services without guaranteed housing.
The Proposal: Proposition HHH would authorize the city to issue general obligation
bonds in the amount of $1.2 billion to develop housing and facilities for the homeless
and affordable housing for those at risk of homelessness, including temporary shelters ,
showers, storage facilities and facilities to be used to provide supportive services. Bond
proceeds may not be used to finance services or operations, or to replace any existing
sources of funds dedicated to developing similar housing and facilities.
An annual plan to prioritize funding would be required, as well as the establishment of
Citizens Oversight and Administrative Oversight Commissions to monitor the bond
program, and annual financial audits which would be available to the public.
Financial Impact: Principal and interest on the bonds will be paid from additional
property taxes to be levied on taxable property in the city according to its assessed
value. Over the life of the bonds, the estimated annual tax rate would be $9.64 per
$100,000 of assessed value. For the owner of a home assessed at $341,000, the
estimated average tax would be $32.87 for 29 years.
The best estimate of the total debt service that would have to be repaid if all the bonds
were issued, including the principal ($1.2 billion) and interest ($693 million) is
$1,893,000,000.
Once all the bonds are issued and all bond proceeds spent, there would be additional
costs to administer the program, estimated at $1.6 million each year.
Supporters say:
Proposition HHH is a common-sense, cost-effective approach to solving the problem of
growing homelessness, increasing encampments and at-risk populations of homeless
women and children, seniors and veterans. It will provide the resources we need to
reduce the number of people living on our streets, build more supportive housing, and
facilitate access to necessary services.
Opponents Say:
Proposition HHH is an unnecessary and unfair tax that would not be levied equally on
all property owners. Recent homeowners would pay much more, while renters, even
wealthy ones, would pay nothing. The bonds can only be used for land and buildings
and not for operating homeless shelters, mental health or substance abuse treatment or
extra policing.
Signers of Arguments in Favor::
Elise Buck, United Way of Greater Los Angeles; Gary Toebben, Los Angeles Area
Chamber of Commerce; Michael Alvidrez, Skid Row Housing Trust; Antonia Hernandez,
California Community Foundation; Dr. Mitchell Katz, MD, Los Angeles County
Department of Health Services; Rusty Hicks, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor;
Richard Close, Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association; Faye Washington, YWCA of
Greater Los Angeles; Hon. Zev Yaroslavsky, Supervisor 3rd District (ret.);Charles E.
Blake, Sr., West Angeles Church of God in Christ.
Signers of Arguments Against::
G. Rick Marshall, California Taxpayers Action Network; Jack Humpreville,
Neighborhood Council Budget Advocate; Mark Ryavec, former Chief Deputy Assessor;
Jay Handal, Citywide Budget Advocates; Gary Aminoff, Alliance for Liberty; Denny
Schneider, Community Activist.
A YES Vote means: You want to authorize $1.2 billion in general obligation bonds to
pay for affordable housing and facilities for the homeless and those at risk of becoming
homeless.
A NO Vote means: You do not want to authorize these bonds.
