What you should know about LA County Measure G – NBC Los Angeles

Los Angeles County voters will have the final say Tuesday on a package of charter changes intended to overhaul the county's administrative structure.

Measure G would accomplish this, among other things, by increasing the size of the Board of Supervisors and making the county board an elected office.

If approved by voters, Measure G would expand the board of supervisors from five to nine members after the 2030 census and give the county CEO an elected position through 2028. The measure would also create the positions of county legislative analyst and budget director for management.

The proposal also calls for the establishment of an ethics committee and a compliance officer by 2026. The Board of Supervisors has already begun the process of establishing an ethics commission, with Supervisor Kathryn Barger noting that the move does not require voter approval. However, should it be approved on the ballot, its existence would be codified in the bylaws, along with the establishment of a compliance officer, protecting it from being dissolved in the future without another public vote.

The measure also contains a number of other provisions, including the creation of a commission that would review the county charter every ten years; call on all district offices to submit their annual budgets
public meetings; Require that all board agenda items be posted at least 120 hours before a regular meeting; authorize the suspension of an elected official charged with a crime related to violation of official duties; establish a task force to monitor implementation of the changes; and require that the changes be made at no additional cost to taxpayers.

The bylaw changes were advocated by Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Janice Hahn and seconded by Supervisor Hilda Solis.

Stephanie Perry, Exit Polling Manager at NBC News, explains the entire process that involves conducting this poll after voters have cast their ballot.

Horvath and Hahn argued the need to make the changes, saying the current county charter was adopted in 1912, when the population was about 500,000. But the county now has 10 million residents and includes 88 incorporated cities within its borders.

Currently, 10 million people in the district are represented by five people on the board.

However, there was disagreement among the board about the proposals. Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Kathryn Barger both voted against placing the package on the ballot. They suggested the changes would be accelerated and questioned whether nine was the right number of members on an expanded board.

They also opposed the concept of an elected chief executive, saying in a ballot argument against the measure that the person lacked accountability, served without term limits while having the power to control the county's huge budget, and that The board's authority over the budget and ability to hold department heads accountable would be weakened.

Opponents also questioned the notion that the changes could be implemented without new costs to taxpayers, given the creation of new elected and county offices.