Committee advances bill to let Los Angeles and Contra Costa voters decide local sales-tax measure for services

The Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation advanced AB 17 68 after testimony from health providers, county officials and labor groups who said the measure would let local voters choose whether to raise revenue to offset federal funding cuts.

On behalf of the author, a presenter (speaker 11) said the bill "simply gives voters the ability to decide whether they want to invest in their own communities and protect critical health infrastructure at the county level." Planned Parenthood's Juliana Serrano said losing federal Medicaid reimbursement had left safety-net clinics at risk and that voter-approved local revenue could sustain services.

Dennis Cuevas Romero of the California Primary Care Association told the committee that community health centers face clinic closures, staffing shortages and greatly reduced capacity unless new revenue is available.

Committee member DeMaio (speaker 4) urged a no vote, arguing the cost-of-living crisis made another local tax unaffordable for residents and called for tighter government spending oversight. He said the bill "is outrageously irresponsible for elected officials...to sit there and say, well, let's just get more money for them."

Assemblymember Curio (speaker 21) asked for an oversight committee to ensure county revenue is distributed equitably across regions, citing past distribution patterns under Measure H in Los Angeles County.

The motion to move the bill carried; the chair instructed the secretary that AB 17 68 was "due passed to the local government committee." The roll call recorded a committee result reported as 5 to 2.

The bill includes a sunset provision: the measure, if enacted, would expire in 2031 unless renewed or changed, and any local tax would be decided by county voters.