Measure A carryover (Comprehensive Homelessness Services)

Last year's unspent county homeless tax money, spent once.

What it is

Measure A is a half-cent sales tax that Los Angeles County voters approved on November 5, 2024. Stores have collected it since April 1, 2025, it has no end date, and it raises more than $1 billion a year. It replaced Measure H, the quarter-cent homelessness tax voters passed in 2017, which would have expired in 2027.

The law splits Measure A into shares. 60% goes to the county for Comprehensive Homelessness Services; inside that share, 15% goes to cities through the Local Solutions Fund and at least 1.65% to innovation. 1.25% pays for accountability, data and research. 3% goes to local housing production. 35.75% goes to a separate regional agency, LACAHSA, for affordable housing and renter protection. HSH spends the county's Comprehensive Homelessness Services share on outreach, interim housing, permanent housing and its own staff. In FY 2026-27 that share is $652,533,000: $538,815,000 of new Measure A money, $41,236,000 of carryover and $72,482,000 of state HHAP money.

Carryover is money that was budgeted for one year but not spent by June 30. It rolls into the next year's budget and can be spent once. HSH plans for it in advance. For FY 2026-27 it assumed 8% of the FY 2025-26 Comprehensive Homelessness Services money would go unspent, and it put that $41,236,000 into this year's plan.

HSH's first year was tight. It faced a $303,555,000 Measure A deficit for FY 2026-27. It closed the gap by cutting $92 million of new Pathway Home encampment funding, cutting about $105 million from outreach teams, regional coordination, prevention, supportive services, housing navigation and unit purchases, and counting about $65 million of higher revenue. Those are the year-one gaps. The FY 2027-28 draft plan and its revenue projection were due in October 2026 and were not found.

If the same 8% goes unspent in FY 2026-27, about $43 million would carry into FY 2027-28 (inference, low). We ask for $2 million to $3 million of it, once, to pay for the 150 Santa Monica beds in their first year.

How it started

Los Angeles County voters approved Measure H on March 7, 2017, with 69.34% of the vote, above the two-thirds it needed. It added a quarter-cent sales tax for ten years, projected at $355 million a year (secondhand, Ballotpedia); it later brought in about $500 million a year (secondhand). The county's Homeless Initiative planned its spending, and LAHSA and the Department of Health Services ran most contracts. With Measure H due to expire in 2027, advocates put Measure A on the November 5, 2024 ballot as a citizen initiative, which needed only a simple majority. It passed about 58% to 42% (secondhand, NBC Los Angeles). It doubled the rate to a half cent, removed the end date, repealed Measure H and took effect April 1, 2025 (fact, county). Measure H money left over is still being spent: the FY 2026-27 plan uses $48,390,000 of it, all assigned to Pathway Home, one-time investments and LAHSA's prior-year invoices (fact). HSH's first spending plan, adopted February 3, 2026, counted $62,557,000 of Measure A carryover in all: $41,236,000 for Comprehensive Homelessness Services, $17,977,000 for LAHSA's prior-year invoices, $3,000,000 for accountability and data and $344,000 for innovation (fact, Board letter). The FY 2027-28 plan follows the same calendar: a draft in October 2026, public comment to November 20, 2026, and Board approval January 26, 2027 (fact, HSH).

What we take and when

In the FY 2027-28 Measure A plan, starting July 1, 2027, $2.0 million to $3.0 million of FY 2026-27 Comprehensive Homelessness Services carryover pays for the 150 Santa Monica beds. It is one-time and covers year one only.

The numbers today

Measure A projected revenue, all shares$1,076,076,350FY 2025-26 fact
New Measure A money for Comprehensive Homelessness Services$538,815,000FY 2026-27 fact
Comprehensive Homelessness Services carryover in the plan, set at 8% of FY 2025-26 projected underspend$41,236,000FY 2026-27 fact
All Measure A carryover in the plan$62,557,000FY 2026-27 fact
Measure H carryover, fully assigned$48,390,000FY 2026-27 fact
Measure A deficit HSH had to close$303,555,000FY 2026-27 fact
How it closed: Pathway Home new funding cut; other cuts; added revenue$92,000,000; about $105,000,000; about $65,000,000FY 2026-27 fact
Interim housing spending in the Comprehensive Homelessness Services share$187,030,000 to $277,545,000FY 2025-26 to FY 2026-27 fact
Carryover into FY 2027-28 if 8% of $538,815,000 goes unspent againabout $43,000,000FY 2027-28 inference
Our take$2,000,000 to $3,000,000 onceFY 2027-28 inference
FY 2027-28 Measure A revenue projection and draft planNot establishedFY 2027-28 not

What we give up

$2 million to $3 million of one-time money HSH would otherwise use to patch its own FY 2027-28 gaps, such as restoring part of this year's $105 million of cuts or Pathway Home. If less than 8% goes unspent, the carryover will be smaller and this take competes harder with those uses. And like any one-time money, it leaves the beds with a gap from FY 2028-29.

Why this works

Carryover is homelessness money that was not spent in time. Putting part of it into beds that open in 2027 turns unspent dollars into nights indoors: $2 million to $3 million pays for about 26 to 53 bed-years at $57,000 to $76,400 (inference). Beds are what move the number of people sleeping outside. Culver City paired its 2023 camping ban with a safe sleeping site and 73 Homekey units, and its unsheltered count went from 139 in 2023 to 115 in 2024, then from 51 in 2025 to 38 in 2026 (fact/secondhand, Wave and Culver City Crossroads). New York, which must offer shelter to everyone, had about 3.5% of its homeless population unsheltered in 2025, against 66% in Los Angeles County (fact, NYC DSS and LAHSA). Clearing camps without places moves people instead of housing them: in Venice, Hollywood and Skid Row, RAND found about three vehicles or rough sleepers added for every four tents removed (fact, RAND). Houston's unsheltered count rose 15.8% in 2025 after its shelter capacity fell (fact, Coalition for the Homeless). Santa Monica moved 72 people from the street into interim housing in FY 2025-26 (secondhand, SMDP).

The strongest case against

Carryover is not spare money. HSH already counts it to balance a budget with a structural deficit: it used $41 million of carryover this year and still had to cut about $197 million (inference: $92 million plus $105 million). The 8% repeat is a guess, and as HSH gets better at spending, underspend falls. This year the revenue projection alone moved the deficit by about $65 million. Using one-time money for a bed that costs money every year builds a cliff into FY 2028-29: the beds open, people move in, and then the money is gone. And Pathway Home lost $92 million of new funding. Any carryover the county finds should restore encampment resolution across the county before it pays for beds in one city.

Our answer

We ask for about 5% to 7% of the carryover the county would see if this year repeats (inference). It is the smallest item in the stack, and we label it low confidence. The cliff is real. We state the year-two gap of $2.8 million to $3.3 million a year and the three ways to close it. D9 also asks the county to restore Pathway Home in Santa Monica, and we do not ask for carryover ahead of that. If HSH's draft shows no carryover, this line is zero, and the year-one stack falls to $7.82 million to $10.26 million (inference). We will say that in our comment.

Who decides

Who votes: HSH drafts the FY 2027-28 Measure A Spending Plan. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (Horvath, Solis, Mitchell, Hahn, Barger) adopts it.
Votes needed: 3 of 5 supervisors
When: Draft plan finalized October 2026. Public comment closes November 20, 2026. HSH presents the final plan to the Board January 12, 2027. The Board approves it January 26, 2027 (fact, HSH FY 2027-28 page, read 2026-10-11).
Note: HSH sets the carryover estimate in its draft plan. The Board adopts the plan with it.

The agenda or process

Questions people ask

If the money wasn't spent, doesn't that mean it wasn't needed?

Not necessarily. Underspend usually comes from contracts that start late or beds that open late (inference). HSH plans on it each year and spends it the next year.

Isn't this just moving money around?

Yes. It is money voters already approved for homelessness. We ask that $2 million to $3 million of what goes unspent pays for beds that open in 2027.

Why not use Santa Monica's own Measure A money?

The city already gets a Local Solutions Fund share, $1,296,779 in FY 2026-27, and put it into the Palm Motel. Counting it again here would count the same money twice.

Why not use LACAHSA's share of Measure A?

State law bars LACAHSA from funding homeless services. Its money goes to affordable housing and renter protection, so it cannot pay for a shelter bed.

What if there is no carryover next year?

Then this line is zero and the year-one stack falls to $7.82 million to $10.26 million. We would need a larger staffing cut or another source, and we say so in our comment.

Sources

HSH Draft FY 2026-27 Measure A Spending Plan$41,236,000 carryover labeled FY 25-26 projected underspend, 8%; interim housing $187,030,000 to $277,545,000
Board letter adopting the FY 2026-27 Spending Plan, 2026-02-03$538,815,000; $62,557,000 Measure A carryover and its parts; $48,390,000 Measure H carryover; $303,555,000 deficit; $92M, $105M and $65M; Measure A approved 2024-11-05, replaced Measure H 2025-04-01
HSH FY 2027-28 Measure A Spending Plan pageDraft October 2026; comment closes 2026-11-20; Board approval 2027-01-26; no revenue projection posted
LA County Measure A pageHalf cent; effective April 1, 2025; replaced Measure H; share percentages; over $1 billion a year
Ballotpedia: Measure H (March 2017)March 7, 2017; 69.34% yes; quarter cent for ten years; $355 million projected (secondhand)
NBC Los Angeles: Measure A sales tax goes into effectMeasure A passed about 58% to 42% (secondhand)
LACAHSA Expenditure Plan35.75% share; barred from homeless services; FY 2025-26 revenue figures
Measure A Local Solutions Fund guidance FY 2026-27Santa Monica FY 2026-27 LSF $1,296,779
Santa Monica staff report on the Palm Motel, July 2026City put its LSF into the Palm Motel
Culver City touts progress in reducing homeless numbers (Wave)Culver City unsheltered 139 in 2023 to 115 in 2024
Homeless counts raw data (Culver City Crossroads, 2026-08-03)Culver City unsheltered 51 in 2025 to 38 in 2026
NYC DSS press release, 2025About 3.5% of New York's homeless population unsheltered
LAHSA finalized 2025 countLos Angeles County about 66% unsheltered
RAND RR-A4903-1, LA LEADSAbout three vehicles or rough sleepers added for every four tents removed
Coalition for the Homeless, 2025 PIT resultsHouston unsheltered up 15.8% in 2025 (1,107 to 1,282)
SMDP: Santa Monica realignment plan first year72 people street to interim housing in FY 2025-26

Words on this page

bed-year: One bed paid for 365 nights. Two beds for six months is also one bed-year.
Board of Supervisors: The five elected officials who govern Los Angeles County. Three votes pass a motion or a spending plan.
carryover: Money budgeted in one year that was not spent and rolls into the next year's budget. It can be spent once.
Comprehensive Homelessness Services: The 60% share of Measure A money that the county itself spends through HSH, after set-asides for cities and innovation.
FY: Fiscal year. County and city budget years run July 1 to June 30. FY 2027-28 runs July 1, 2027 to June 30, 2028.
HSH: Los Angeles County Department of Homeless Services and Housing. The county department that has run the county's homelessness contracts since July 1, 2026.
interim housing: A temporary place to sleep indoors (shelter, motel room, tiny home) while a person works toward a permanent home.
LACAHSA: Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency. It receives 35.75% of Measure A for affordable housing and renter protection and is barred by state law from funding homeless services.
LAHSA: Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. A joint city and county agency that ran most county homeless contracts until June 30, 2026. It still runs some City of Los Angeles contracts.
Local Solutions Fund: The part of Measure A (15% of the county share) paid to cities by formula. Santa Monica's FY 2026-27 share is $1,296,779.
Measure A: A half-cent county sales tax for homelessness and affordable housing, approved by voters November 5, 2024, collected from April 1, 2025, with no end date.
Measure H: The quarter-cent county sales tax for homeless services approved March 7, 2017 for ten years. Measure A repealed and replaced it on April 1, 2025.
one-time money: Money that arrives once and will not come back the next year. It should not pay for something that costs money every year unless a later source is found.
Pathway Home: The county's encampment resolution program that moves whole encampments into motels and interim housing.
Spending Plan: The yearly document that lists every program HSH will fund with Measure A, Measure H carryover and state HHAP money, and how much each gets. The Board of Supervisors adopts it.