July 17, 2026
Threats to ULA fail to move forward as ballot deadline passes
The end of June held multiple deadlines for measures that could have slashed Measure ULA’s affordable housing construction and homelessness prevention programs.
We are thrilled to report that, of two linked statewide efforts and one local Los Angeles effort to repeal or slash ULA, all three fell short. Our critics haven’t packed it in yet, but right now, ULA is moving forward without going back in front of the voters, and one sensible, local compromise is advancing.
Ad Hoc Committee holds firm in LA
In its final June meeting, the Los Angeles City Council advanced program changes proposed by the Ad Hoc Committee on Measure ULA and declined to place a measure on the November ballot that would significantly cut the program.
While there are a number of tweaks that are being considered on the Ad Hoc Committee’s recommendation, the most substantial change is that a tax credit program will be created for multi-family housing sold within ten years of construction. Multi-family and mixed-use housing projects will have to clear meaningful hurdles to earn the credit, ensuring that exempted buildings will further the purposes of ULA. These projects must be built with prevailing wage labor and include affordable housing units. Builders can receive up to a 100% waiver of the ULA tax depending on the degree to which they adhere to these benchmarks.
In May, when the Ad Hoc Committee issued their recommendations, councilmember Ysabel Jurado said, “The recommendations we are advancing today are about strengthening accountability, speeding up delivery, getting more affordable housing built, and making sure these resources reach the people who need them most. This is a major step forward in ensuring Measure ULA remains strong, effective, and capable of delivering real results for Angelenos for years to come.”
Fractured opposition in Sacramento
Meanwhile, at the state capitol, two forces who had been allied against ULA couldn’t agree on what they wanted.
The pro-developer California Business Roundtable, with funding from MAGA stalwarts like Peter Thiel, bankrolled the perennial anti-tax-crusading Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association to put the Taxpayer Deception Act on the November ballot. Although it never polled well, the CBRT was willing to spend what it took to pass it—an outcome that would have ended ULA and about 20 other local revenue measures, capped transfer taxes going forward, and permanently allowed one third of voters to block new revenue.
To avoid this catastrophe, California legislators proposed AB 736, which would have capped transfer taxes severely (but less catastrophically), leading to about a 50% cut in Measure ULA’s affordable housing and homelessness prevention programs.
So why didn’t that deal go through?
Although CBRT controlled the money, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association had the authority to pull or advance the ballot initiative they wrote. They decided they were more interested in raising the threshold for new taxes from ½ to ⅔ for those that involve “an ad valorem tax on real property or a transactions or sales tax on the sale of real property.”
They won the inclusion of Prop 43 on the November ballot instead of the transfer tax cut that their wealthy patrons negotiated without them. If it passes, Prop 43 would be devastating to the ability of California cities to raise new revenues. It would give a minority of voters veto power over new revenue proposed by citizens’ initiative. But in no event will it impact ULA, as ULA is already the law of the land. According to Politico, this move has also fractured the coalition that had its sights set on ULA.
We plan to fight hard to stop Prop 43. It could severely hamper the ability to replicate the success of ULA in other cities and sectors and would limit the chances other new revenue measures could be passed locally or statewide. However, we can rest easy knowing that ULA is safe, for the time being.
Strengthen and Improve
This doesn’t mean that attacks on ULA will stop (AB 736 could come back independent of the compromise), but it does mean that we can take a breath and appreciate the work we’ve done to protect and advance the biggest local affordable housing revenue program in the United States.
Most importantly, now that ULA is not on the ballot, we can focus on the most important work: fighting homelessness, preventing evictions, and keeping people housed.
We can improve the programs we’ve created to keep people in their homes. We can build more affordable and social housing and create more union jobs. And we can continue to do this work better every year that ULA is on the books.
ULA has collected over a billion dollars to help Angelenos stay housed. Let’s remain vigilant to protect and defend the community-serving asset that is ULA, while we focus on being great stewards of that money and putting it where it will help the most people with the greatest need.
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ULA Resources
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This newsletter is produced by the United to House LA (UHLA) Coalition that includes over 240 local nonprofit social service providers, community and tenant organizations, labor unions, affordable housing developers, faith-based organizations, and other groups that came together to craft Measure ULA and who have stayed together to make sure that its implementation is carried out effectively and efficiently by the City government.
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