Proposed charter amendments for November ballot would change the way LA County is governed

If approved by voters on Nov. 5, the Board of Supervisors would increase in size in 2030, and the position of county CEO would become elected rather than appointed by 2028.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to cast a final vote Tuesday on putting a series of proposed County Charter amendments on the November ballot, including one that would expand the board from five to nine members.

If approved by voters on Nov. 5, the board would increase in size in 2030, and the position of county CEO would become elected rather than appointed by 2028. The measure would also create the positions of county legislative analyst and director of budget and management.

The proposal also includes establishing an ethics commission and a compliance officer by 2026. The board last week already began the process of creating the commission, with Supervisor Kathryn Barger noting that move doesn’t require voter approval. If approved on the ballot, the Office of Ethics Compliance will be codified in the charter, protecting it from being disbanded in future, absent another public vote.

The changes have been championed by supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Janice Hahn, and supported by Supervisor Hilda Solis.

Barger and Supervisor Holly Mitchell voted against the issue last week. They had suggested removing the proposal to make the CEO an elected position, saying that job should remain fully non-partisan and be given to someone with the proper qualifications. But the other board members declined to remove that item from the package of proposed changes.

Mitchell has also questioned contentions that the changes included in the package will be done without any fiscal impact to the budget.

Horvath and Hahn have argued that the current County Charter was adopted in 1912, when the population was about 500,000. But the county now has 10 million residents and encompasses 88 incorporated cities within its borders.

The proposal also calls for a commission that would review the county Charter every 10 years, annual open departmental budget hearings and creation of a task force to oversee the implementations of the changes.