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City Council directs city attorney to draft ULA ballot language after hours of public comment and split votes
Summary
After a day of public testimony for and against Measure ULA, the council asked the city attorney to prepare possible November ballot language for narrowly tailored exemptions and other technical changes, and approved one exemption while rejecting another amendment; public commenters pressed for preserving eviction‑defense funding.
The Los Angeles City Council on June 17 instructed the city attorney to prepare potential ballot language to amend the voter‑approved Measure ULA while stopping short of sending all proposed reforms directly to voters.
The action followed several hours of public comment, during which unions, tenants and community groups clashed over whether ULA should be reformed by ordinance or returned to the ballot. Miguel Guzman, speaking for the Carpenters, said unions support reforms to spur housing production but warned that some changes may require voter approval. "If sustainment reforms require a ballot measure, then let's put those reforms before voters and give Angelenos the chance to fix what isn't working," Guzman said.
Tenants and tenant advocates urged the council not to weaken ULA and warned that cuts would force layoffs at eviction defense providers. "ULA is keeping people housed," Ariel Moore of the LA County Federation of Labor said. "Reject the motions that send ULA back to the ballot. Protect those who have experienced disaster through the fires. Protect the revenue point it. And let's get back to solving the crisis that voters sent us here to address." Elena Papp of the Eviction Defense Network told council members that her organization could face staff reductions without timely allocations: "EDN is facing layoffs of 66% of their staff unless this council passes a motion to advance the April Stay Housed LA allocation and pay it no later than 07/01/2026."
Council debate focused on two tracks: narrow, targeted exceptions and technical fixes that city offices say could be implemented administratively, and broader tax caps or exemption proposals that critics said would cut revenue for affordable housing and tenant protections. Councilmember Park pressed for a narrowly tailored Palisades exemption to ease disaster recovery for fire victims; the council voted to ask the city attorney to draft that exemption for possible placement on the November 2026 ballot and approved related language for drafting.
Other proposed changes were split. An amendment (79b) that would have provided certain nonprofit refunds failed in roll call, and a separate amendment (79a) that proposes an exemption for new multifamily sales within a set number of years passed in a separate vote; the final motion incorporating 79a carried. A council memo and staff reports will be used to estimate fiscal impact before any measure reaches the ballot.
What happens next: the council's votes today instructed the city attorney to prepare ballot language and the City Administrative Officer and housing department were asked to return with fiscal analyses, including projected revenue impacts and the consequences for eviction‑defense contracts. Any measure would require at least one more council vote before it appears on a ballot.
Why it matters: Measure ULA funds eviction defense, rental assistance and affordable‑housing production. Council action to ask for ballot language keeps options open for voters while staff and advocates press for fiscal clarity and assurances that tenant protections and homelessness prevention services continue to be funded.
