Bill to expand L.A. County board fails

Proposal to grow to 7 members from 5 falls short in Senate but is given another chance.

SACRAMENTO — A proposal to expand the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has failed to muster the required twothirds vote to pass the Legislature, but its author was granted a chance to seek another vote this week.

Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) proposed expanding the board to seven members from five and creating a new, elected chief executive to allow for more diverse representation.

He introduced Senate Constitutional Amendment 12, which would have put the expansion on the statewide ballot next year.

The measure was opposed by Los Angeles County officials who said voters in other parts of the state should not decide how the county is governed.

The bill divided L.A. County’s delegation in the Senate. Mendoza offered to remove the elected chief executive provision from the bill to win votes, but that change was opposed by others in the delegation.

The Senate vote was 21 to 7, with Democrats HannahBeth Jackson of Santa Barbara, Holly Mitchell of Los Angeles and Henry Stern of Woodland Hills among those opposing.

Five other Democrats did not cast votes. The bill would need six more votes in the Senate to pass.

“I believe the decision whether to expand the size of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors belongs with the voters of L.A. County, not voters who live in Humboldt, San Diego or any other county,” Jackson said. “Local governance decisions should remain within the purview of local communities affected by those decisions.”