All right.
Good morning to the members of the
public and members of this committee. My
name is Marqueece Harris-Dawson.
Serve as the chair for the Rules,
Elections, and Intergovernmental
Relations Committee. Madam Clerk, can we
begin our proceedings by calling the
roll?
» Yes, Mr. Chair. Council member
Harris-Dawson.
>> Present.
» Present.
>> Council member Raman.
Is not here yet. Council member
Yaroslavsky.
>> Here.
» Here.
>> Council member Soto-Martinez is not here
» Council member Soto-Martinez is not here
yet. Council member Lee.
>> Present.
» Present.
>> Three members present. We have a quorum.
» Three members present. We have a quorum.
>> All right. With that, we'll begin this
» All right. With that, we'll begin this
meeting as we begin all of our meetings
with public comment. We can take
comments on individual items. You can
talk on multiple items. You just need to
say which ones you want to speak on. Our
goal is to get to as many speakers as we
can this morning, which it looks like we
can do based on the
folks sitting in the room.
If we can read the rules for public
comment into the record, and then we'll
begin calling names.
We need sound.
Test. Okay.
» [clears throat]
>> So, for members of the public who are
» So, for members of the public who are
here to provide public comment, remember
this is a special meeting, so there is
no general public comment. If you'd
like, you can line up in any order on
your left-hand side of the council
chambers. You'll have 1 minute per item,
up to 2 minutes total for the items that
are on the agenda.
» I'd like to begin public comment by
calling up a few names, Rob Quan, Goat
Puppeteers, Red Chief, and Juan Ortega.
I will
call the rest of the names, Megan M,
Rita Jones, and Tik Tok.
» Yo, good morning. You have 2 minutes. Go
ahead.
>> Yo.
» Yo.
Um
Today is the official day that I'm the
first black man back to talk about the
special meeting rules and elections.
Item number one, for the record,
[ __ ] item number one.
Item two, the CLA,
[ __ ] item two, two.
Item three,
I say in my foreign language,
juju, [ __ ] three, two,
and four.
You know, 2 minutes for 15 [ __ ]
items, I cannot fulfill this dream.
But Marquise C knows that my designation
for transfer of tax exemptions, [ __ ] the
victims. We know that.
That's why we have proposition
42 USC 1983.
[ __ ] you, LA.
Another item of designation,
why you [ __ ] election
governance, charter amendment?
[ __ ] charter amendment. Who the [ __ ] a
mayor here? Who the [ __ ] a mayor? I
control narrative.
Narrative say [ __ ] you.
Then I go to item for you, monkey.
Monkey does can I supporting this into
the record this document in my hand,
please?
And I shall read into the record motion
from Hart and Lee and Park.
Uh, you know electric mopeds are
dangerous on a [ __ ] sidewalk and
streets. Those shits do not belong on
the sidewalk.
You are endangering the public with
those [ __ ] mopeds and those [ __ ]
scooters and those [ __ ] [ __ ] that
ride up on the sidewalk. Yeah, I'm
talking to you, pumpkin head, too.
You need to listen.
>> And your time has expired. Next speaker.
Good morning. Uh, what would you like to
speak to?
>> Item three.
» Item three.
>> Okay, so you have 1 minute. Go ahead.
» Okay, so you have 1 minute. Go ahead.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
Um,
my name is Megan Eddy, representing the
Downtown Women's Center. We're proud to
be co-sponsoring AB 1573, and we
strongly urge this committee to move
forward Councilmember Curado's motion in
support of this critical legislation.
Only 106 PSH units across the entire
state of California are targeted to the
unique needs of survivors. DWC's newest
project, Rosa's Place, alone will nearly
double that figure. Yet, nearly 75,000
survivors access homeless services
annually in California, and the
percentage of people experiencing
homelessness due to fleeing DV has
doubled in LA since 2019.
Survivors also wait longer to be matched
to PSH and have reduced exits to PSH
compared to the general population.
AB 1573 ensures that survivors are
included in housing element planning,
opening the door to much-needed
developments like Rosa's Place. For
these reasons, we strongly urge your
support. Thank you.
» Good morning. What would you like to
speak to?
>> Uh Rob Quan, I'd like to speak on all
» Uh Rob Quan, I'd like to speak on all
items.
>> Okay, so you have 2 minutes.
» Okay, so you have 2 minutes.
>> Uh most of these items are related to
» Uh most of these items are related to
designating somebody to be the lead
author for ballot arguments, and I don't
see any document on the court board
or in the council file indicating who
the council president would like to see
this committee recommend be designated.
Um
very peculiar, but I just hope that
means growth when this goes to the full
council, you'll have public comment on
the item.
Um
one of these items is related to ethics,
and I do think it's really interesting
to contrast how little to nothing we did
on the front with ethics, and compare
that to what the county is
They've advanced an ethics commission
that will put ours to shame.
And you have repeatedly
struck down the potentiality of giving
the ethics commission power to put
something on the ballot.
That is something they're giving this
commission. Once every 10 years, and the
board won't have any ability to stop
them.
Um you refused to have two additional
people on the commission that would be
selected by open application. Well, the
LA County Ethics Commission, if it's
approved by voters, is going to have
seven commissioners,
four of which will be chosen by open
application, a majority.
So, I think we do need to wonder why
this body is so different.
Why has their governance reform task
force actually produced real reform,
whereas our commission did absolutely
nothing was a dumpster fire? I think in
part it's because there was a diffusing
in a a diffusion in a appointing power,
but it's also the reality that there's a
diffusion of power amongst the five
board members.
They don't have a council president that
people are afraid of stepping on the
toes of.
Um
Lastly, I I I
this ad hoc committee,
I think this is just a god awful idea.
And even though I really do like and
appreciate
» So, 2 minutes at committee.
There is one more name for public
comment, Jahouney E.
Good morning. What would you like to
speak to?
>> Item five.
» Item five.
>> Okay, so you have 1 minute. Go ahead.
» Okay, so you have 1 minute. Go ahead.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
Uh good morning everyone. Good morning
Council President. Just real quickly, I
know this is in regards to ad hoc
committee.
Um
you know, we went through the charter
reform process. We thought it was going
to go somewhere. Y'all punted a lot of
majority of the reforms. Um so, I'm
hoping that, you know, Council
President, my understanding is you get
to create the rules, the who, what,
where, and everything. Uh so, please, if
when you create this committee and you
establish everything, create a calendar
of what's going to be heard when. I just
drove
over an hour from the West Valley. I'm
Councilmember Lee's district just to
make sure that, you know,
y'all really put some structure to this
committee. It's very frustrating when we
get to come here and then the items we
think we're going to be heard aren't
heard, or things get punted, or we get
notified 72 hours before. So, please be
understanding of the folks that actually
want to participate in this process to
create a structure. When are we going to
hear all the reforms? Um my
understanding you said from August of
this year to June of next year. That's a
long time, and we want to make sure
we're educating our our our folks at our
community members and getting more
engaged. Trust that City Hall's at an
all-time low and I hope this is a way
that you can restore some of it. Thank
you.
» Those are all the names registered for
public comment.
>> Thank you and thank you to everybody
» Thank you and thank you to everybody
that came to share for public comment
with us. Um
Madam Clerk, uh I'm recommending that we
take items 1 through 7 on consent unless
members have questions or comments on
these items. If you could read those
into the record and then call a roll.
>> Yes, and I'm sorry. Mr. Chair, I did not
» Yes, and I'm sorry. Mr. Chair, I did not
hear. Are you closing public comment?
>> Yes, public comment is closed. Thank
» Yes, public comment is closed. Thank
you.
>> Thank you very much. Okay, item number
» Thank you very much. Okay, item number
one is a chief legislative analyst
to report and a resolution Nithya
Ramanujan relative to establishing the
city's position on Assembly Bill 1588
Stefani, which would provide enhanced
panel penalties for engaging in aiding
or abetting a motor vehicle exhibition
of speed as part of a sideshow. Item
number two is a CLA to report and
resolution as Aaron Yaroslavsky relative
to establishing the city's position on
legislative and or administrative action
that proposes beneficial wildfire or
catastrophic event liability reforms.
Item number three, CLA to report and
resolution Curren Price relative to
establishing the city's position on
Assembly Bill 1573 Blumenfield, which
would add victims of domestic violence
and victims of human trafficking to the
definition of target population in
existing law. Item number four is a CLA
report to report and resolution Curren
Price relative to establishing the
city's position on proposed federal
rules impacting access to
gender-affirming care for young people.
Item number five is a motion
Harris-Dawson Blumenfield relative to
establishing a new ad hoc committee on
charter review. Item number six is a
motion Huizar-Lee-Park relative to
regulating e-bikes, e-motos, and
electric mopeds. This item was also
referred to the public
public safety committee
and the transportation committee which
approved the motion recommendations on
April 22nd, 2026. Item number seven is a
motion Nima Kosker at all relative to
establishing a business tax advisory
committee for potential reforms to the
city's business tax structure. This item
was also referred to the budget and
finance committee.
>> All right, the recommendation is that we
» All right, the recommendation is that we
adopt these
matters and Madam Clerk, can you call
the roll?
>> And I'm
» And I'm
Mr. Chair, on item six, would you like
this committee the recommendation to be
that you concur with the action of the T
committee which approved the motion
recommendations?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Okay. And
» Okay. And
Mr. Okay, so for roll call
Council member Harris-Dawson?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Yaroslavsky?
» Council member Yaroslavsky?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Lee?
» Council member Lee?
>> I.
» I.
>> Motion carries.
» Motion carries.
>> All right.
» All right.
Now we will move through our remaining
issues on the agenda today which are
items eight through 15. Today we will be
voting to designate primary authors for
ballot arguments associated with each
measure
going forward on the November ballot.
I'd like to note that while we're
selecting only
the primary author today,
each designated author may choose up to
nine additional signatures to join the
ballot argument with them. Accordingly,
if you submitted a form expressing
interest in serving as a ballot argument
author, I encourage you to reach out to
the selected primary author after
today's meeting if you would like to be
considered as one of the additional
signatories. For each item, I'll ask the
elections clerk to provide an overview
of the submissions related to the
measure before us and then I'll present
a recommendation for that item. Before
we began, I'd like to invite the city
attorney
and the elections division of the city
attorney's office to give us a brief
overview
of the ballot argument and author
selection process.
>> Um thank you, Mr. President and council
» Um thank you, Mr. President and council
members. Um as you noted, the next
several items will be uh for selecting
ballot argument authors for the eight
measures that are going to be on the
November ballot.
Um these arguments are printed in the
voter information pamphlet uh along with
several other pieces of information,
including the CLA's impartial summary,
the CAO's financial impact statement,
and the full text of each measure.
The election code provides that the
council president has the authority to
select the ballot argument authors with
the concurrence of the rules committee.
And in making selections, the election
code requires that priority be given in
the following order: first to elected
officials, second to appointed
officials, third to organizations, and
fourth to individual voters.
So, we'll go through each measure, and
the clerk will provide a list of the
applicants that have applied to write in
favor of and against each measure,
um and then the committee can make their
designation.
>> All right. Um so, I guess we should just
» All right. Um so, I guess we should just
begin with the items, and we'll begin
with item number eight.
>> Okay. So, I think item number eight if
» Okay. So, I think item number eight if
uh clerk wants to read it into the
record.
>> Okay. Item Item number eight is the
» Okay. Item Item number eight is the
designation of a person or organizations
to write arguments for and against the
following November 3, 2026 ballot
measure: funding for the Los Angeles
Fire Department through a 1 cent 1/2
percent sales tax. This is initiative
ordinance FD.
>> Uh now for this measure, because it's an
» Uh now for this measure, because it's an
initiative and it qualified for the
ballot through the initiative process,
the election code provides that the
proponents of the initiative are
automatically designated as the authors
of the argument in favor of the measure.
So, uh there were other applicants for
and against, which the clerk will will
read out, but the proponents are
automatically designated as the authors
for the measure.
>> Hello, council.
» Hello, council.
Councilman Harris.
>> City Clerk's office.
» City Clerk's office.
Uh for this uh,
for FDE, the David Ryu's
proponent as a priority for argument in
favor of. We also received, uh,
applic- uh, application for author for
argument in favor from council member
Nury Martinez.
Lydia. And we received, uh,
an
application for argument author against
from Howard Jarvis Taxpayers
Association.
>> All right. Uh, so for item eight,
» All right. Uh, so for item eight,
Initiative Ordinance FDE, I recommend
designating David Ryu's as the author of
the ballot argument in favor of the
initiative as he is the proponent of the
ordinance and is best positioned to
present the case in support of the
measure.
» And Mr. Chair, would you like to, um,
then also propose, uh, the Howard Jarvis
Taxpayers Association the only applicant
for the argument against?
>> Yes. Uh, as the sole applicant to argue
» Yes. Uh, as the sole applicant to argue
against. Yes. Uh, so do we take a vote
on that now or do we wait till the end?
>> We can take a vote on that now.
» We can take a vote on that now.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
>> Council member Harris-Dawson?
» Council member Harris-Dawson?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Raman?
» Council member Raman?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Yaroslavsky?
» Council member Yaroslavsky?
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Soto-Martinez is absent.
» Council member Soto-Martinez is absent.
Council member Lee?
>> Aye.
» Aye.
>> Motion carries.
» Motion carries.
>> All right.
» All right.
Let's go to item number nine.
>> Item number nine is the designation of a
» Item number nine is the designation of a
person or organization to write
arguments for and against the following
November 3, 2026 ballot measure,
property transfer tax exemption for
victims of January 2025 fire disaster,
Proposition TE.
>> Uh, for this
» Uh, for this
proposition, we received only one
applicant for argument in favor. That is
council member
Tracy Park.
And no applicants were received for
arguments against.
>> No, none were received for against. Uh,
» No, none were received for against. Uh,
so in the case that there are none
received, there doesn't have We don't
have to make up someone?
>> Correct.
» Correct.
>> Okay. All right. For item nine,
» Okay. All right. For item nine,
proposition TE, I recommend designating
Council member Tracy Park as the author
of the ballot argument in favor of this
proposition as she has been closely
involved with the measure and it's and
is well suited to articulate its
personal purpose and intent. Uh Madam
Clerk, if you can call the roll on that
item.
>> Yes, Council member Harris-Dawson.
» Yes, Council member Harris-Dawson.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Raman.
» Council member Raman.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Yaroslavsky.
» Council member Yaroslavsky.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Rodriguez Martinez is
» Council member Rodriguez Martinez is
absent. Council member Lee.
>> Aye.
» Aye.
>> Motion carries.
» Motion carries.
>> All right, let's go to the next item.
» All right, let's go to the next item.
>> Item number nine, I'm sorry, item number
» Item number nine, I'm sorry, item number
10 is the designation of personal
organizations to write arguments for and
against the following November 3, 2026
ballot measure, city infrastructure,
budget, finance, and contracting charter
amendment LA.
>> Um I like candidates for authors for
» Um I like candidates for authors for
argument in favor, uh Council member of
Bob Blumenfield, sitting controller
Kenneth Mejia,
Council member Katie Yaroslavsky, those
are the priority.
Uh we also received from associations
Investing in Place, LA Forward
Institute, Los Angeles Business Council.
We also received from individuals
Raymond Mesa, Justy Sexton, Chad
Hamilton Shields. We received applicants
for argument in and against
from Council member
Nithya Raman Rodriguez, she is a
priority, and Construction Industry
Forest
Account Council.
>> All right, uh thank you for that. For
» All right, uh thank you for that. For
item 10, charter amendment LA, Council
member Yaroslavsky.
>> Uh thank you, Council President. Um
» Uh thank you, Council President. Um
I think that we have a strong case to
make to the voters. This is really
important. Um
Uh I also want to recognize that this
reflects the work of a lot of people,
and so um I'll just say sort of more
broadly, I think where you have multiple
elected officials who have expressed
interest in in drafting an argument in
favor or against, um and they bring
relevant experience, I think it we
should try and allow for co-authorship
if that's something that's allowed and
so I would welcome the opportunity to
co-author this with
Controller Mejia and Councilmember
Blumenfield.
>> All right. Um, is that within the scope
» All right. Um, is that within the scope
of our ability?
>> Yes, there's precedent for co-authorship
» Yes, there's precedent for co-authorship
designation and if the council member is
going to work with the other two elected
officials as
um provided here, that's permissible,
yes.
>> All right.
» All right.
>> Great. And then we can add on the
» Great. And then we can add on the
others.
>> These other signatories
» These other signatories
>> as co-authors or co- or supporters.
» as co-authors or co- or supporters.
>> Yeah, they would they could be added as
» Yeah, they would they could be added as
additional signers to the argument at
at your discretion.
>> So that would be Investing in Place, LA
» So that would be Investing in Place, LA
Forward Institute, LA Business Council,
Raymond Meza, etc.
>> That's correct.
» That's correct.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
>> All right. So for Charter
» All right. So for Charter
for item number 10, Charter Amendment
LA, I recommend designating
Councilmember Yaroslavsky
and Blumenfield along with City
Controller Kenneth Mejia as authors of
the ballot argument in favor of the
amendment and Councilwoman Rodriguez as
the author of the ballot argument
against the amendment as each has been a
leading voice representing their
respective positions on these
measures.
Madam Clerk, can we call a roll?
>> Councilmember Yaroslavsky.
» Councilmember Yaroslavsky.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Councilmember Raman.
» Councilmember Raman.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Councilmember Yaroslavsky.
» Councilmember Yaroslavsky.
>> Yes. Councilmember Lee.
» Yes. Councilmember Lee.
Councilmember Lee.
>> I.
» I.
>> Motion carries.
» Motion carries.
>> All right, next item.
» All right, next item.
>> Item number 11 is a designation of
» Item number 11 is a designation of
persons or organizations to write
arguments for and against the following
November 3, 2016 ballot measure, City
Planning Department Charter Amendment
PL.
>> Okay. Applicants for authors for
» Okay. Applicants for authors for
argument in favor
were received from individuals, Raymond
Meza, Justy Sexton, Chad Hamilton
Shields. No applicants were received for
arguments against.
>> All right. For item 11, Charter
» All right. For item 11, Charter
Amendment PL, I recommend designating
Raymond Meza as the author of the ballot
argument in favor of the amendment as he
served as the chair of the Charter
Reform Commission and is well positioned
to present arguments.
Uh
from the commissioner's rationale, the
commission's rationale and the
supporting argument for this measure.
Madam Clerk, let's call the roll.
>> Councilmember Harris-Dawson.
» Councilmember Harris-Dawson.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Councilmember Raman.
» Councilmember Raman.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Councilmember Yaroslavsky.
» Councilmember Yaroslavsky.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Councilmember Lee.
» Councilmember Lee.
>> I.
» I.
>> Motion carries.
» Motion carries.
>> All right. What's next?
» All right. What's next?
>> Item number 12, designation of person
» Item number 12, designation of person
organiza- organizations to write
arguments for and against the following
November 3, 2026 uh ballot measure, City
Ethics, Elections, and Governance
Charter Amendment EE.
>> Applicants for authors for for argument
» Applicants for authors for for argument
in favor are Councilmember Tim McOsker.
He has priority.
Uh individuals, Diego Andrades, Justine
Sexton, and applicants for authors for
argument in against uh Councilmember
Monica Rodriguez. She has priority.
>> All right. For item number 12, Charter
» All right. For item number 12, Charter
Amendment EE, I recommend designating
Councilmember Tim McOsker as the author
of the ballot argument in favor of the
amendment and Councilmember Rodriguez as
the author of the ballot argument
against the amendment.
So, Madam Clerk, call the roll.
>> Councilmember Harris-Dawson.
» Councilmember Harris-Dawson.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Councilmember Raman.
» Councilmember Raman.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Councilmember Yaroslavsky.
» Councilmember Yaroslavsky.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Councilmember Lee.
» Councilmember Lee.
>> I.
» I.
>> Motion carries.
» Motion carries.
Uh we're on over to item number 13,
designation of persons or organizations
to write arguments for and against the
following November 3, 2026 ballot
measure, City Department of Recreation
and Parks Budget Charter Amendment PRK.
>> Applicants for authors for argument in
» Applicants for authors for argument in
favor,
Councilmember
Imelda Padilla, Councilmember Monica
Rodriguez, they are priority, and we
received also from individuals plain old
Marias, Chad Hamilton Shields.
Uh there was no applicants for arguments
against.
» All right. Uh thank you for that. So, I
recommend designating co-authors,
Council members Monica Rodriguez and
Imelda Padilla
as the argument of the ballot argument
in favor of the amendment as they have
been closely engaged on the measure and
can present its rationale and intended
benefits.
» Council member Harris-Dawson.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Raman.
» Council member Raman.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Yaroslavsky.
» Council member Yaroslavsky.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Lee.
» Council member Lee.
>> I.
» I.
>> Motion carries.
» Motion carries.
Item number 14 is a designation of
person or organizations to write
arguments for and against the following
November 3, 2026 ballot measure, City
Airports, Harbor and Water and Power
Departments Charter Amendment PRT.
>> Applicants for authors for arguments in
» Applicants for authors for arguments in
favor
were received from Council member Tim
McOsker
and Council member
Imelda Padilla.
And no uh no applicant was received for
um arguments against.
>> All right. For Charter Amendment PRT, I
» All right. For Charter Amendment PRT, I
recommend designating co-authors,
Council members Tim McOsker and Imelda
Padilla as authors of the ballot
argument in favor of the amendment as
they both put forward the recommendation
relating to the Harbor Port of Los
Angeles.
» Council members Harris-Dawson.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Raman.
» Council member Raman.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Yaroslavsky.
» Council member Yaroslavsky.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Lee.
» Council member Lee.
>> I.
» I.
>> Motion carries.
» Motion carries.
>> All right.
» All right.
>> Item number 15, designation of person or
» Item number 15, designation of person or
organizations to write arguments for and
against the following November 3, 2026
ballot measure, Campaign Finance Rules
Related to Board of Education Elections
Charter Amendment SC.
>> Applicants for authors for arguments in
» Applicants for authors for arguments in
favor were received from individuals,
Diego Andrades, Chad Hamilton Shields,
and no applic- no application will
receive for arguments against.
>> All right. Um so, for item number 15,
» All right. Um so, for item number 15,
Charter Amendment SC, I recommend
designating Diego Andrades as the author
of the ballot argument in favor of the
amendment as he serves as a member of
the Charter Reform Commission and is
well positioned to present the
supporting argument for this measure.
Madam Clerk.
>> Councilmember Harris-Dawson.
» Councilmember Harris-Dawson.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Councilmember Raman.
» Councilmember Raman.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Councilmember Yaroslavsky.
» Councilmember Yaroslavsky.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Councilmember Lee.
» Councilmember Lee.
>> I.
» I.
>> Motion carries.
» Motion carries.
>> All right. Uh Madam Clerk, can you
» All right. Uh Madam Clerk, can you
confirm that that concludes our business
for this morning?
>> The desk is clear, Mr. Chair.
» The desk is clear, Mr. Chair.
>> All right, thank you. We're adjourned.
» All right, thank you. We're adjourned.
Thank you all so much and