Rep. Jane Harman Endorses Trauma Center Tax
Rep. Jane Harman (D) on Friday announced her endorsement of Measure B, which would raise an estimated $175 million a year for trauma centers in the Los Angeles area through a new property tax, the Los Angeles Times reports (Los Angeles Times, 10/5). The measure, proposed by Zev Yaroslavsky, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, would raise property taxes by three cents per square foot, or an average of $42 per year. The measure also would establish a three-cent per square foot tax on structural improvements; a half-cent per square foot tax on parking improvements; and a tenth of a cent per square foot tax on agricultural, vacant or similar land. Of the $175 million raised, the county would spend $92 million on emergency rooms, $63 million on 13 public and private trauma care centers and $20 million to fight bioterrorism (California Healthline, 7/26). Harman said the measure is "one of the building blocks to keeping world-class trauma care in L.A. County." Measure B will be on the ballot in November and requires approval by two-thirds of county residents (Los Angeles Times, 10/5).
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