Supporters of Los Angeles County Ballot Measure To Fund Trauma Centers Launch Advertisement Campaign Today
Supporters of a measure on the Nov. 5 Los Angeles County ballot that would raise property taxes to fund the county's trauma care centers and emergency rooms today will launch a "blitz" of 30-second television advertisements "depicting an ambulance struggling to find care for a seven-year-old accident victim," the Copley/Torrance Daily Breeze reports (Zahniser, Copley/Torrance Daily Breeze, 10/23). Measure B 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. County officials expect that the measure would raise about $175 million in additional revenue each year. The county would spend $92 million on emergency rooms, $63 million on 13 public and private trauma centers and $20 million to fight bioterrorism (California Healthline, 10/18). Service Employees International Union Local 660 and the Healthcare Association of Southern California funded the ads, which will appear on major networks through Election Day. The committee expects to spend $500,000 on the ads in the first week and an additional $750,000 to $1 million by Nov. 5 (Los Angeles Daily News, 10/21).
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