(The Blaze) On Friday, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously decided to add a proposal to the March 2024 ballot that, if passed, would require hotels to house homeless people. Supporters gathered over 126,000 signatures, forcing the council to either enact the proposal immediately or put it on the ballot for voters to decide.
Councilmember John Lee told KABC-TV, “I don’t have an option to vote no. My options are either to adopt it outright – which is not what we want to do – or send it to the ballot.”
If the ordinance passes, it would require hotels to notify the city every day by 2 p.m. of the number of empty rooms available for the night. The Los Angeles Housing Department would pay the hotel a rate for each guest they house. The homeless would be given vouchers to take into the establishments. Hotels would be prohibited from denying housing to anyone with a voucher.