The Los Angeles City Council convened on January 27, 2026, for a regularly scheduled meeting addressing critical issues including human trafficking enforcement, public safety funding, housing policy reforms, and revenue generation measures for the upcoming budget.
The meeting commenced at approximately 10:45 AM with 14 council members present, establishing a quorum. Following the roll call, the council approved minutes from January 23, 2026, and commendatory resolutions. Council Member Blumenfield led the Pledge of Allegiance.
A significant portion of the meeting focused on a press conference addressing human trafficking along the Figueroa Corridor and Western areas. District Attorney Nathan Hochman, City Attorney Hydra Feldstein Soto, and Deputy Chief Gerald Woodyard presented a coordinated law enforcement approach.
Key Statistics and Achievements:
The initiative emphasizes a holistic approach combining enforcement with victim services, including tattoo removal, addiction treatment, mental health services, and trauma-centered care. Officials announced they are "coming after" pimps, predators, traffickers, and johns through enhanced prosecution efforts.
Council Member Nithya Raman introduced Item 19, proposing amendments to Measure ULA ("United to House LA"), the voter-approved real estate transfer tax. This generated substantial debate and public opposition.
Proposed Changes:
Key Arguments:
Raman argued that ULA has unintended consequences, citing:
Opponents countered that:
Outcome: After procedural debate about the Rule 16 process, Item 19 was referred to the Housing and Homeless Committee and Budget and Finance Committee without a vote. The item will not appear on the June 2026 ballot without further council action.
Approximately 50 speakers provided public comment from 10:45-11:45 AM on various items:
Opposition to ULA Amendments: The majority of speakers opposed any changes to Measure ULA, representing labor unions (UTLA, Unite Here Local 11, SEIU 2015), housing advocacy organizations (ACT LA, Community Power Collective, SAGE), and tenant groups. Speakers emphasized that ULA was "built by community" and that amendments would undermine voter intent.
Support for TGI Wellness and Equity Initiative: Multiple speakers from the Trans Latina Coalition and allied organizations advocated for the TGI Wellness and Equity Initiative (Item 14), requesting $4 million for transgender, gender-expansive, and intersex community services. Speakers emphasized the urgency given federal attacks on transgender rights.
Opposition to Short-Term Rental Expansion: Speakers opposed Item 17, Section 5, which would initiate a report on vacation rental ordinances, arguing it would reduce long-term housing supply and increase rents.
The Budget and Finance Committee presented multiple revenue options requiring voter approval for either the June or November 2026 ballot. The deadline for June ballot measures is February 11, 2026.
Cannabis Business Tax (Item 17-1C): Council Member Yaroslavsky presented a proposal to close a loophole allowing unlicensed cannabis businesses to avoid business taxes. Currently, unlicensed cannabis operators are the only illegal businesses in LA not subject to taxation.
Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) - Hotel Tax (Item 17-1A): Council Member McCosker proposed two alternative TOT increase options:
Both options include closing a loophole where online booking platforms (like Travelocity) pay TOT on wholesale rates rather than consumer prices, estimated to generate $5-6 million annually.
Parking Occupancy Tax (Item 17-1B): Council Member Hernandez moved to refer this item back to Budget and Finance Committee due to affordability concerns. The motion passed, and no vote on the parking tax occurred.
Short-Term Rental Tax/Vacation Rental Ordinance (Item 17-Section 5): Council Member Soto Martinez moved to refer Section 5 (vacation rental ordinance study) to the Planning and Land Use Management Committee. This passed without objection.
Council Member Rodriguez proposed an amendment (Item 17B) to apply TOT increases exclusively to short-term rentals while exempting hotels, citing:
This amendment failed 3-11.
Council Member Rodriguez introduced an ordinance requiring disclosure of ex parte communications between elected officials and Charter Reform Commission members. The measure addresses transparency concerns about the charter reform process.
Key Points:
Council Member Blumenfield argued that unlike redistricting, elected officials should engage with the Charter Reform Commission since commissioners have limited city government experience.
CAO Matt Szabo provided budget framework context:
Current Fiscal Challenges:
Unfunded Infrastructure Needs:
Revenue Urgency: All revenue measures requiring voter approval for June 2026 ballot must receive City Attorney instructions by January 28, 2026, and final council action by February 11, 2026. November ballot measures have June deadlines.
The council approved Item 14, the supplemental police account second quarterly report for 2025, though the actual report was removed from the online agenda during the meeting, raising transparency questions from public commenters.
Palisades School Reopening: Council Member Park announced that Pacific Palisades students returned to campus for the first time in over a year following the Palisades fire. Students had been temporarily housed at the Sears building in Santa Monica through partnerships with LA Unified and the City of Santa Monica. Homecoming is scheduled for Saturday on campus. Park emphasized that while reconstruction is progressing for families who can afford to rebuild, thousands remain displaced, mired in insurance disputes, and called for federal funding assistance.
City Hall Lighting: City Hall was lit in honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Council Member Hernandez adjourned the meeting in memory of Alex Preeti, an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Hospital who was killed by ICE agents while attempting to protect a woman. Hernandez called for the abolition of agencies that "kill nurses and mothers" and use children as bait, advocating for redirecting the $170 billion ICE budget toward healthcare, housing, and education. The meeting adjourned following this memorial.
The meeting highlighted deep divisions over housing policy, revenue generation approaches, and spending priorities as the city faces significant budget challenges while managing fire recovery, homelessness, and infrastructure needs.
People who have been traumatized, terrified, who need everything from tattoo removal to addiction services to mental health services to trauma-centered care, and help these youngsters believe in a future and give them light and hope. And so, Nayeli, I just really want to commend you for all the wonderful work you've done. With that, I'd like to introduce our deputy chief, our wonderful deputy chief, who I first met in 2023, Gerald Woodyard. Very difficult to follow the district attorney and the city attorney, but I am excited. And if you look to my left and look to my right, this is a holistic approach to a serious problem. But I'm not the one that's leading it. This work started back in 2023 when I was the deputy chief down in Operation South Bureau, I had the opportunity to work with city attorney Feinstein Soto. And why does it matter to me? It matters to me because I have a young daughter. I have a young son. And so when I see these young women and young men out there being exploited, it impacts me because that's someone's daughter. That's someone's son. So it's been a priority for me in West Bureau once I landed here, and I'm extremely excited about the leadership team I have here because they know the problems that have occurred on the Figueroa Corridor. So the leadership team here on Olympic Division is Rachel Rodriguez, which she has the lion's share of the issue, as well as Manny Chavez. He's a captain. She's a captain of Hollywood. When we're talking about human trafficking, specifically human trafficking, sex trafficking, it's just not that. My concern is this. There is a gang nexus to this. In South Bureau, there's a gang nexus. It's a lot of money that gang members are acquiring because they're exploiting kids. So it's a problem. but I'm excited because it's been something that we're focused on not just from West Bureau from the Office of Operations which is headed by Chief Tinger Eadies and by the department so with that being said rest assured that we're going to focus on this but I'm excited about this collaboration it's holistic it's just not LAPD the rest piece we can do that all day but it's when we get the grassroot organizations, when we get the city attorney, the district attorney on the same page, that's when we can have an impact. I've seen the impact down in South Bureau. I'm excited about the impact that we're going to have here in West Bureau. With that being said, I'd like to bring up Captain Rachel Rodriguez. Thank you, everybody. My name is Captain Rachel Rodriguez. I'm the commanding officer of Olympic Area. So the Western Corridor has historically been known for human trafficking. As a vice officer who worked Olympic Division 10 years ago, and now as the commanding officer that oversees this area, I've seen firsthand the proliferation of human trafficking that is occurring in our local neighborhoods. Over the last year, we concentrated our efforts to address this growing concern. From a law enforcement perspective, we have concentrated our efforts to apprehend those that are trafficking our young women along this corridor. And in 2025, along with our Olympic Vice Units as well as Operations West Bureau Vice Units, we've made 372 arrests. That included 18 arrests of pimps or panderers and 60 arrests that included lewd conduct. And in this effort, we've worked with our Assistant United States Attorney, our District Attorney, and our City Attorney on the prosecutions of those that take advantage of these young women. But our partnerships are also with our nonprofit organizations that include Journey Out and Run to Rescue, who come out on these task force with our vice units. And that's extremely important as they are the ones that firsthand get to talk to these women and provide them opportunities outside of this lifestyle. And encourage them to reunite with their families, seek services that they don't currently have. And we understand that this is not something that we can enforce our way out of. We do have to change the environmental design of our neighborhood. and that is working with our city partners when it comes to the Los Angeles Sanitation and our Bureau of Street Lighting to increase lighting in the neighborhood, take away the dark avenues, the dark streets that are currently occurring, as well as making left turns very difficult for our Johns that are out there. And hopefully with this partnership, we can help make this neighborhood a little bit safer. I think most importantly, I'd like to recognize my Olympic senior lead officers who go out and make sure that there are safe passages for our young students that are around our schools. And this is important to prevent their view of the women that are being trafficked and the men that could potentially traffic them.