The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $54.2 billion spending plan for fiscal year 2026-27 on Tuesday, Sept. 29. The final budget is $3.9 billion larger than the $50.3 billion version the board adopted in June.

County CEO Joseph Nicchitta told the board the increase includes roughly $2 billion in unspent funds carried over from the prior fiscal year and $391.1 million in "budget stabilization savings" from reallocated funding, the L.A. Daily News first reported. Nicchitta said the reallocation would not result in cuts to public services, though he cautioned that future unanticipated budget impacts could still force curtailments.

The budget grew in part because the county must cover a $1.2 billion annual legal payout tied to more than 11,000 childhood sexual assault cases. The cases were filed under Assembly Bill 218, a state law that temporarily lifted the statute of limitations on such claims. Roughly 150 new claims are being filed each month, according to county budget documents reported by MyNewsLA in June.

Supervisor Holly Mitchell, the board's chair pro tem, called the budget the most important and most difficult work the board does. She noted the spending plan was crafted during a "fourth consecutive year of slowing growth in locally generated revenues."

Fire recovery loomed over the vote. Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the county has identified more than $2 billion in damaged or destroyed public infrastructure from the Eaton Fire alone. In a statement posted to her office's website, Barger said the county's Disaster Case Management Program is carrying nearly 1,400 active cases, with more than 1,000 representing Eaton Fire survivors.

About 700 additional families remain on a waiting list for housing, insurance and rebuild support. Barger said federal funding is critical, including disbursement of existing FEMA dollars and long-term supplemental disaster aid.

The budget also marks the first full funding cycle for the county's new Department of Homeless Services and Housing. It includes $4.5 million to address encampments in very high fire severity zones and $1.3 million for contract monitoring, according to Barger's statement.

Despite the larger spending plan, the county trimmed 250 budgeted positions from the June version, bringing the total workforce to 115,433. No layoffs of existing workers are expected. The budget preserves a 2% cost-of-living adjustment and a $2,000 one-time bonus for county employees.

Revenue from Measure ER, a voter-approved five-year half-cent sales tax, is expected to generate $1 billion annually. That money helps offset an estimated $662.2 million reduction in federal health funding to the county Department of Health Services.

The board also ratified a Proclamation of Local Emergency for the 2026-27 El Niño event, originally declared Wednesday, Sept. 23, by Board Chair Hilda Solis. Separately, the board directed the Department of Homeless Services and Housing to report back within 120 days with a countywide review of homeless count trends for 2024, 2025 and 2026.