Brief

Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, seconded by Katy Yaroslavsky, has introduced a motion to impose a 10 percent tax on tickets sold for events at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. The measure is slated for the November 2026 ballot. The motion was referred to the Budget and Finance Committee and the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee on May 19, 2026, and remains pending in both committees.

Full summary

Councilmember Monica Rodriguez introduced this motion, seconded by Katy Yaroslavsky, to ask the City Attorney to draft ballot language placing a 10 percent tax on all Olympic ticket sales before voters in November 2026. The tax would take effect January 1, 2027, ahead of the 2028 Games, and revenue would flow into a dedicated special fund to cover any cost overruns from hosting the Olympics. If the fund goes unused, the money would be transferred to the General Fund on January 31, 2029. The motion draws an explicit historical parallel to the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, when the city enacted a 6 percent tax on Olympic ticket gross receipts. By mid-1984, projected ticket revenue of at least $125 million meant the tax generated millions of dollars for the city, and the revenue helped make the 1984 Games one of the first modern Olympics to turn a significant profit rather than leave the host city in debt. Rodriguez points to that precedent as a model for protecting taxpayers this time around. The core concern driving the motion is financial risk. Although LA28 organizers have described the Games as privately funded, Rodriguez argues that rising security, transportation, and infrastructure costs — combined with the city's existing budget pressures — create a real possibility of major overruns. The motion specifically references a $270 million figure as the amount the city could be on the hook for in a worst-case scenario, and frames the ticket tax as a way to build a revenue cushion without drawing on existing city services. The motion was referred to both the Budget and Finance Committee and the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee on May 19, 2026, where it remains pending. No further committee action has been recorded.

Activity (1)

• 2026-05-19 Motion referred to Budget and Finance Committee; Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee.

Documents (1)

• 2026-05-19 Motion · motion