Brief

Councilmember Heather Hutt, seconded by Tim McOsker, introduced a motion to establish a City-sponsored micro loan program providing low or no-interest loans to eligible employees. The program aims to offer financial relief for City workers facing short-term cash needs. The motion cleared the Personnel and Hiring Committee in August and is now pending final review by the Budget and Finance Committee, which scheduled it for September 15, 2026.

Full summary

Councilmember Heather Hutt introduced this motion in response to growing financial strain on lower-wage and part-time city workers. The motion cites a Personnel Department analysis finding that part-time workers in a majority of departments studied earned less than $1,000 per pay period, and that more than half had at least one pay period with zero hours worked. The motion also points to a 2025 Nasdaq study identifying Los Angeles as the least affordable city for median-income earners, and a USC Sol Price School study noting that predatory financial products like payday loans and buy-now-pay-later plans can carry interest rates as high as 391 percent. The motion directs the Chief Legislative Analyst, with support from the Personnel Department and the City Administrative Officer, to study three things: how prevalent and effective city-sponsored employee micro loan programs are nationally, whether such a program is feasible for Los Angeles, and which local or regional financial partners could administer a pilot program. A second directive instructs the CLA to assess any regulatory constraints, including fair lending standards, that would govern how a program must be structured to ensure equitable treatment of borrowers. San Francisco, Austin, and other cities are cited as models that have already created small-dollar lending programs for their employees. The motion was referred to both the Personnel and Hiring Committee and the Budget and Finance Committee upon introduction in June 2026. The Personnel and Hiring Committee scheduled and approved the item in August 2026, then transmitted it to the Budget and Finance Committee for fiscal review. The file remains pending in that committee, where cost implications and potential funding sources will need to be evaluated before the proposal can advance to a full Council vote. The file expires in August 2028 if no further action is taken.

Activity (6)

• 2026-09-11 Budget and Finance Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on September 15, 2026.
• 2026-08-14 Personnel and Hiring Committee transmitted Council File to Budget and Finance Committee.
• 2026-08-14 Personnel and Hiring Committee approved item(s) .
• 2026-08-10 Personnel and Hiring Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on August 14, 2026.
• 2026-06-23 Motion referred to Budget and Finance Advisory Committee; Personnel and Hiring Committee.
• 2026-06-23 Motion referred to Budget and Finance Committee; Personnel and Hiring Committee.

Documents (3)

• 2026-08-14 Speaker Card(s) · speaker_card
• 2026-06-30 Communication(s) from Public · communication
• 2026-06-23 Motion · motion