LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County residents were preparing to pay a higher sales tax rate starting Tuesday, when Measure A — the so-called Affordable Housing, Homelessness Solutions, and Prevention Now Transactions and Use Tax Ordinance — goes into effect.

Measure A, passed by 57.7% of voters last fall, is a half-cent sales tax to fund homelessness prevention. 

According to the ordinance, the tax proceeds can only be used to prevent and reduce homelessness and make housing more affordable in LA County.

County officials expect to generate $1.1 billion a year from the tax.

The measure replaced Measure H, which had passed seven years ago and imposed a 0.25% sales tax rate for anti-homeless initiatives. 

The county’s new tax rate will rise from 9.5% to 9.75%.

However, some cities within the county will see higher tax rates because of Measure A. For example, Azusa's sales tax jumps from 10.25% to 10.75%; Downey from 10% to 10.5%. More information on the new sales tax rate can be found here.

The tax comes as the county continues to see an increase in homelessness. There are more than 75,000 people in the county who are homeless, according to the county.

County officials said that the homelessness crisis is increasing in severity. 

However, several publications and a federal judge have criticized the county’s efforts to reduce homelessness and claim that the money from Measure H — which was also supposed to be intended for anti-homeless initiatives — was instead mismanaged and lacked accountability.