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Paid for by Herb Morgan for State Controller 2026 | FPPC #1480103

Press Release: Herb Morgan: LAHSA Transition Highlights Why California Needs Radical Transparency

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 1, 2026


Herb Morgan: LAHSA Transition Highlights Why California Needs Radical Transparency


SAN DIEGO, Calif. — As Los Angeles County officially transfers responsibility for billions of dollars in homelessness spending from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) to the newly created Department of Homeless Services and Housing (HSH), California State Controller candidate Herb W. Morgan said the transition demonstrates why California must fundamentally modernize the way it tracks taxpayer dollars.


Effective today, July 1, Los Angeles County assumed control of homelessness funding, contracts, invoices, and financial records previously managed by LAHSA. At the same time, 284 LAHSA employees—nearly half of the agency's workforce—departed, taking with them years of institutional knowledge. The transition follows findings by the County Auditor-Controller identifying significant deficiencies in LAHSA's financial records, including incomplete and inaccurate accounting.


“This transition illustrates exactly why government cannot rely on institutional memory to safeguard billions of taxpayer dollars,” Morgan said. “When records are incomplete and nearly half an agency walks out the door on the same day, accountability becomes exponentially more difficult. Californians deserve financial systems that outlast administrations, reorganizations, and personnel changes.”


Morgan said California's financial oversight must evolve beyond traditional accounting systems by implementing immutable, publicly verifiable transaction records.


“As California's next State Controller, I will implement Radical Transparency by publishing every state expenditure on a real-time public blockchain ledger,” Morgan said. “Every taxpayer dollar should have a permanent, verifiable record that cannot disappear during an agency reorganization, staff turnover, or political transition. Financial accountability should never depend on who still works in the building.”


Morgan noted that the campaign's recently released Los Angeles Homeless Spending White Paper examined multiple public funding channels supporting homelessness programs and found a consistent pattern: despite billions in expenditures, the public often cannot independently verify outcomes or trace spending from appropriation to measurable results.


“The LAHSA-to-HSH transition compounds an accountability problem that has existed for years,” Morgan said. “Our research followed public money through eight different homelessness funding pathways, and we found the same weakness repeatedly: taxpayers could not fully verify where the money went or what results were achieved. Radical Transparency would have created permanent, searchable financial records from day one.”


Morgan emphasized that the State Controller has both the responsibility and the opportunity to strengthen financial management throughout California government by promoting verifiable accounting practices, improving audit readiness, and increasing public access to financial information.


“Government should never lose accountability because an organization changes its name, its structure, or its employees,” Morgan said. “California has the technology to provide permanent transparency. What has been missing is the leadership to implement it.”


Morgan's Radical Transparency initiative calls for:

  • Publishing every state expenditure through a real-time public blockchain ledger.

  • Creating immutable financial records that survive administrative and organizational changes.

  • Expanding independent audits and public financial reporting.

  • Leveraging artificial intelligence to identify fraud, waste, and abuse.

  • Giving Californians searchable, transaction-level access to government spending.


The campaign's Los Angeles Homeless Spending White Paper provides additional analysis documenting how billions in homelessness spending flowed through multiple public programs while exposing persistent weaknesses in financial accountability and outcome verification.


The future of California depends on restoring trust in government. Join Herb Morgan's campaign to make every taxpayer dollar visible, verifiable, and accountable—because transparency shouldn't end when governments reorganize. Learn more at HerbMorgan.com.


Media Contact

Nicolette Mangubat


About Herb W. Morgan | X: @Herb4Controller | HerbMorgan.com


Herb W. Morgan is a San Diego-based businessman, fiscal watchdog, and candidate for California State Controller. The campaign is the first to publicly display campaign finances in US history on a public ledger. They developed Ask Herb, the first AI-powered search platform built to help Californians explore and understand the State's FI$Cal financial data in plain language, and California Radical Transparency (CRT), an initiative dedicated to delivering modern, decision-grade fiscal accountability and public oversight across California government. Morgan's campaign is focused on restoring independent financial oversight, exposing waste, abuse, and ensuring every taxpayer dollar is tracked, verified, and transparently accounted for.



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