With across-the-board automatic spending cuts (known as sequestration) scheduled to take effect on March 1, Los Angeles County has completed a review of the potential financial threats the sequester poses to the nation’s largest local government agency.

If sequester cuts go into effect, the overall net impact on the County is likely to be small – less than one percent of the $5.408 billion in Federal revenue the County received in Fiscal Year 2012-13. This is due to the fact that the County receives most of its Federal revenue through low-income mandatory programs which are exempt from sequestration cuts, including Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Child Support Enforcement.

A number of County social welfare programs will still be significantly impacted, though. Three departments would be directly affected because they receive a substantial amount of Federal revenue through non-defense discretionary programs, which would be subject to the roughly 5.3 percent reduction:

* The Community Development Commission, including the Community Development Block Grant, Public Housing, Section 8 Housing and HOME Investment Partnerships Program

* The Department of Community and Senior Services, including Workforce Investment Act and Older Americans Act programs

* The Department of Public Health including, Ryan White AIDS Emergency Assistance, Public Health Emergency Preparedness, HIV/AIDS Core Prevention and Surveillance, Tuberculosis Control, Infectious Disease and other public health programs, including those funded from the Prevention and Public Health Fund.

Other Los Angeles County programs which are exempt from sequestration cuts include surface transportation programs funded from the Highway Trust Fund, the Airport Improvement Program, the Independent Living Program and child care entitlement mandatory and matching funding.

The ultimate fiscal impact of 2013 sequestration cuts on the County cannot be determined at this time because none of the 12 appropriations bills, which fund discretionary programs, have been enacted. Instead, all discretionary programs are being temporarily funded under a Continuing Resolution through March 27, 2013.