Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed the last of a package of retail theft bills crafted by Democratic lawmakers to address the rise in organized retail theft crimes that have roiled Californians.
“California already has some of the toughest property and retail crime laws in the country, and we’ve made them even stronger with our recent legislation,” Newsom wrote in a statement released Thursday morning. “We can be tough on crime while also being smart on it — we don’t need to return to the failed policies of the last century.”
The new law is the latest of 13 bills that have been at the center of a political saga that played out at the state Capitol this summer over how the state should address organized property crime. The legislation Newsom signed Thursday, Assembly Bill 1960, will add harsher penalties for people who take, damage or destroy property while committing any felony.
“I authored this new law to hold those who cause damage to stores and property accountable, because our business owners and workers should not have to live in fear of these crimes coming to their doorsteps,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) said Thursday. Rivas took over as the bill’s author in late June after the original author, Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria (D-Merced), received some criticism from opponents.
Advocates at the Vera Institute of Justice, along with a coalition of criminal justice reform organizations, are alarmed that the bill’s language is “identical” to parts of Proposition 36, a November ballot measure opposed by Newsom and Rivas that has divided lawmakers and law enforcement across the state. If approved by voters, the initiative would overhaul a decade-old law that reduced sentences for minor, nonviolent property and drug crimes.
The coalition fears the law could add years to individuals' prison sentences for a wide range of conduct that goes far beyond shoplifting, calling it a “one-size-fits-all” policy.
“[The bill] “The law would increase prison time based on accidental conduct, because there is no requirement that the harm be intentional,” advocates wrote in an Aug. 30 letter to Newsom urging him to veto the bill. “That means AB 1960 could add years to prison for a car accident while driving under the influence.”
Rivas told The Times in late August that the difference between his bill and the ballot measure is the inclusion of a sunset clause, which will cause the bill to expire on Jan. 1, 2030. Bills can include expiration dates to allow lawmakers to review the impacts of that law after it has been implemented.
A source who worked on anti-retail theft laws said AB 1960 was not originally signed along with the other 10 pieces of anti-retail theft legislation because of ongoing conversations taking place between the Newsom administration, the Legislature and retailers who wanted to decide whether changes should be made.
The California District Attorneys Association and law enforcement groups supported the bill.
