Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed 10 bills into law in what he calls an unprecedented effort to combat escalating retail crime, auto theft and the sale of stolen goods by enacting tougher penalties for repeat offenders and better tools for prosecuting serious crimes.
“Let’s be clear: This is the most important legislation to address property crime in modern California history. I thank the bipartisan group of lawmakers, our retail partners, and advocates for putting public safety above politics,” Newsom said in a statement Friday morning. “While some are trying to take us back to ineffective and costly policies of the past, these new laws present a better path forward: making our communities safer and providing meaningful tools to help law enforcement stop criminals and hold them accountable.”
Newsom’s move comes eight months after he called on lawmakers to address a rise in retail thefts across the state, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when major California cities saw the most dramatic increase in property crime. It also comes at a divisive time for Democrats in the Golden State, who are at odds over how to respond to growing public concern about the rise in brazen thefts.
California lawmakers passed these bills to address crime:
AB 2943 allows felony charges on third-offense theft, adds dollar amounts, and expands drug diversion programs.
AB 3209 allows a court to impose a restraining order for up to two years against a person who has stolen from, vandalized or assaulted an employee. It would also require the court to consider whether a person lives in a “food desert” and whether the store is the only place where essential goods can be purchased.
AB 1779 allows prosecutors to charge multiple crimes that occurred in different counties and handle them in one court.
AB 1802 makes permanent the California Highway Patrol's Property Crime Task Force.
AB 1972 expands the California Highway Patrol's property crimes task force program to include cargo theft and railroad law enforcement.
SB 905 creates two new “wobbler” offenses that can be charged as felonies or misdemeanors: breaking and entering an automobile with intent to steal and possessing stolen property from an automobile worth at least $950 with intent to sell it.
SB 1242 provides a harsher sentence for people convicted of setting fire to a retailer's property to commit organized theft.
SB 1416 creates a sentencing enhancement for selling, exchanging, or returning for value an item acquired through theft, robbery, or theft.
SB 1144 requires online marketplaces to collect information from high-volume third-party sellers and gives district attorneys authority to bring civil actions to enforce violations.
SB 982 removes an end date for the crime of organized retail theft, allowing prosecution to continue indefinitely.
The most recent debate over drug and theft crime reform in California dates back to 2014, when voters approved Proposition 47.
That ballot measure reduced penalties for some nonviolent drug and property crimes and passed with overwhelming support at a time when lawmakers needed to relieve overcrowding in California state prisons, which courts have ruled were at unconstitutional levels. It has also saved the state nearly $100 million annually, with those funds going toward victim services and reentry programs.
Leading opponents of that initiative have since tried — unsuccessfully — to dismantle Proposition 47, but they are back this year with a revived state initiative that voters will decide on in November. The measure, Proposition 36, would impose mandatory treatment for some drug offenses, add new penalties for some theft and drug-related crimes, and add new sentencing enhancements that would apply to any crime.
Newsom and top Democrats crafted an alternative measure of their own, which would address concerns about theft and fentanyl without, they said, being as punitive as the prosecutors’ measure. But just days before the Legislature was recalled for a monthlong recess in July, Newsom scrapped the initiative.
The package of bills signed by the governor was introduced by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and Senate Leader Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg). Both made their own high-profile efforts to address concerns about rising theft through legislation and opposed asking voters to reform Proposition 47.
The bills target many aspects of property theft. They make it easier to prosecute vehicle thefts and accumulate dollar amounts from thefts that occur over time and across jurisdictions; give stores the ability to file temporary restraining orders against repeat thieves; and require online marketplaces to collect detailed information from sellers in an effort to deter illegal resale of stolen items.
Newsom signed the package of bills Friday morning outside a Home Depot in San Jose.
San Jose is the largest city in Santa Clara County, which experienced one of the largest increases in property crime of the state's 15 largest counties.
The governor and his political allies have publicly denounced Prop 36, calling it a draconian crime bill. The initiative is led largely by prosecutors and funded by major retailers including Home Depot, Target and Walmart.
But some Democrats, including Mayors London Breed of San Francisco, Todd Gloria of San Diego and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, support the tough-on-crime measure.
Mahan this week announced a new fundraising committee to raise money for the ballot measure.
