A ballot measure to impose harsher criminal penalties for drug possession and theft, which alters the controversial Proposition 47 passed in 2014, has qualified for the November vote.
The measure, however, may be undermined by the Democratic leadership of the California Legislature, which is pushing a package of bills aimed at the wave of retail thefts across the state. Lawmakers hope the legislation will influence voters to reject the tough-on-crime ballot initiative, and they are using the bills to pressure the measure's proponents to rescind their proposal.
The news that the ballot measure qualifies comes just two weeks before the Secretary of State releases the official list of state proposals that will appear on the November ballot. It also comes as Democratic leadership took a tough step last week by promising to add an amendment to its retail crime legislation that would repeal the laws if voters approve the proposal at the state level.
“Today we call on our leaders to stop playing politics,” Greg Totten, co-chair of Californians for Safer Communities, said during a news conference Wednesday. “The Legislature's plan to include an automatic repeal… shows that they are not serious about addressing the explosion in retail theft and the fentanyl crisis in the state.”
Since voters approved Proposition 47 in 2014, the initiative has been the center of debate over whether it is the reason for the wave of retail thefts across the state. Democratic lawmakers say the measure helped reduce the prison population and that property crimes have been reduced in some areas. Republicans say the measure has led to a lack of arrests and less accountability for thieves.
The secretary of state has verified that the measure gathered enough signatures from registered California voters to qualify for the ballot, which was made possible by a multimillion-dollar signature-gathering effort that big-box retailers including Walmart, Home Deport and Target funded to a large degree. So far, the coalition has raised $8.5 million in campaign contributions.
The ballot initiative, called the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act, would change the law to make a third offense of theft, regardless of the value of the merchandise, a felony punishable by up to three years of prison. The measure would also make possession of fentanyl a felony. Finally, the measure would impose a “felony with mandatory treatment” the third time someone is arrested for drug possession.
Democrats have put together a comprehensive package of 14 bills that they believe will solve California's property crime and drug problems, without the need to go back to the polls.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has repeatedly said he is against bringing Proposition 47 back to a vote.
“It does not achieve the intended objectives. I want to do something that can be done legislatively with more flexibility,” Newsom told The Times last Friday. “We have released a package of bills that work in both chambers of the Legislature and have been fantastic at addressing legitimate concerns that we have been addressing for years. “Not just retail theft, but organized retail theft.”
Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Los Angeles), who chairs the Select Committee on Retail Theft, told reporters Tuesday that the package of bills was “never intended” to be stacked on top of a “measure.” unilateral electoral.”
“The combination of the two [efforts] It is a kind of empowerment of this entire process,” he said. “Going back to a period where we're going to have a lot more incarceration.”
Times staff writer Mackenzie Mays contributed to this report.
