California has voted to pass a ballot measure aimed at reducing retail theft and drug use in the state, rescinding a decade-old measure, according to The Associated Press and multiple sources.

Proposition 36 is expected to increase penalties for retail theft and drug possession, while requiring treatment for certain drug offenders. According to to the AP, multiple sauce. The measure would override provisions of Proposition 47, passed in 2014, and has been vilified as a failure by some in the state.

Crime in California has increased in recent years, with robberies increasing by 3.8% in 2023 and shoplifting increasing by almost 40% in the same year. According to to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). Violent crime is still up 15.4% in 2023 compared to 2019. (Watch the Daily Caller documentary “American Squatter” here)

Vice President Kamala Harris declined to comment on how she would vote on the bill in her home state. She also did not disclose her vote on Proposition 47.

What should be noted among the measures patron They were the California District Attorneys Association, the California State Sheriffs Association, the California Republican Party, and Democratic Mayor London Breed. The California chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business, a trade group for small businesses, also supported the ballot initiative. According to Go to the July press release.

The Yes on 36 campaign, which supports the bill, said the bill would “bring real accountability to drug traffickers and repeat thieves.” According to Go to the campaign site.

But opponents said repealing Prop. 47 would “rekindle the failed war on drugs” and “waste tens of millions of dollars in prisons and jails.” According to 36 websites to no.

The bill was generally popular heading into the election, with an August poll showing 56% of Californians approved of it. Support for the initiative increased in October, with 60% supporting the bill. According to Based on a poll released Nov. 1 by the Institute of Government at the University of California, Berkeley.

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been a vocal critic of the bill, calling it “mass incarceration, not mass treatment.” According to In the San Francisco Chronicle in September. He warned voters to “take your time and understand what you stand for.” According to In The Sacramento Bee on October 29th.

Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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