California lawmakers on Monday gave final approval to 10 bills aimed at combating retail theft, a move that has divided Democrats as they face key challenges in the November election.
The bill has been the subject of intense political debate all year, with Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders responding to pressure from a tough-on-crime ballot measure that would have increased penalties for retail theft. Democratic leaders had hoped their bill would persuade prosecutors to drop the measure, but negotiations fell apart, leaving California with two differing visions for fighting crime. A more punitive approach by district attorneys to prosecute repeat theft and fentanyl offenders with felony charges is on the November ballot as Proposition 36. Meanwhile, the legislative effort to curb crime by targeting organized theft rings and online marketplaces is currently awaiting Gov. Newsom's signature.
The California Legislature has passed the following bills to address crime:
Assembly Bill 2943 Addressing serial thieves by charging them with a felony for a third theft, tallying up dollar amounts and expanding drug diversion programs.
Assembly Bill 3209 The bill would allow courts to issue restraining orders of up to two years against people who commit theft, vandalism, or assaulting employees, and would require courts to consider whether the person lives in a “food desert” and whether the store is the only place they can get essential goods.
Assembly Bill 1779 It allows prosecutors to prosecute multiple crimes that occurred in multiple counties and have them handled in a single court.
Assembly Bill 1802 Establishes a permanent California Highway Patrol property crimes unit.
1960 Congressional Bill Increases penalties for those who remove or destroy property valued at more than $50,000.
1972 Congressional Bill Expands the California Highway Patrol's Property Crimes Task Force program to include freight theft and railroad policing.
Senate Bill 905 Creates two new felony misdemeanor or “wobbler” crimes for those who forcefully enter a locked vehicle with the intent to steal.
Senate Bill 1385 Support hospital emergency departments to ensure justice-involved patients receive evidence-based treatment and ongoing services for opioid use disorder.
Senate Bill 1242 It provides for a longer sentence if a person is convicted of recklessly burning retail premises with the intent to commit organized theft.
Senate Bill 1320 Health insurance plans or insurers are required to reimburse providers for mental health and substance use disorder treatment services.
Senate Bill 1416 would increase sentencing for people convicted of shoplifting, robbery or selling, exchanging or returning items obtained through theft for something of value.
Senate Bill 1144 would require online marketplaces to collect information from large volumes of third-party sellers and give district attorneys the power to bring civil lawsuits to enforce violations.
Senate Bill 982 would eliminate the statute of limitations for organized retail theft charges, allowing them to be prosecuted indefinitely.
“Retail theft not only harms business, it also makes things less safe,” Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zuber (D-Los Angeles), who heads a special committee created this year to address the issue, said during Monday's council vote. “I understand there is a wide range of opinion in this council and in the community, but getting this to the right place has been a challenge. Many members of this council have expressed passionate and sincere concerns, and I respect them.”
While the bill passed with bipartisan support, it was opposed by many progressive lawmakers, particularly members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who did not want to see more people sent to prison.
“These measures would exacerbate mass incarceration, and exacerbating mass incarceration would be the opposite of what Californians wanted to see: prison closures,” Sen. Laura Smallwood Cuevas (D-Los Angeles) said Thursday. Voted against the bill This will allow repeat thieves to be penalized and the value of stolen goods to be calculated.
State Assemblywoman Mia Bonta (D-Alameda) withheld her support for seven bills.
“We know that increasing criminalization falls too often on Black and Latino Californians,” she said in a statement to the Times.
Reps. Tina McKinner (D-Hawthorne) and Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles), who are also members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Not voting in parliament Thirteen other Democrats did not vote for the bill, which would have punished thieves who force their way into a vehicle with the intent to steal and sell it, indicating they do not support the measure.
California Sen. Laura Smallwood Cuevas and state Assemblyman Isaac Bryan did not support parts of a state Assembly bill aimed at addressing retail theft.
(Jason Almond/Los Angeles Times)
Some members of the Congressional Black Caucus and several other Democrats also did not support bills that would increase penalties for people who start fires while stealing, allow prosecutors to combine thefts and allow stores to issue temporary restraining orders against certain repeat offenders.
It was not immediately clear how California will track whether the law is effective in reducing theft.
“This is not the end. This is the first year, this is the first step,” state Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) told reporters Monday. “We know that data is always the best way to drive policy, but the Legislature has to do a better job of looking back to see if our laws are working.”
Governor Newsom already signed two other bills written by lawmakers in July as part of a related effort to address drug addiction. The Senate is also moving forward with seven fentanyl-related bills aimed at stemming the opioid crisis plaguing the state.
At the heart of the debate over bills to curb theft and fentanyl abuse is disagreement over California's Proposition 47, a decade-old law that downgraded some nonviolent drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors in an effort to reduce the prison population and give nonviolent offenders a second chance.
Many district attorneys and law enforcement officials blame Proposition 47 for crime in California and support Proposition 36, which would be on the November ballot and reverse some of the reforms. Proposition 36 would allow people with repeated theft or fentanyl convictions to be charged with felonies and sent to prison. The campaign announced support from several Democrats on Monday, including Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton), Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D-Sanger), Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), Sen. Tom Amberg (D-Orange), Rep. James Ramos (D-Highland), Rep. Jasmeet Bains (D-Delano), Rep. Stephanie Nguyen (D-Elk Grove) and Rep. Blanca Pacheco (D-Downey).
Governor Newsom and legislative leaders are trying to block Proposition 36 from being put on the ballot and are likely to formally oppose it. They say they have no intention of changing Proposition 47, which they claim has brought beneficial reforms that have reduced California's prison population and funded drug treatment and other rehabilitation services. They say California can address crime without changing Proposition 47.
In June, the governor and state legislators introduced a more liberal, less punitive voting bill designed to counter the prosecutors' bill, but before the Legislature went on its July recess, the governor, who was out of state campaigning for President Biden at the time, withdrew the bill, citing insufficient time to pass it into law.
The bill before Governor Newsom could provide political benefits to opponents of Proposition 36. Rivas said he believes the bill could prompt some corporate donors to withdraw their support.
