Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed the final bill of a retail theft bill crafted by Democratic lawmakers to address a rise in organized retail theft crimes that have shocked Californians.

“California already has some of the toughest retail and property crime laws in the nation, and recent legislation makes them even tougher,” Governor Newsom said in a statement Thursday morning. “We can be tough on crime and smart at the same time. There's no need to go back to the broken policies of the last century.”

The new law is the last of 13 bills that have been at the center of a political battle at the State Capitol this summer over how the state should address organized property crime. Newsom signed the bill into law on Thursday. Congressional Bill of 1960, It adds tougher penalties for individuals who take, damage or destroy property while committing a felony.

“I wrote this new law to hold those who damage businesses and property appropriately accountable because business owners and workers should not have to live in fear of these crimes coming into their homes,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) said Thursday. Rivas took over writing the bill in late June after the bill's author, Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria (D-Merced), faced backlash from opponents.

Advocates at the Vera Institute of Justice, along with a coalition of criminal justice reform groups, are concerned that the bill's language is “identical” to portions of Proposition 36, a November ballot measure opposed by Newsom and Rivas that has sparked divisions among lawmakers and law enforcement across the state. If passed by voters, it would revise a decade-old law that reduced prison sentences for minor, nonviolent property and drug crimes.

The coalition is concerned that the law could add years of prison time to individuals for a wide range of conduct that goes far beyond retail theft, calling it a “one-size-fits-all” policy.

“[The bill] “Because there is no requirement that the damage be intentional, this bill would increase prison sentences based on accidental conduct,” the advocacy groups wrote to Governor Newsom on August 30, urging him to veto the bill. “This means that AB 1960 could potentially extend prison sentences for motor vehicle accidents while driving while intoxicated by several years.”

Rivas told The Times in late August that the difference between his bill and the ballot measure is that it includes a sunset clause that would cause the bill to expire on Jan. 1, 2030. Bills can include an expiration date to allow lawmakers to consider the law's impact after it goes into effect.

Sources who worked on the retail theft bill said AB 1960 was not initially signed along with 10 other retail theft bills because of ongoing discussions between the Newsom administration, the Legislature and retailers who wanted to decide whether changes were needed.

The California District Attorneys Association and law enforcement groups supported the bill.