(CALMATTERS) – Now that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a spate of retail theft bills pushed by Democratic leaders, some Democrats are primed to champion the legislation and oppose a separate crime ballot measure, Proposition 36.
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas plans to promote the 10 new laws today in Salinas, alongside police officers, business leaders and a handful of other legislators. As CalMatters criminal justice reporter Nigel Duara explains, the laws make it easier to prosecute people for retail and vehicle theft. When Newsom signed the measures on Friday, he called them “the most significant legislation to address property crime in modern California history.”
Newsom and Democratic leaders including Rivas have positioned the laws as an alternative to Prop. 36. Outside the state Capitol today, Democratic legislators led by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan of Culver City also plan to hold a rally pushing back against the measure.
Meanwhile, Prop. 36 proponents are not impressed by the retail theft legislation, calling them “half measures.” The laws enhance punishments without overhauling Prop. 47 — a measure voters passed in 2014 that changed some felony crimes to misdemeanors. Critics of Prop. 47 argue that Prop. 36 goes further to combat property crimes and fentanyl-related offenses. Law enforcement groups, district attorneys, a growing number of Democrats and most Republicans support Prop. 36.
- GOP Assembly Leader James Gallagher of Chico and Prop. 36 backer, in a statement: “Newsom doesn’t deserve an ounce of credit for fighting the crime crisis.”