Tough-on-crime measure that would reform Prop 47 qualifies for California ballot
A tough-on-crime ballot measure presented as a fix to California's retail theft crisis officially qualified for the November ballot, Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber announced Tuesday, coming just hours after last-ditch attempts by Democratic leaders to negotiate a legislative package in the hopes of neutralizing the measure.
The measure, dubbed the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act, would revise a critical elements of the state's decade-old Proposition 47, which has come under fire in recent years by critics and the state's Republican legislators as retail crime has surged.
Law enforcement and business groups also have levied blame at Prop. 47, similarly arguing the measure's reduction of theft and drug possession from felonies to misdemeanors as a cause of the crime jump, though there are no empirically supported studies linking the two.
The group supporting the Prop. 47 reform ballot measure, Californians for Safer Communities Coalition, is backed by deep-pocketed retail giants like Target, Walmart and Home Depot, and many county sheriffs and district attorneys have also thrown their weight behind the proposal.
More: What is Proposition 47?
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate Pro Tempore Mike McGuire have led charged negotiations over the past several days with supporters of the reform measure, hoping to assuage their concerns with a raft of crime bills in order to avoid a November ballot vote, which Democrats fear may increase Republican turnout.
The proposed ballot measure also aims to address mental health and addiction among those experiencing homelessness, described by the coalition as a "root cause" of repeat retail crime. Democrats, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have long defended Prop. 47, passed by voters in 2014, for easing what they see as overly punitive punishments for misdemeanors that lead to more incarcerations and disproportionately impact communities of color and vulnerable individuals.
More: Is California, one of the bluest states in the US, at a turning point over crime, homelessness?
More: Would limits on self-checkout prevent shoplifting? What a California bill would mean.
The Democratic mayors of San Francisco and San Jose, both liberal cities plagued by crime and homelessness concerns, have backed the proposition.
Newsom announced February a slate of legislation proposals to combat the issue of retail crime, following his 2023 investment package to fight organized retail crime. Several related bills have already hit the Assembly, reflecting a Democratic effort to address a far-reaching voter concern without conceding elements of Proposition 47.
Kathryn Palmer is an elections fellow for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @KathrynPlmr.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Measure to reform Prop 47 qualifies for California ballot