Voters Will Decide Whether to Repeal Prop 47 This November
In 2014, the voters of the state of California passed Proposition 47, which radically changed the classification of theft offenses and drug possession offenses. Prior to the passage of Proposition 47, theft over $450 was a felony, and multiple petty thefts could be charged as a felony. After passage of Proposition 47, the value of the property must be over $950 to be a felony, and petty theft with a prior was no longer a felony. The commercial burglary (also known as retail theft) laws were changed as well. All drug possession offenses which did not involve sales could only be charged as misdemeanors under Proposition 47, and persons with prior felony drug possession offenses were made eligible for a reduction to a misdemeanor, although this did not change the status for gun possession.
The law was very progressive at the time. It was passed due to an untenable population of inmates in California prisons and a desire to reform drug laws/lessen the impacts of mass incarceration on people who generally committed low level crimes. At the time of its passage, some counties routinely sent people to state prison for simple drug possession, especially when the person already had a prior conviction. Nonetheless, since the passage of Proposition 47, its opponents have held the law responsible for the increased property crime in cities - car breaks ins, theft from stores, and theft in public places. Some of the more noteworthy alleged effects of Proposition 47 include mass retail theft resulting in the closing of stores like Walgreens and Rite Aids and increased open air drug use in places like San Francisco and Los Angeles. There is debate around whether the passage of Proposition 47 has, in fact, increased the rate of property crimes, or whether the pandemic caused these changes. The merits of that debate may not be resolved before the bulk of Proposition 47 provisions are repealed by Proposition 36.
Proposition 36 is a 2024 ballot initiate which will be put to the voters in November 2024. The goal of the proposition is to roll back many of the changes created by Proposition 47. For instance, it allows the prosecutor to charge a felony for the possession of “hard drugs,” including fentanyl, with two prior drug convictions. It also allows felony charges for theft under $950 with two prior theft convictions. Diversion programs that allow the dismissal of the case after successful completion of diversion terms will continue to exist. Enhanced penalties would be created for mob “smash and grab” crimes where a group of people steal more than $50,000. Finally, a mandated treatment felony would be created for people with several prior drug convictions which would be essentially court mandated drug treatment as an alternative to prison.
The voters of California will decide if a more “tough on crime” policy that increases the charging options of district attorneys will stop property and retail theft or result in less drug use. Proposition 47 will either be viewed as an experiment that went awry and should be ended or a sound policy that limits mass incarceration and should be continued. If Proposition 36 is passed, the law will create fundamental changes in drug and theft law that have not been seen for the last decade.
Read the full text of the measure on Ballotpedia.
