SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate pro Tem Mike McGuire and Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas, today announced a robust ballot measure to tackle property crime and the fentanyl crisis, including through targeted reforms to Proposition 47.
The proposed ballot measure would implement new penalties for repeat offenders, crack down on serial shoplifters, enhance felony prosecutions for fentanyl dealers, and increase resources for drug treatment programs.

“With targeted reforms to Prop 47, this ballot measure is a critical step forward in our efforts to strengthen California’s public safety laws and provide law enforcement with additional tools to address the growing concerns of property crime and the fentanyl crisis. This balanced approach cracks down on crime and protects our communities — without reverting to ineffective and costly policies of the past,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.

California law has existing robust tools for law enforcement and prosecutors to arrest and charge suspects involved in organized retail crime, including up to three years of jail time for organized retail theft. The state has the 10th toughest threshold nationally for prosecutors to charge suspects with a felony, $950. Forty other states — including Texas ($2,500), Alabama ($1,500), and Mississippi ($1,000) — require higher dollar amounts for suspects to be charged with a felony.

Complementing this proposed ballot measure, the Legislature is poised to pass a comprehensive and bipartisan package of legislation to further crack down on property crime. This package of bills responds to the Governor’s proposed legislative framework from January that calls for the creation of new laws and expanding criminal penalties to further crack down on professional thieves — those who profit from stealing goods for resale. The legislation will bolster law enforcement’s ability to arrest suspects, create a new crime addressing organized auto burglary committed to resell stolen property, and eliminate the sunset provision for the organized retail crime statute.