Your guide to Proposition 36, which would toughen some penalties for theft and drug offenses

Proposition 36, titled the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act, is one of 10 statewide ballot propositions that California voters will vote on this fall.

What would it achieve?

Prop. 36 would increase penalties for petty theft and drug possession for repeat offenders. It also establishes mandatory treatment for some drug offenses and provides a formal warning to people convicted of selling hard drugs that if they act again and someone dies, they could be charged with murder.

The measure includes several provisions, but the most important of these deal with some of the changes that Proposition 47 made to petty theft and drug possession cases a decade ago. Prop. 47, which voters approved in 2014, reduced some drug possession charges to a misdemeanor. For petty theft, it increased the maximum value of stolen goods from $400 to $950 before it is considered a felony.

Under Prop. 36, a person who has already been convicted of petty theft twice can be charged as a felony if he commits a third petty theft, regardless of the value of the stolen property. Prosecutors have discretion as to whether to charge the case as a felony, and judges have discretion as to whether to uphold or reduce the felony charge.

Additionally, prosecutors could add up the total value of items stolen in multiple, unrelated thefts and charge them as a felony if the total is over $950.

Possession of a small amount of “hard” drugs is currently a misdemeanor under Prop. 47. The changes proposed in Prop. 36 would allow a person’s third drug offense — including possession of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine — to be charged as a felony.

That third drug case, if charged as a felony, would bring with it a new option: mandatory treatment. A third-time offender could avoid jail time and have the felony expunged from their criminal record by completing a drug or psychotherapy program. And if the person is convicted of possession of hard drugs for the fourth time, the judge could decide to send them to prison.

The measure would add over-the-counter fentanyl to a list of “hard” drugs like cocaine and heroin and increase penalties for trafficking in hard drugs.

Who supports it and why?

Supporters say the measure will counter the rise in shoplifting, get more drug addicts into treatment, and hold drug dealers and repeat offenders accountable through tougher penalties.

In the official voter information guide, supporters argue that the measure is “a balanced approach that closes loopholes in state law that criminals exploit to evade responsibility for fentanyl trafficking and repeat shoplifting.”

They argue that the unintended consequences of criminal justice reforms “include an epidemic of drug use and trafficking, as well as repeat shoplifting, because perpetrators of these crimes face no serious consequences.”

Prop. 36 supporters include the California Police Chiefs Association, the California District Attorneys Association, the California Retailers Association and the California Republican Party. Supporters also include several chambers of commerce across the state, several police unions, district attorneys and mayors, including San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and District Attorney Summer Stephan.

Walmart is the largest contributor, with a donation of $2.5 million. Target and Home Depot follow with $1 million each, according to the U.S. State Department website.

Who is against it and why?

Opponents argue that Prop. 36 is an extreme overreach, a return to the war on drugs in the 1980s, and will result in over-incarceration. They argue that there are already laws in place that provide severe penalties for drug trafficking and organized crime. They say the proposal will put more people in prison and pay for it with money that should be earmarked for rehabilitation and mental health programs.

“This is a one-size-fits-all, prison-first approach that locks up people who pose no threat, cuts much-needed funding for proven crime prevention and treatment programs, and requires taxpayers to fork over hundreds of millions more for prisons,” opponents argued in the official voter information guide.

They also wrote: “We need to address persistent problems like theft and fentanyl, but we need to find solutions that work and address the real problem, rather than the haphazard, failed solutions of the past.”

Opponents include Governor Gavin Newsom and several Democratic lawmakers, state chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACU), including the San Diego and Imperial county chapters, criminal justice reform groups, a handful of district attorneys, and retired former San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne.

The largest donors include nearly $130,000 from the ACLU of Northern California Issues Committee and $250,000 from the SEIU California State Council for Working People, according to the State Department's website.

What are the financial costs?

According to the Legislative Analyst's estimate, the measure will cost the state “tens to hundreds of millions of dollars” annually. The main reason: an increase in the prison population. The analysis assumes that the prison population, which currently stands at about 90,000, could increase “by several thousand people.”

The analysis, included in the state's voter information handbook, estimates that local jurisdictions will likely spend tens of millions a year on county jails and parole supervision, as well as court workloads for mandated mental health and drug treatment. The county jail population across the state, currently around 250,000 people, would likely increase, possibly by “a few thousand people.”

The analysis says the impact depends on “uncertain factors,” including the decisions of local prosecutors.

The analysis found that the money saved by Prop. 47 through sentence reductions should be spent on mental health and drug treatment, truancy and dropout prevention, and victim services—$95 million last year. By rolling back parts of Prop. 47, Prop. 36 would likely reduce those savings by tens of millions of dollars.

Originally published: September 26, 2024 at 5:27 am

Your guide to Proposition 36, which would toughen some penalties for theft and drug offenses – The Mercury News

What would it achieve?

You may also like...

Recent Posts

Your guide to Proposition 36, which would toughen some penalties for theft and drug offenses – The Mercury News

What would it achieve?

You may also like...

Taiwan sentences 8 military officers to prison for spying for China

Teen murder, mold and other daily risks to health in public housing

New York Giants waive DT due to injury as part of several roster changes

Recent Posts