Republicans and Democrats clash over solutions to reform California’s lenient Proposition 47

A battle between Democrats and Republicans in the Golden State is brewing over how to combat retail theft, with Democrats pushing forward legislative action while the GOP argues additional changes are necessary.

Democrats in the state legislature are hoping to push forward a raft of bills that would increase penalties on retail theft and other crimes in a bid to stop the wave of crime that has hurt California in recent years. Republicans had been supportive of the efforts but have also pushed for a ballot measure in November to modify Proposition 47, a 2014 ballot measure that reduced penalties for some crimes in the state that they have said is at the core of the spike in crime in the past decade. However, Republicans now say the proposed ballot measure is being sabotaged.

The proposed ballot measure, titled the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act, would enhance some penalties for drug dealers along with other enhanced penalties for criminals who have previously committed thefts. The measure appears on track to qualify for the ballot in November.

After the bills were unveiled last week, GOP leaders in the legislature claimed that Democrats tried to add “poison pill” amendments in the form of interoperability clauses.

“To combat the California crime wave, we need to strengthen our laws, both in the Legislature and at the ballot box,” Republican state Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones said in a statement last week.

“It’s irresponsible to force voters into a false choice between the two. Unfortunately, some Democrat politicians are too prideful to admit their mistake with Prop 47 and they continue to deny the desperate need for reform. The Democrats’ poison pill amendments are a cynical attempt to mislead voters and prevent the necessary overhaul of our broken laws,” he added.

Jones and state Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher sent a letter to Democratic leadership announcing their opposition to the amendments, saying that “we cannot endorse amendments that play
politics with public safety” and urging them “to reject these poison pill amendments and show real commitment to meaningful criminal justice reform.”

Democrats on Monday defended their efforts and claimed that the ballot measure would cause conflicts with the pieces of legislation. Democratic state Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire told the Sacramento Bee that the claims by the GOP were “hogwash.”

“They’re trying to slow down some of the most consequential crime bills that this legislature, this state has seen in years,” McGuire told the outlet.

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He also defended the amendments to KCRA as being done so that “we don’t have a world-class mess of conflicting policies on our hands” between the ballot measure and the raft of bills.

Democrats are attempting to get the bills passed ahead of the June 27 deadline to remove ballot measures.