Gov. Gavin Newsom dealt with the issue by signing 10 pieces of legislation pertaining to property and drug crime on Friday. The measure comes as Californians get ready to vote on Proposition 36, a ballot proposal to curb crime in the Golden State.
Dem leadership in California, including Newsom, has voiced opposition to Prop. 36, arguing that it is not cost-effective and would usher in a new era of mass imprisonment. One legal expert told the Washington Examiner that Newsom’s opposition to Prop. 36 explains his advocacy for criminal justice reform before the election.
“The primary objective of this legislation is to attempt to dissuade voters from supporting Prop 36,” stated John Shu, a California-based constitutional law specialist and legal researcher.
Governor Newsom said, “It’s not because he actually wants to do something about high crime.” “The reason for this is that 900,000 Californians agreed to the petition to get Prop 36 on the ballot—a reform that leaves out Prop 47.”
Although 56% of voters supported Prop. 36, it is unclear if the newly passed legislation would meet California’s need for stricter criminal laws given the state’s history of retail theft and organized crime.
The Yes on Proposition 36 campaign blasted the California leaders for shelving two laws that they claimed “would have been very helpful” in handling smash-and-grab crimes, and one that would have made it possible to determine a crime’s classification as a felony or misdemeanor based on the total value of the stolen property rather than having to take each theft into account separately.
Their statement in response to the legislation states, “These recently passed bills are half measures, failing to deal with the fundamental issues of repeat theft, fentanyl, and the ongoing homelessness problem, which remains unaddressed because of the lack of strong reasons for drug treatment.”
Shu, a former member of the Bush administration, stated that while he is “glad” to have some retail theft legislation become law, the package of bills Newsom signed does not go far enough in defending Californians against property crime, which he said puts lives in danger.
The package targets cargo theft, facilitates the prosecution of auto thefts, mandates that some sellers on internet marketplaces provide bank account information and tax identification numbers, and enables merchants to get restraining orders against bankrupt shoplifters.
Shu claims that because there is little overlap between the package that Newsom signed and Prop. 36, there is a chance that the two laws will “work together in harmony.”
Shu declared, “Anyone who supports the new legislation that Governor Newsom signed should also support voting for Prop 36 in November because, if it succeeds, they both work in harmony to lower these crimes, especially drug and property crime.”
Despite Newsom’s opposition, the Democratic mayors of San Francisco and San Jose, London Breed and Matt Mahan, have declared their support for Prop. 36. Mahan was not there when Newsom revealed the retail theft bundle at a San Jose Home Depot. In response to the rising insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses that many shops have incurred due to retail theft, Home Depot has contributed more than $1 million in favor of Prop 36.
The Washington Examiner contacted Newsom to get a statement.
