Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed 10 bills into law in what he calls an unprecedented effort to combat the escalation of retail crime, auto theft and the sale of stolen goods, enacting tougher penalties for repeat offenders and enhanced tools for prosecuting crimes.
“Let’s be clear, this is the most significant piece of legislation to combat property crime in modern California history. I thank the bipartisan group of legislators, our retail partners, and advocates for their focus on public safety over politics,” Newsom said in a statement Friday morning. “While some are trying to return us to the ineffective and costly policies of the past, these new laws present a better path forward: making our communities safer and providing meaningful tools to help law enforcement stop criminals and hold them accountable.”
Newsom’s decision comes eight months after he called on lawmakers to address the rise in retail thefts across the state, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when California’s major cities have seen the biggest increases in property crime. It also comes at a divisive moment for Golden State Democrats, who are at odds over how to address growing public concern over the rise in brazen thefts.
California lawmakers passed these bills to fight crime:
AB 2943 allows felony prosecutions for third-offense theft, consolidates dollar amounts and expands drug diversion programs.
AB 3209 allows a court to impose a restraining order for up to two years against a person who steals from, vandalizes or assaults an employee. It would also require the court to determine whether a person lives in a “food desert” and whether the store is the only place where basic necessities are available.
AB 1779 allows prosecutors to charge multiple offenses committed in multiple counties and have them tried in a single court.
AB 1802 makes permanent the California Highway Patrol’s Property Crimes Task Force.
AB 1972 expanded the California Highway Patrol’s Property Crimes Task Force program to include cargo theft and railroad policing.
SB 905 creates two new “wobbler” offenses that can be charged as felonies or misdemeanors: breaking into a car with intent to steal and possessing stolen property in a car valued at $950 or more with intent to sell.
Bill 1242 would provide for a harsher penalty for those convicted of setting fire to a retailer’s property to commit an organized robbery.
SB 1416 creates a penalty enhancement for the sale, exchange, or return for value of an item acquired through shoplifting, burglary, or theft.
SB 1144 requires online marketplaces to collect information from high-volume third-party sellers and grants district attorneys the authority to bring civil actions to enforce violations.
SB 982 removes the end date for the crime of organized retail theft, allowing prosecutions to proceed indefinitely.
The most recent debate over anti-theft and drug crime reform in California came in 2014, when voters passed Proposition 47.
The measure reduced penalties for some nonviolent drug and property offenses and passed with overwhelming support at a time when lawmakers needed to reduce overcrowding in California state prisons, which the courts had ruled were at unconstitutional levels. It also saved the state nearly $100 million a year, and those funds were spent on victim services and rehabilitation programs.
The initiative’s main opponents have since tried — unsuccessfully — to dismantle Proposition 47. But they came back this year with a renewed statewide initiative that voters will decide on next November. The measure, Proposition 36, would impose mandatory treatment for some drug offenses, add new penalties for some theft and drug offenses, and add new, tougher penalties that would apply to any offense.
Newsom and top Democrats crafted an alternative measure that would address concerns about theft and fentanyl without, they said, being as punitive as the prosecutors’ measure. But with just days before the Legislature ends its month-long recess in July, Newsom killed that initiative.
The bill signed by the governor was introduced by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and Senate Leader Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg). Both did their best to address concerns about increased theft through the legislation, and opposed asking voters to reform Proposition 47.
The bills address many aspects of property theft. They make it easier to prosecute auto thefts and compound thefts that occur over time and across multiple jurisdictions; they give stores the ability to file temporary restraining orders against repeat shoplifters; and they require online marketplaces to collect detailed information from sellers in an effort to deter the illegal resale of stolen items.
Newsom signed the bill package Friday morning outside a Home Depot in San Jose.
San Jose is the largest city in Santa Clara County, which has seen one of the largest increases in property crime among the state’s 15 largest counties.
The governor and his political allies have publicly denounced Proposition 36 as a draconian crime reform. The initiative is driven primarily by prosecutors and funded by major retailers, including Home Depot, Target and Walmart.
But some Democrats, including Mayors London Breed of San Francisco, Todd Gloria of San Diego and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, support the tough-on-crime measure.
Mahan announced this week the creation of a new fundraising committee to finance the referendum.
