DA, elected officials address Prop. 36
San Diego County DA, others discuss the proposition, which would reform components of Prop. 47 to address theft, drug crimes and homelessness
OCEANSIDE — One of the biggest statewide propositions appears to be on its way to being approved, but elected officials and supporters are stepping on the gas to ensure the passage of Prop. 36.
The measure reforms several components of the controversial Prop. 47, which was approved by voters in 2014. On Thursday, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan, Supervisor Jim Desmond (who represents Oceanside and most of North County) and Assemblywoman Laurie Davies (R-Laguna Niguel) took part in forum on Prop. 36, known as the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act, hosted by the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce at MiraCosta College.
Stephan said her goal was to educate those in attendance and not pressure the about 50 people in attendance to support or oppose the measure. Desmond and Davies, meanwhile, said they’re both in support of Prop. 36 to theft and drug crimes along with creating better services and pathways to address homelessness.
Oceanside Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer Scott Ashton said the chamber, along with the California Chamber of Commerce, also support Prop. 36. He said one goal is to reduce the losses accrued by rampant theft on local businesses.
“The three main things it does is address serial and organized retail theft,” Stephan said. “It confronts the fentanyl crisis in our communities. And three, it prioritizes mental health and drug treatment to incentivize that treatment.”
When Prop. 47 passed it reduced and reclassified criminal penalties and thresholds for certain theft and drug crimes, along with reducing the prison population. One of the reasons Prop. 47 gained steam was the state of California was found in violation of prison overcrowding and other issues by the federal government.
Prop. 47 has been targeted by law enforcement, district attorney’s and public safety advocates for years. One of the biggest changes was the measure increased the limit for theft from $450 to $950 to be classified as a felony and many sentences are served in county jails instead of prison.
Stephan said individuals are allowed to repeatedly steal up to $950 and will only be cited for a misdemeanor.
But after years of retail organized theft rings, small businesses reporting thefts and businesses locking up products or closing stores, enough momentum was gained to get Prop. 36 on the ballot. According to a poll from the Public Policy Institute of California, 71% of voters support the measure with 85% of Republicans, 73% of independents and 63% of Democrats.
“I know people are frustrated,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “[Prop 36] is about bringing us back to a 1980’s mindset where it's possession of drugs and you end up in state prison. The impact it’s going to have on the Black and brown community is next level. The fact that I saw a poll today that says [70 percent] of people want to support it — I was wondering what state I was living in.”
Opponents include Newsom, Sen. Alex Padilla, other state lawmakers, San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer several ACLU chapters and the Service Employees International Union, among dozens of others. Locally, opponents include.
Supporters include San Francisco Mayor London Breed, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and, in North County, the mayors of Carlsbad, Encinitas, Escondido, Oceanside Vista, San Marcos and Solana Beach.
“In 2014, the rate of homelessness in California began to spike, and over the last decade, the count has surged by a staggering 59%,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan tweeted. “What happened? Prop 47 was passed. It’s time for reform.”
As for Thursday, Davies said the legislature passed a crime bill package addressing the concerns from law enforcement, local businesses, residents and others. She said Newsom and other Democrats threatened the package in the legislature as “poison pills” were included in the bills, which would have voided those laws if Prop. 36 passed.
However, the legislature was able to remove the poison pills and were approved and signed into law after ferocious legislative sessions and public outreach campaigns, Davies said.
Desmond, meanwhile, said residents have grown tired of theft and that he doesn’t want to live in a society where everything is locked up at a small business to prevent theft.
An estimated $9 billion worth of good was lost due to retail theft in 2022, according to supporters.
“Prop. 36 closes loopholes,” Desmond added. “This isn’t about locking people up. It will expand mental health and addiction treatment. There will be job training for the homeless.”
As far has how Prop. 47 has not helped homelessness, Stephan said it has increased 51% since 2014 and has done little to help people get off the streets. She said one of the biggest issues with those addicted to drugs, especially fentanyl, which has brought crushing impacts across the state.
The death rate from fentanyl overdoses is 117 times higher among the homeless population, Stephan said. One tool Prop. 36 would allow to reactive is Drug Court, which is voluntary now, but with under Prop. 36 uses a two-pronged approach — Drug Court or jail.
Also, Prop. 36 gives certain crimes two misdemeanor convictions before a felony is filed, although in some drug cases, a felony conviction can be expunged by completing Drug Court.
“Drug Courts are only half full because there is no incentive for someone facing a citation to except the hard road of doing treatment,” Stephan explained. “Parents have asked me … can I force them into treatment? The reality is the system is set so I can’t do that.”
Legislative Analyst’s Office review
The LAO is the legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal and policy advisor. Here is much of the LAO’s analysis. (Read more here)
Proposition 36 makes several key changes related to punishments for theft and drug crimes. First, it increases punishment for some of these crimes. Second, it creates a new treatment-focused court process for some drug possession crimes. Third, it requires courts to warn people convicted of selling or providing illegal drugs to others that they can be charged with murder if they keep doing so and someone dies.
Turns Some Misdemeanors Into Felonies. For example, currently, theft of items worth $950 or less is generally a misdemeanor. Proposition 36 makes this crime a felony if the person has two or more past convictions for certain theft crimes (such as shoplifting, burglary, or carjacking). The sentence would be up to three years in county jail or state prison. These changes undo some of the punishment reductions in Proposition 47.
Lengthens Some Felony Sentences. For example, Proposition 36 allows felony sentences for theft or damage of property to be lengthened by up to three years if three or more people committed the crime together.
Requires Some Felonies Be Served in Prison. For example, as discussed above, sentences for selling certain drugs (such as fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamine) can be lengthened based on the amount sold. Currently, these sentences are served in county jail or state prison depending on the person’s criminal history. Proposition 36 generally requires these sentences be served in prison.
Proposition 36 allows people who possess illegal drugs to be charged with a “treatment-mandated felony,” instead of a misdemeanor, in some cases. Specifically, this applies to people who possess certain drugs (such as fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamine) and have two or more past convictions for some drug crimes (such as possessing or selling drugs). These people would generally get treatment, such as mental health or drug treatment. Those who finish treatment would have their charges dismissed. Those who do not finish treatment could serve up to three years in state prison.
Prop. 36 requires courts to warn people they could be charged with murder if they sell or provide illegal drugs that kill someone. This warning would be given to people convicted of selling or providing certain drugs (such as fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine).
Prop. 36 is likely to increase the prison population and state court workload. As a result, the LAO reports the measure would increase state criminal justice costs from “several tens of millions of dollars to the low hundreds of millions of dollars each year.”
In some ways, Proposition 36 would reduce the jail and community supervision population. This is because some people would go to state prison instead of the county level. In other ways, it would increase this population. This is because some people would spend more time in county jail or on community supervision. Overall, Proposition 36 likely would increase the county population. This increase could be around a few thousand people. (There are about 250,000 people at the county level now.)
Prop. 47 created a process to use savings from a reduced prison population to be spent on mental health and drug treatment, school truancy and dropout prevention and victim services. These estimated savings totaled $95 million last year. If Prop. 36 is approved, this reduction likely would be in the low tens of millions of dollars annually.
Supporters say the cost increase is equivalent to 0.5% of the state’s annual budget.
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