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Prop. 47 Shenanigans around the ballot

You know things are getting bad in Sacramento when even the SF Comicle starts calling out the legislature as "shady".  An initiative to reverse Prop. 47, which was approved by our clueless electorate a decade ago to reduce the penalties on drug offenses and theft, is headed for the November ballot.  As we noted, the action on the ballot this Fall is in the initiatives.  The shady bits to stymie the initiative are slowing coming out as even Emily Hoeven at the Comicle has caught on:

Earlier this year, lawmakers unveiled a bipartisan package of bills that would, among other things, create a new crime for serial retail thieves, allow prosecutors to combine certain low-level thefts when charging offenders, permit courts to issue retail theft restraining orders and institute sentencing enhancements for those who steal, resell and destroy especially large amounts of property.  Thus far, the package has been smoothly chugging through the Legislature. 

But Democrats have now cooked up a scheme to kill most of their own bills if voters approve a ballot measure to reform Proposition 47 — the controversial 2014 initiative that reduced penalties for some drug and theft offenses — which formally qualified Tuesday for the November election.

Last week, news leaked that Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire planned to amend the Democratic public safety package to make it effective immediately upon Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature, rather than the customary first day of the new year, and then repeal it if voters approved the Prop 47 reform measure. 

It was a crafty, if cynical, strategy that effectively left ballot measure supporters with a choice: Either they could support the package of bills, which were all but guaranteed to become law in a matter of weeks, or they could take their chances with the ballot measure, which voters might or might not approve and which would require millions of dollars in campaign funding.

Click through to the Comicle piece for all the dirty little moves, the virtue signaling about "mass incarceration", demonizing district attorneys and whatever else our betters in Sac who have the super majority can throw against the wall.  It really is appalling.

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7 responses to “Prop. 47 Shenanigans around the ballot”

  1. Joe

    And things have gotten so bad in Menlo Park- Atherton – Woodside that we need a pricey reward system to reign in the burglaries!
    New rewards program aims to catch residential burglars in San Mateo County’s District 3
    In District 3, individuals with information on home burglaries could make up to $10K
    https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/new-rewards-program-aims-to-catch-residential-burglars-in-san-mateo-county-s-district-3/article_5e6b354e-279f-11ef-8f36-eb7d80a2b3ee?utm_source=smdailyjournal.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fheadlines%2F%3F-dc%3D1718114423&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline

  2. Peter Garrison

    What happens if the burglars only steal $949.99 worth of stuff?
    Asking for a friend…

  3. Paloma Ave

    Our democRAT legislators introduced and supported Prop 47 to lower crime stats. That was it. It has increased crime, substantially! But they don’t care. It is all about optics. Keep voting in criminal advocates!!!

  4. Joe

    The Chronicle is out with another article about the shenanigans in Sacramento. It notes the basic outline of the Proposition that just made the ballot:
    The new initiative would eliminate the $950 threshold for a third theft, meaning someone caught stealing three times could be prosecuted for a felony, regardless of the value of the merchandise stolen. It would do the same for a third drug possession charge and increase jail time for repeat and organized retail theft. The measure also contains provisions to compel people with multiple drug convictions into treatment.
    The measure has picked up support from retailers, who say thefts have gotten out of control, as well as moderate Democratic mayors — including San Francisco’s London Breed — who argue Prop. 47 has emboldened criminals.
    https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/prop-47-ballot-19510895.php
    And in a timely bit of related news, the Merc is reporting on a 20-person smash and grab of a Sunnyvale jewelry store:
    The store surveillance video, released by police Friday, shows two employees sitting in the store’s front area; no customers are visible. The workers are both startled by a noise; they turn to see a disturbance at the front doors, then quickly flee behind doors inside the store.
    Within 20 seconds, several people in mostly black clothing smash their way through two sets of glass doors and enter the store.
    One by one, nearly 20 people pass through the ruined doors, moving quickly to the store’s many display cases. They swing hammers and other tools, breaking the glass and reaching in to retrieve handfuls of necklaces, bracelets and rings. Most stuff the jewelry into backpacks or other bags they carry as they loot the store.
    There is surveillance video on the Merc site, but it’s not posting well here.

  5. George Clunie

    Here is what the initiative would look like
    Someone with two prior convictions for theft could be charged with a felony on the third offense no matter the amount. The value of stolen property from multiple thefts could be combined for a felony charge.
    The initiative would also make possessing fentanyl while carrying a loaded firearm a felony. Dealers could be charged with homicide if their clients overdose. Prosecutors would have the discretion to charge drug possession as a felony after two prior drug convictions. To avoid jail and expunge the charge, drug users could get treatment and would receive shelter and job training.
    Sounds good, right?

  6. Joe

    From the Cal Policy Center:
    Gov. Gavin Newsom has abandoned his plan to put a competing crime measure on California’s November ballot that he launched — and withdrew— this week in an attempt to neuter a district attorney-backed initiative to reform Prop 47.
    After years of attempted reforms squashed by soft-on-crime advocates, frustrated district attorneys, retailers and citizens finally qualified their initiative to reform Prop 47 — the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act — for this year’s ballot after submitting more than 900,000 signatures, well above the 600,000 valid signatures required to qualify.
    That’s when Newsom and legislators sprang into action to derail the crime reform initiative. First, they tried to pressure the district attorneys to withdraw their measure by offering a package of retail theft bills to address some of their concerns without going to the ballot. But that strategy imploded after lawmakers added “poison pill” amendments to the package that would kill the bills if voters passed the DA’s initiative.
    When the district attorneys said “no dice,” Newsom and lawmakers rushed this week to introduce Senate Bill 1381, which would have put a competing crime measure on the ballot to confuse voters and weaken Prop 47 reforms. Blowback against the move was immediate.
    Public scrutiny and political maneuvering intensified ahead of the legislators’ scheduled vote on Newsom’s proposal set for Wednesday. But the governor abruptly ended his fight Tuesday night.
    In a statement, Newsom said proponents of his alternative measure would not be able to meet the deadline for it to be added to the 2024 ballot. However, KCRA Capitol Correspondent Ashley Zavala reports that “sources close to the negotiations” said the real reason behind the surrender was that the “governor was not fully focused on getting the proposal on the ballot and failed to build a coalition of law enforcement groups to back the measure.”
    Nearly two dozen law enforcement unions sent a letter opposing SB 1381 to Assembly Public Safety Committee Chair Kevin McCarty earlier in the week.
    When news broke that Newsom’s countermeasure was DOA, California Congressman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) pulled no punches.
    “Newsom’s final scheme to sabotage the End Prop. 47 initiative just failed,” Kiley wrote on social media. “This is the most embarrassing episode for a governor in modern California history. More importantly, it is a historic win for Californians.”
    Still, CPC attorney Julie Hamill predicted that the motive behind Newsom’s sudden change of heart was as obvious as it is ominous:
    “Good news: No more competition with the citizen initiative to repeal Prop 47.
    Bad news: He’s angling for that Presidential ticket.”

  7. Joe

    From the DJ:
    San Mateo County to consider endorsing Proposition 36
    November ballot measure increases penalties for drug trafficking and theft
    The endorsement will be proposed by Supervisor Ray Mueller at the upcoming board meeting Aug. 27, equipping law enforcement with more of an ability to address these quality-of-life concerns, he said.
    “The belief is that Prop. 36 will go ahead and bring these penalties forward and actually give law enforcement the ability to enforce penalties on who are perpetuating these crimes and bring them to justice and also prevent others from repeatedly doing the same,” Mueller said.
    Supervisor David Canepa is the one who initially supported the intent of Proposition 47 and has since pivoted. He said he is supportive of Mueller’s proposed endorsement.

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