California Democrats are split in a ballot measure that would increase penalties for certain theft and drug offenses.
Progressive Democrats rallied in Sacramento on Monday to oppose Proposition 36, the initiative that would roll back parts of Proposition 47.
The backstory: Proposition 47 passed in 2014 and reclassified certain crimes from felonies to misdemeanors if the value of the crime did not exceed $950.
- Proposition 36 would increase the penalties for certain drug crimes and add fentanyl to the list of drugs that would bring a felony charge.
- Proposition 36 would also increase sentences for theft based on the value of the property stolen.
The big picture: Monday, Asm. Mia Bonta (D–Alameda), Asm. Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D–Los Angeles), Asm. Isaac Bryan (D–Los Angeles) Asm. Ash Kalra (D–San Jose) and other Democrats spoke in front of the Capitol, pushing back against Proposition 36.
- Bryan said Proposition 36 is similar to other bipartisan efforts, which he blamed for sending Black and Brown people to prison for nonviolent drug and property crimes.
- “For decades Californians have been calling for real safety solutions and to address the root causes that lead to symptoms like petty crime and substance abuse,” Bryan said. “Because we know where petty crime and substance abuse occur. It occurs in the same communities that have underfunded schools, that don’t have food infrastructure, that don’t have public health infrastructure, where the rent is too high.”
The other side: Last week several Democrats came out in support of Proposition 36, including Sen. Melissa Hurtado (D–Bakersfield) and Asm. Jasmeet Bains (D–Delano).
- Those Democrats pushed for Proposition 36 in the hopes that it will force some Californians who commit drug crimes into substance abuse treatment.
- San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, a Democrat who spoke in support of Proposition 36 last week, released a statement saying he agrees on one point with the other side.
- “I have one absolute point of agreement with the advocates gathering at the State Capitol today – the last thing we want to do is go back to the era of mass incarceration. What we seek is a new era of mass treatment,” Mahan said.
- Mahan said there is a certain irony that last week legislators championed a series of retail theft bills, almost all of which rely on incarceration as the remedy.
- “At the core of Proposition 36 is the principle that treatment is the most compassionate, and cost-effective response to the triple epidemics facing California – homelessness, retail thefts, and drug overdoses,” Mahan said.
