CA Fix Proposition 47 Initiative Turns in 900,000 Signatures

Proposition 47, a 2014 California ballot measure that decriminalized theft and drug dealing, may be significantly revised when voters go to the polls this November 5.  Evan Simon of the California Globe reports that the Californians for Safer Communities Coalition has turned in 900,000 signatures to the Secretary of State to put the “Fix Proposition 47” initiative on the ballot. This is more than enough to meet the state’s 547,000 signature requirement to qualify the measure.  Since Proposition 47—called “The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act” by its pro-criminal sponsors, including the American Civil Liberties Union and socialist billionaire George Soros—was adopted, California retailers have been looted by brazen gangs of thieves who clear off store shelves and sell the loot on-line with impunity. Under Proposition 47, any theft of $950 or less is considered a petty offense with no consequences for the thieves. While daily news video from security cameras show the crimes in progress, because the criminals are not arrested or prosecuted, most thefts are not even reported. The same holds true for drug dealing.  Downtown areas in Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, and San Diego have become 24-hour flop houses, where drugs are openly sold and users lay blacked-out on sidewalks.

Over the past ten years, hundreds of retailers and restaurants have closed in California due to repeated thefts and assaults on employees and customers. In some inner-city districts there are no longer any drug stores or markets where mostly poor and minority residents can shop. As this has been occurring, there have been several attempts, by mostly Republican legislators, to pass reforms to Proposition 47. In every case, these bills have been killed in Democratic-controlled committees. Under such circumstances the only option was to place an initiative before state voters.

Specifically, the new measure, called “The Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act,” would:

• Allow District Attorneys to charge repeat thieves who steal less than $950 worth of merchandise with a felony, punishable with jail time if convicted.
•  Require those addicted to hard drugs to enter and complete a rehabilitation program or face jail time.
• Define fentanyl as a hard drug and significantly increase the penalties for criminals who sell it.

Earlier this year when news spread that the ballot measure would qualify,  Democratic leaders in the Legislature ginned up several bills to revise Proposition 47, purportedly to increase the consequences for theft. Among these is a bill that would increase sanctions for thieves who steal cargo from trains and tractor trailers, and allow a judge to impose a restraining order against thieves who repeatedly target the same stores. Another bill would allow police to arrest a shoplifter even if he did not witness the theft and permit combining thefts so that they exceed the $950 misdemeanor limit. A bill to increase the sentence for thieves who steal $50,000 or more was killed by Proposition 47 supporters. None of the proposed measures would actually impact the widespread theft plaguing California today, which is why Californians for Safety and Justice (the Soros-bankrolled Pro-Prop. 47 group) announced it was pleased with the Legislature’s current efforts.

It is important to remember that when a legislative bill is passed into law, the Legislature can eliminate that bill by passing another law the next year. So passing supposed “bold” reforms to fix Proposition 47 during this election year are actually just a window dressing which the same legislators can remove next year after they are re-elected. Politicians tried this in 1994 when the “Three Strikes” initiative qualified.  Fortunately the initiative’s proponent, the late Mike Reynolds, did not trust them and went ahead with his campaign to pass “Three Strikes.” For the next three decades the Legislature worked relentlessly to eliminate that law, actually proving that Reynolds was correct.

It will be interesting to see how Attorney General Rob Bonta, who supported Proposition 47, will title ” The Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act” for the November ballot. In earlier election years, politically motivated attorneys general, including Jerry Brown, Kamala Harris, and Rob Bonta have misnamed ballot measures to confuse voters about the initiative’s purpose. Examples include Proposition 47 itself.  Naming a measure that reduces the consequences for thieves, drug dealers and addicts “The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act,” was preposterous. Naming Proposition 57 “The Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016” was equally deceptive: the measure dramatically shortened the sentences for thousands of habitual and violent criminals, including murderers, actually undermining public safety.

Let’s hope that the voters see through the lies that California’s well-funded, pro-criminal industry spreads about this much-needed initiative over the months leading up to the election.