California Proposition 36 on November ballot would increase penalties on drug, theft crimes

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Proposition 36 on the November ballot has divided California lawmakers, including many Democrats. It would essentially unwind Prop. 47, which passed 10 years ago and made some theft and drug crimes misdemeanors instead of felonies.

According to the governor's office, Prop. 47 has saved taxpayers over $816 million through reduced incarceration costs. Gov. Gavin Newsom says the Prop. 36 campaign is misleading.

"Prop. 36 takes us back to the 1980s, mass incarceration, it promotes a promise that can't be delivered," Newsom said. "I would ask those who support it, particularly mayors: Where are the treatment slots, where are the beds? Twenty-two counties don't have one residential treatment facility. Twenty-two counties don't have one. I mean, they're lying to you."

Prop. 36 would reclassify some misdemeanor theft and drug crimes as felonies, creating a new category of crime called "treatment-mandated felony" where the person charged could go into treatment instead of prison.

If treatment isn't completed, the person would face up to three years in prison. Prop. 36 sponsors call it a reform, not a repeal, of Prop. 47 and include Democrats, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Traci Park and Santa Monica Mayor Phil Brock.

"We need to go from the era of mass incarceration which we will not go back to, and enter the era of mass treatment. The way we do that is by holding repeat drug offenders, retail theft offenders the help they need. Our drug courts were eviscerated by Prop. 47," said Mahan.

"One of the things we have seen is a significant uptick in the use of fentanyl and other deadly drugs fueling our addiction and mental health crisis. We have also seen an uptick in burglaries and retail theft," said Park.

"If someone walks into Walmart and steals $900 worth of merchandise, there has to be a price to pay. When I was a little kid, if I stole a piece of Dubble Bubble, I would have been punished. We're not punishing adults whether they're housed or unhoused. There have to be consequences," said Brock.

Supporters say it would address a trio of intertwined crises facing California: unsheltered homelessness, untreated drug addiction, and retail theft. But those against 36 say it takes us backwards, makes cuts to drug programs to fund courts and incarceration, and cuts anti-recidivism programs created by Prop. 47.