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.