California voters approved a ballot measure Tuesday seeking harsher punishment for retail crimes including shoplifting and theft.
Repeat offenders may now be charged with felonies under Proposition 36, which partially repeals 2014 legislation lightening nonviolent crime sentences.
Crimes involving drugs including synthetic opioid fentanyl will also now hold harsher penalties under the measure.
California saw an uptick in shoplifting from 2021 to 2022 in big cities such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, according to a study by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California .
Since then, lawmakers have passed a series of legislation in an effort to crack down on crime.
In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed A.B. 1960 introducing higher penalties for those who damage or destroy property valued at more than $50,000 while committing a felony, including retail theft.
“California already has some of the strictest retail and property crime laws in the nation — and we have made them even stronger with our recent legislation,” Newsom said after signing the bill.