An overwhelming majority of California voters have voted to pass a tough-on-crime ballot measure that will impose harsher penalties for retail theft.
A whopping 70 percent of the Golden State’s electorate voted “yes” on Prop. 36 , which will unravel certain elements of Prop. 47, the increasingly controversial initiative passed by voters a decade ago as a means of reducing prison overcrowding.
On Tuesday, Californians opted to roll back the 2014 law—which established theft and drug offenses worth under $950 as misdemeanor crimes—approving felony sentences for offenders who steal goods valued at under $950 if they’ve already been convicted twice before.
Also known as the Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act, Prop. 36 will increase prison sentences for felony theft and give judges the authority to use their discretion when imposing penalties on those who steal, damage or destroy property worth $50,000 or more in cooperation with two or more offenders.