Assemblyman Juan Alanis introduces AB 335 (Photo: https://ad22.asmrc.org/)
New Bill To Repeal Prop. 47, Lower Felony Theft Threshold of $950 to $400
‘Public safety is clearly broken in California’
By Evan Symon, January 31, 2023 4:49 pm
A bill to repeal Proposition 47, a law passed nearly a decade ago that greatly raised the monetary threshold for felony theft, was introduced in the Assembly on Monday.
In 2014, Californian voters passed Prop. 47 59.6% to 40.4%, increasing the felony threshold rate for theft in retail establishments from over $400 to over $950, and lowering misdemeanor thefts having jail time limited to a maximum of 6 months. Since its passage, numerous attempts have been made to repeal it. Prop. 47, flagrantly titled “The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act,” also decriminalized drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor, removing law enforcement’s ability to make an arrest in most circumstances, as well as removing judges’ ability to order drug rehabilitation programs rather than incarceration, the Globe reported.
The drastic rise of crime in cities such as San Francisco is recent years has brought on a uptick of attempts, including two bills getting rid of Prop. 47 or it’s provisions last year, neither of which made it past Assembly Committee votes.
However, polls have reported that 2 out of every 3 California voters either want Prop. 47 gone or heavily amended, giving public support for the return of higher penalties. This has led to continuous pushes get rid of it, including a new bill this week released as part of a group of bills pushing for more crime laws – Assembly Bill 335.
AB 335, authored by Assemblyman Juan Alanis (R-Modesto), would specifically repeal the changes and additions made by Proposition 47, except those related to reducing the penalty for possession of concentrated cannabis, due to marijuana becoming legal in California after Prop. 47 was passed. This bill would also provide that it would become effective only upon approval of the voters, and would provide for the submission of this measure to the voters for approval at the next statewide general election.
Alanis wrote the bill due to safety concerns spread across California along with high retail crime, with Prop. 47 being nothing more than a failed experiment that has not reduced crime and only catered to criminals.
“Public safety is clearly broken in California,” Assemblyman Alanis said on Tuesday. “Proposition 47 is a failed experiment which is only catered to criminals here in California. Fentanyl plagues our communities, schools, and society. We must attack our state’s crime problem at its source.”
“Even if the majority decides to block this legislation, we must have an honest conversation about providing real public safety solutions for California. I stand ready to work with my colleagues in both houses and across the aisle to make our justice system more fair, our state more safe, and our communities better protected against the scourge of fentanyl.”
Today I joined my colleagues on the steps of the Capitol to address growing public safety in CA. Be it the scourge of fentanyl, failure of Prop 47, the murder of cops, mass shootings, or unacceptable acts of brutality like the Tyre Nichols case. We must do better for all of CA. pic.twitter.com/5iFZ4XCbZQ
— Assemblyman Juan Alanis (@JuanAlanisCA) January 31, 2023
Republicans, law enforcement groups, and public safety officials quickly gathered in support of the package of bills, including AB 335, also noting that it was needed to help combat crime and improve public safety in California.
“Prop. 47 failed and a lot of lawmakers don’t want to admit it,” explained Frank Ma, a former law enforcement official who now works as a security advisor for businesses in San Francisco and cities in the Peninsula, to the Globe on Tuesday. ” Prop. 47 needs to go so that criminals think twice before robbing a store, so that they don’t go in knowing that they’ll be back on the street in less than 24 hours. We got rid of legal consequences for a lot of robberies. We need to bring that back. Not should. Need.”
“Also, look at those polls. People want this proposition gone. A vast majority of people. California needs to listen to the people.”
While no opposition has formed yet, it is expected that many Democrats and criminal justice advocates will likely side against AB 335 soon, stressing that focusing on crime reduction through community efforts and similar means over straight arrests is still the best idea.
“Passing AB 335 would roll California back even further,” noted Annie Osborne, a communications specialist for a social justice organization on Tuesday. “So many people would be jailed if the repeal happened, rather than being treated a different way. They are people after all.”
AB 335 is expected to be heard in Assembly Committees soon.
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I recently quit my well paying job at a leading tools specialty store as it had became unsafe due to almost everyday case of retail thief. Even generators are brazenly carted out of the store as short-staffing could not even provide someone to just man the store front beyond the registers. This bill should be supported by law abiding and decent people of California.
Thank you for the informative article.
I want to share my thoughts on the overall lack of ‘giving a damn’ about the safety and well being of California’s average citizens.
I have had my catalytic converter stolen twice, both times from parking lots of the business I was at.
Both parking lots have cameras that can only be shown to law enforcement.
However, if the police do not com take a report and watch the video, then they would ,at least, have the make, model and plate numbers ,in case they go commit another crime and get caught.
One way to look at it is that, the police are tampering with evidence by not collecting it in a timely manner.
I am ashamed that we have let California fall so far.
Seems to me that ALL of our state legislators had better start seriously paying attention to a poll —- any poll —- that shows TWO out of every THREE California voters want Prop 47 GONE. All legislators need to join the core group and get to work ASAP on REPEALING it.
Do you Dem politicians understand that most Californians have, by now, surely realized that a ballot proposition sold to them as “The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act” has actually had the POLAR OPPOSITE effect? It should have been called “The Destruction and Death of California While Blood Runs in the Streets Act.” Duplicitous Dem politicians responsible for this had better start cleaning up their mess. The public may never trust your B.S. again, and that’s a problem, wouldn’t you agree? But you have to start somewhere, don’t you? Otherwise, it’s over, Dem/Marxist ‘Ruling Class.’ And no amount of wishing and hoping is going to change that as honest people wake up to your scam to realize they’ve been had.
Think about it. What is more shocking, angering, and motivating than to realize you’ve been HAD? For a decade?
Meanwhile those of us who have retained our sanity in spite of constant govt assault need to support the repeal of Prop 47 by contacting our state legislators:
senate.ca.gov/senators
assembly.ca.gov/assemblymembers
Yes Showandtell, the California legislature should repeal Prop 47. However, the monopolistic cartel of Democrat politicians will never do this no matter how crime ridden our state becomes. A new state proposition put before the voters might succeed, but my fear is that the cartel would simply ignore or overturn it.
I hear you, Fed Up, and completely understand your cynicism about the Dem Cartel, which to me shows how mentally healthy you are. But things are changing. When an often-dicey-with-Dem-bias IGS-Berkeley poll DONE A YEAR AGO shows 2/3 of CA voters want to deep-six Prop 47 (and by implication the rest of the Dems’ B.S. policies), it tells us that the Dem/Marxists are clearly in trouble. Does anyone really think the results of such a poll if done today would be MORE favorable toward CA Dem/Marxist policies than a year ago? I don’t THINK so! Two-thirds of any population, especially in politics, is not something to be ignored. And if this year the maddening crowd of sensible voters is bigger against these policies, which we know it MUST BE, then the Dems can’t simply go back to their old stand-by of election-cheating their way out of it. The time will come when it simply won’t work anymore.
Speaking of which, the IGS-Berkeley poll, done a year ago, is likely a better indicator of where Californians are in their fed-up-ness (!) than the actual 2022 election results. If it were up to me it would be Exhibit A, B, and C in a public trial to show there was widespread cheating in the 2022 election. Those few Repubs who prevailed and won their contests must have (in reality) won by A LOT. It would blow our minds if we could know the actual numbers, instead of the fake numbers.
I feel your pain. I really don’t have a solution. California voters are morons and public employee unions hold the legislature, governor and the rest of the state by their gonads. As a lifelong fan of Winston Churchill I will simply quote him:
“The greatest argument against democracy is a 5-minute conversation with the average voter.”
Good quote, Fed Up, from the great Winston Churchill. Thank you for posting it.
Just another example of political malfeasance. We are so screwed in this state by the whackos who run our government, yet we never seem to be able make it better, Election after election the same “Empty Suits” stay in office. look at what is now mandated or will be soon. All electric cars, continued water rationing, kitchen waste containers, ban all gas powered cook stoves, ban all gas powered lawn mowers. I am sure that more crazy half thought out restrictions await.
Let’s have some practical info here rather than an endless string of scattered rants. There MUST be a petition in circulation to deep six the grossly misguided and deceptively named Prop 47. We can absolutely kill it by the same mechanisms that passed it: a plebiscite. The first step is to get a kill Prop 47 bill on the ballot via a petition, one which would easily greatly exceed the bar for number of signatures.
Just a reminder that Jerry Brown raised most of the money to pass Prop 47 from the usual sources. Big labor, foundations, Dem Party dark money donation “recyclers”, Sorsos front organizations. The ACLU were another big money spender. And the biggest single donors were people like Reed Hastings (Netflix) and our old friend Tom Steyer (who made his money from very dubious hedge fund plays involving bets against lower oil prices) . Both donated $1M. It was Prop 57 that Zuckerberg gave his $1M to.
Is there a single problem in California that Jerry Brown is not responsible for one way or another.?
In case you are wondering Soros makes his money from Insider Trading positions in Foreign Exchange markets. Trading currencies. A crook.
Another reminder, FWIW: Former SF DA, now LA DA George Gascon was the author of Prop 47. Gov Gruesome backs it 100%.
The entire point of politics in this state is destruction. Until people recognize that Democrats are deliberately creating chaos, crime and poverty they cannot solve the problems that exist today. This is NOT a case of good but erroneous motivations.
You cannot reason your way out of an alligator eating you. Their only motivation is their next meal.
I am one of the Californians that want Prop 47 GONE!
This is not a partisan issue, but I agree that the progressive left want to destroy not only this state which is the testing ground for outlandish, dangerous policies but they intend to destroy this country, one state at a time!
Until we again have honest elections, free of manipulation by machines, proper ID and CITIZENSHIP in order to vote, we have absolutely no chance of turning this state around.
Gosh, I hope this passes. Harris sure ruined CA with Prop 47 (The Safe Neighborhood & Schools Act, is how she labled it, so of course it passesd!).