Assemblyman Kiley’s Bill to ‘Make Crime Illegal Again’ Finally Scheduled for Hearing

With California’s ongoing crime spike exploding across the state, Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, James Gallagher, and Jim Patterson authored Assembly Bill 1599 to repeal Proposition 47, in early January. AB 1599 would more substantially eliminate Prop 47, repealing all changes and additions made by the initiative, except those related to reducing the penalty for possession of concentrated cannabis, the Globe reported.

The bill sat untouched, assigned to no hearings, even as crime raged in the state during January and February. However, 7 weeks after its introduction, AB 1599 has finally been assigned a hearing in the Assembly Public Safety Committee.

As Kiley said in a Fox News interview, even the most radical Democrats in the Legislature recognize that because of Prop. 47, crime is out of control and the initiative needs to be repealed. “It has essentially legalized theft and open drug use in California, culminating in these unbelievable smash-and-grab robberies,” Kiley said. “Voters were egregiously misled about what this would do.”

Proposition 47, passed by misinformed voters in 2014, and flagrantly titled “The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act,” reduced a host of felonies to misdemeanors, including drug crimes, date rape, and all thefts under $950, even for repeat offenders who steal every day.

Proposition 47 which decriminalized drug possession from a felony to a misdemeanor, removed law enforcement’s ability to make an arrest in most circumstances, as well as removed judges’ ability to order drug rehabilitation programs rather than incarceration.

These are quality of life issues, which don’t differentiate between Republicans and Democrats.

Despite overwhelming evidence of rampant crime throughout the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom has continually praised Proposition 47, Proposition 57 and AB 109, claiming they had helped reduce crime in the state, rather than doubling down on the source of these crimes. Proposition 47 downgraded many felonies to misdemeanors; Proposition 57 reduced prison sentences, and Assembly Bill 109, Gov. Jerry Brown’s “prison realignment” scheme, shifted detainees from state prisons to local jails, overwhelming county jails.

I’ve officially introduced legislation to repeal Prop. 47. It’s a quaint notion but I think stealing things should be treated as criminal conduct.

— Kevin Kiley (@KevinKileyCA) January 5, 2022

The hitch in AB 1599 is even if the Legislature passes the bill, it goes to Gov. Newsom for his signature or veto. Should he sign AB 1599, it will then go to the voters.

The Globe reported on the poll released last week by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies which shows California Governor Gavin Newsom’s approval rating is sinking across most voter groups over continuing COVID restrictions two years in, never-ending mask mandates on kids while Hollywood celebrities and the state’s elected Democrats violate their own COVID orders and mandates, and more specifically, rampant homelessness and crime throughout the state.

“Contributing to voters’ more mixed assessment of the Governor are growing concerns of how Newsom is handling several festering problems, such as homelessness and crime, that are now plaguing the state,” the poll said.

“For example, two in three voters (66%) now rate Newsom as doing a ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ job in his handling  of the issue of homelessness. This is up 12 percentage points from 2020, the last time the poll made an assessment. In addition, a 51% majority of voters also downrates the Governor’s performance on crime and public safety issues, up 16 percentage points from 2020.”

Pollsters note that homelessness and crime stand out as areas of the greatest criticism.

The Globe reported in December that the Sacramento Bee did a recent “Fact Check” on claims that Prop. 47 is to blame for the current statewide crime wave. The Bee says these claims are “Mostly false,” even after acknowledging, “Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, recently called Proposition 47 ‘the biggest con job in California history’ in comments to a Los Angeles Times columnist.”

“Proposition 47 didn’t just make theft under $950 a misdemeanor, but also got rid of what we called “priorability”; [it] interfered with the police’s ability to arrest someone for misdemeanor shoplifting, unless they actually witnessed it,” said Los Angeles County Assistant District Attorney Michele Hanisee. “Then of course, Proposition 57 allowed early release of not only nonviolent felons, but also sex offenders and three strikers. If you add to that some of the current policies we are seeing from the district attorneys and the courts, such as zero bail and district attorneys who won’t prosecute misdemeanors, it creates a perfect storm and there is just no consequence for crime.”

“You have people that will go into department stores and they’ll actually have a calculator on them,” Kiley said in the Fox interview. “They’ll add up the value of what they’re stealing because they know as long as it’s under $950, they might as well wave at the security camera on the way out. They know there’s going to be no consequence for that.”