New California Laws Aim to Crack Down on Retail Theft. Voters Could Decide to Go Further

Updated 2:50 p.m. Friday

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a package of bills aimed at cracking down on shoplifting and organized retail theft, while taking aim at a tough-on-crime measure on the November ballot that the governor said is unfairly punitive in pursuing the same goals.

Newsom called organized retail theft and serial theft “the issue that is front and center in the consciousness of so many Californians.”

“You see it online, social media, you see it on the nightly news,” Newsom said. “This goes to the heart of the issue and it does it in a thoughtful and judicious way.”

Newsom argued the bills are a measured approach that will make it easier for police to arrest shoplifters and disrupt larger retail crime rings. But it’s unclear whether the governor’s action will deter voters from going further and passing Proposition 36, which would increase sentences for theft and drug crimes by rolling back pieces of Proposition 47, a criminal justice reform measure passed by voters a decade ago.

On Friday, Newsom launched the opening salvo in the campaign, arguing that Proposition 36 “takes us back to the 1980s, the war on drugs, mass incarceration. It promotes a promise that can’t be delivered.”

“Those that support Prop 36, they’ll be accountable for it. I wouldn’t want to be on their side of this,” Newsom added. “It’s such a devastating setback in this state; the impact on poor folks, the impact on Black and brown communities, it’s next level — and it doesn’t address what they’re saying.”

Newsom signed 10 bills inside a Home Depot in San José, where he criticized the city’s mayor, Matt Mahan, who has emerged as a leading supporter of Proposition 36.

Proposition 36 has gained recent momentum, with a new poll from UC Berkeley’s Institute for Governmental Studies showing that 56% of likely voters support the measure. The proposal, which Republicans and district attorneys have long backed, also drew support from Democratic mayors like Mahan and London Breed in San Francisco. This week, nearly a dozen Democrats in the Legislature threw their support behind the idea.

Following Newsom’s comments at the bill signing, Mahan held a press conference in front of San José City Hall, where he argued the new felonies created by Proposition 36 are necessary to compel Californians convicted of theft and drug possession to accept court-ordered treatment.

“The criminal penalties that [Newsom] signed into law today that will incarcerate more people, they’re needed, they’re a step in the right direction, but they’re only a first step,” Mahan said. “What we really need is mass treatment.”

Many of the bills Newsom signed Friday are based on research suggesting that the certainty of arrest is a more effective deterrent to shoplifting than longer sentences.

Assembly Bill 2943 would allow police to arrest a suspected shoplifter without directly witnessing the crime, relying instead on sworn statements or video footage. It would also allow law enforcement to bundle related thefts into a grand theft charge if the items’ value surpasses the felony threshold of $950 set by Proposition 47.

Another bill in the package, Senate Bill 905, would remove the requirement that prosecutors prove a car was locked to get an auto burglary conviction.

Other proposals signed Friday are more directly aimed at large-scale organized retail theft. Newsom signed bills to place sentencing enhancements on large theft operations and extend the life of a regional property crimes task force.

“All of these things in this package [are] going to help retailers, law enforcement and district attorneys be able to provide the consequences for the behaviors that we need to make sure that people don’t continue doing this behavior,” said Rachel Michelin, president and CEO of the California Retailers Association.

Supporters of Proposition 36 argue that stricter punishments are necessary to prevent shoplifting and drug crimes — and to compel drug users into treatment. Participation in drug courts, which require treatment in exchange for reduced punishment, has dropped significantly since the passage of Proposition 47.

Proposition 36 would require Californians convicted multiple times of drug possession to complete treatment to potentially avoid prison time. It would also punish shoplifting based on the frequency of the crime, rather than the value of the stolen goods. Under the measure, a third theft offense could be punishable with a felony, regardless of what was stolen.

“State leaders have had years to address California’s crime and drug crises, yet little has been done to tackle the root causes,” a spokesperson for the Yes on Proposition 36 campaign said in a statement. “These newly passed legislative bills are half measures, failing to address the fundamental issues of habitual repeat theft, the fentanyl epidemic, and the ongoing homelessness crisis, which remains unaddressed due to the lack of strong incentives for drug treatment.”

Many of the high-profile proposals signed by Newsom won bipartisan support in the state Legislature. But the path to the governor’s desk wasn’t simple. In an attempt to blunt support for Proposition 36 and keep it off the ballot, Newsom and legislative leaders inserted language into the retail theft bills that would have nullified them if the ballot measure passed. The governor also worked to craft a competing public safety ballot measure, but could not secure legislative support before the ballot deadline.

When the architects of Proposition 36 held firm in their push to place the initiative on the ballot, the poison pill language was removed from the legislative package.