Home » Assembly Public Safety Committee Rejects Retail Theft Bill

Assembly Public Safety Committee Rejects Retail Theft Bill

by CC News

On Tuesday, the Assembly Committee on Public Safety rejected AB 75 which aimed to restore pre-Proposition 47 penalties for serial theft offenders with multiple prior convictions. The bill was killed in a 2-6 party line vote.

  • Voting in favor of the bill: Alanis, Lackey
  • Voting against the bill: Bonta, Bryan, Jones-Sawyer, Ortega, Santiago, Zbur
  • Click here to watch the full bill hearing.

“Residents and small business owners across our state are calling for common sense changes to Proposition 47 to restore accountability and provide relief from rising retail theft,” Assemblyman Hoover said. “A crime without consequences is no longer a crime. That is where we stand under the status quo. My bill sought to fix this by implementing reasonable penalties for repeat offenders, but unfortunately too many of my colleagues do not believe consequences are an effective means of deterring criminal activity.”

AB 75 would have given voters the opportunity to reform Proposition 47 in a meaningful way. A recent UC Berkeley/LA Times poll found that 78% of voters believe crime has risen over the past year and 59% would support increasing penalties on property crimes.

“Folsom businesses experienced $1.4 million in losses in 2021, including $353,000 in shoplifting alone,” testified Folsom Mayor and local small business owner Rosario Rodriguez. “It’s laws like Proposition 47 that make it very tough to do business in California because of a lack of accountability.”

Former Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness also joined the hearing to testify in support of the bill, stating: “While this bill will help small businesses and the community at large, we also have an obligation to the offenders themselves to ensure to the greatest extent possible that they do not reoffend and that they get on the path to a better life. [AB 75] offers that, Proposition 47 does not.”

Locally, in the City of Antioch, this site has documented more than 50+ business burglaries in 2023 alone–and that does not include petty theft, shoplifting or organized retail theft. In the City of Brentwood, the Streets of Brentwood and businesses along Lone Tree Way are hit hard with theft.

 

Under AB 75:

This bill would reinstate a provision of law that was repealed by Proposition 47 that provides that a person who has been convicted 3 or more times of petty theft, grand theft, or other specified crimes and who is subsequently convicted of petty theft is subject to imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or in a county jail for 18 months or 2 or 3 years. The bill would also make this provision and the provision relating to a person with serious, violent, or sexual prior offenses applicable to a person whose prior or current conviction is for shoplifting.

Former Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness stated the general public, who are victims of crime, are not reporting because the prevailing belief is nothing will come of it.

Editors Notes from the Hearing:

Hoover said during the committee hearing part of the problem was a lack of accountability in the criminal justice system due to changes in Prop 47.

“When you call something a crime but then remove all consequences for that crime it becomes a crime in name only,” stated Hoover. “I would argue a crime in name only is no longer a crime. When we communicate to the public there will be no consequences for certain actions that society deems unacceptable we can expect to see an increase in the frequency of those actions.”

He cited that opponents of this bill will argue the statistics simply do not support these conclusions but when you effectively decriminalize a crime that action will no longer be reported as such.

“Why would a law enforcement officer report a crime that they know will not be prosecuted? This is an ongoing issue,” said Hoover who says the statistics will not show the thousands of stories across the state from small business owners and residents from each of our communities who say retail theft, car break ins and these types of crimes have never bene worse. “We need to ask ourselves why,”

Former Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness stated while law enforcement is not inclined to report something when there are no consequences to follow. But more importantly, the general public, who are victims of crime, are not reporting because the prevailing belief is nothing will come of it.

“The belief exists among the retail community, amongst society at large, and in the law enforcement and those who are inclined to offend,” stated McGinness.

Ed Little, Californians for Justice, opposed the billed the bill, citing AB 75 is a return to failed tough on crime policies of the past and undermined public safety and increasing the incarceration into state prison for low level crimes. He said AB 75 would make it easier to charge non-violent Californians with felonies and go back to failed tough on crime measures.“Repealing parts of Prop 47 would rob our communities of hundreds of millions of dollars that Prop 47 will save them annually which are then redirected back to communities for proven crime prevention programs that address the root problems and stop the cycles of crime,” stated Little.

He also stated Prop 47 is not responsible for some sort of crime wave.

Leslie Caldwell Houston, a former criminal defense attorney, spoke on behalf the California Public Defenders Association, against AB 75. She emphasized that a misdemeanor charge carries 6-months in jail and in some situations a year in jail.

“If the police don’t report the crimes to the DA or if the DA doesn’t prosecute that is the problem, not the sentence,” said Caldwell Houston. “There is a talk about the lack of accountability, but the accountability goes to the police and prosecutors who won’t prosecute the crimes thus leading the public to have less faith in the system. It’s not the sentence, it’s the lack of holding people accountable by the police and prosecutors.”

Assemblyman Juan Alanis said they are talking about criminals who have not learned their lesson. He also highlighted in the City of Turlock who had 20 plus warrants involving shoplifting—noting DA’s are not prosecuting because the punishment is not equitable to their time spent on a case, thus they spend time on more heinous crimes.

“A lot of businesses in my District are leaving because of Prop 47,” said Alanis. “I’ve heard that directly from their mouths because the penalties are not there for the crime. I’ve seen people walk out of Home Depot not touched because they know they can get away with it and that is what is going on in California.”

Assemblyman Tom Lackey said they often get caught up in over penalizing people in the past, but called this bill one that addresses repeat offenders.

“These people have no incentive to stop,” said Lackey. ”That is what we are trying to address, the repeat offenders. I would think everybody hear in the sense of fairness to retail, its gotten to the point where many people believe there is not any consequences. They are incentivized to engage in this type of behavior.”

He highlighted his own child, when working in retail, was told when they see someone engaging in theft to not even bring attention to it.

“That is what is happening,” stated Lackey. “This is reality and I don’t think anyone on this dais thinks that is acceptable. At least I hope not. If so, our society is doomed. We need to have some measure of accountability and some measure of prevention.”

Assemblyman Isaac Bryan disagreed.

“The reason people commit petty thefts is because of poverty,” stated Byran. “The reason they continue to commit petty thefts is because they are still poor because we live in a state that has a bifurcated sense of economic opportunity with too many people left out that has been exacerbated by the pandemic.”

He added that Prop 47 has saved the state over $700 million that has been reinvested to youth programs, prevention work and victim services. He also pointed out theft over $1,000 still triggers a felony.

“The resources of the state can be better served alleviating poverty, closing the gap in economic opportunity not going down the road of mass incarceration that we have been down for many decades,” stated Bryan.

Committee Chair Reginald Jones-Sawyer was dismissive of Hoover calling him a freshman legislator and was not around when the committee did the organized-retail theft bill which he has called successful when used.

“The help and the $200 million that this Governor put in to make it happen and make it successful has been thwarted by passive law enforcement. Basically saying you know what I’ve decided I am not going to do this law because I don’t feel like its hard enough,” said Jones-Sawyer. “Let me tell you about hard enough, we used to hang people for stealing cattle. Let that resonate with you for a while. Three strikes, talk about consequences. You would be in jail for the rest of your life. And we filled every prison to overcapacity. So this argument if you put consequences on people they will stop. The only consequence is we incarcerated more people who look like me and a lot of people on this committee than we did others. And that was the consequences of that. So that argument is problematic.”

Jones-Sawyer stated the only thing that mattered was the voters and the voters already spoke that Prop 47 was the way to go. He also called for everyone sitting down to help small business.

“Where is the problem,” asked Jones-Sayer. “The problem has to be with individuals who have made the decision that they are not going to prosecute. Progressive prosecutors or District Attorneys who don’t want to do it, we are not using actual laws to do what we need to do to bring people in to deal with their poverty, drug abuse, some mental health issues.”

Sawyer-Jones then urged people to stop with the rhetoric and instead focus on rehabilitation and focus on the millions saved from prisons and place it back into rehabilitation. – Note, Sawyer-Jones announced AB 912 to do this.

He urged law enforcement to enforce the laws on the books and be “law enforcement officers, not law decider officers”. He urged they focus on the root cause.


Prop 47 Reform Bill Introduced by Assemblyman Hoover

Hoover Introduced a bill to battle Prop 47

Assemblyman Josh Hoover (R-Folsom) has introduced AB 75, a bill aimed at increased penalties for prior crimes by giving voters the opportunity to reform Prop 47. The bill is aimed to increase penalties for serial theft offenses.

Hoover called the bill a chance to give voters a meaningful way to reform Prop 47 and address serial theft.

Under current law, only low-level penalties are charged no matter how many theft offenses are committed. This common sense change would allow a felony to be charged after three prior convictions of theft.

“My community has been directly impacted by the brazen retail theft on the rise throughout the state. Our small business owners and retailers deserve better, it’s time to pass AB 75 and restore some accountability in our criminal justice system,” said Hoover.

The bill was originally teased on December 5 when California State Republicans announced in their “California Promise” where the would be addressing Prop 47 and would seek to Restore Pre-Prop 47 Felonies. 

Hoover introduced the bill as part of his legislative priorities.

“It’s time to set partisanship aside and work together to solve California’s greatest challenges,” Hoover said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Legislature to restore accountability in our criminal justice system, make our communities safer, improve the academic outcomes of our students, and make life more affordable for the people we represent.”

Prop 47 was also being addressed by a a member of the Democratic Party. On December 5, Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) introduced AB 23 which seeks to amend Proposition 47 and reduce the threshold amount for petty theft and shoplifting from $950 to $400.

According to the Bill:

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 75, as introduced, Hoover. Shoplifting: increased penalties for prior crimes.
Existing law, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted as an initiative statute by Proposition 47, as approved by the electors in the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, makes the theft of property that does not exceed $950 in value petty theft and makes that crime punishable as a misdemeanor, with certain exceptions. The initiative statute defines shoplifting as entering a commercial establishment with the intent to commit larceny while that establishment is open during regular hours, where the value of the property that is taken or intended to be taken does not exceed $950. The initiative statute requires that shoplifting be punished as a misdemeanor.
Existing law, as amended by Proposition 47, provides that a registered sex offender or a person with a prior conviction for certain serious or violent felonies, such as a sexually violent offense, who commits petty theft is subject to imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year or in the state prison for 16 months or 2 or 3 years.
This bill would reinstate a provision of law that was repealed by Proposition 47 that provides that a person who has been convicted 3 or more times of petty theft, grand theft, or other specified crimes and who is subsequently convicted of petty theft is subject to imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or in a county jail for 18 months or 2 or 3 years. The bill would also make this provision and the provision relating to a person with serious, violent, or sexual prior offenses applicable to a person whose prior or current conviction is for shoplifting.
This bill would require the Secretary of State to place the provisions of the bill that amend the initiative statute on the ballot for the November 5, 2024, statewide general election.

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3 comments

Joe Small Business March 1, 2023 - 9:51 am

These people are on the public safety committee? They don’t seem very concerned about public safety after watching the video. This is complete insanity that they think the solution is for DA and cops to enforce crappy laws already on the books. A theft is a theft, regardless of value over $1,000. The message to every business owner is go to another state.

Robert C. March 1, 2023 - 10:25 am

A huge disincentive for anyone to open a retail business in CA. Our collective “Nero” legislature continues to play the fiddle while Rome burns.

moonwork March 1, 2023 - 7:54 pm

Prop 47 and AB 109 are destroying CA and a lot of innocent lives have been lost and people seriously injured because the actions of these selfish Soros paid for politicians who voted no. This should be out before the voters and not left up to politicians bought and paid for by George Soros, Open Society, or other straw companies.

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