Make crime illegal again – vote for Proposition 36
California has been completely controlled by one party since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger left office in 2011. Under total progressive rule, we have witnessed unbridled spending, tax increases, and a tsunami of regulations imposed on family-owned businesses, making it harder for our companies to remain profitable or even stay in business. Some examples are:
- Labor code expansions including paid and unpaid family leave, expanded sick leave and mandated lunch breaks before the fifth hour
- PAGA lawsuit abuse
- The AB 5 independent contractor three-part test
- A $ 20-an-hour minimum wage for employees of quick-service franchise food industry employers
- An unfunded unemployment insurance system resulting in higher payroll taxes for employers
- And 1,100 pages of law in just the employment arena, making it virtually impossible for businesses to comply.
These examples are only a small fraction of the laws and regulations negatively impacting businesses’ ability to compete with other states in the pursuit of economic growth and sustainable quality of life.
More recently, retail theft, drug abuse and chronic homelessness have added cost burdens and harms our ability to provide a safe environment for our employees and customers. These problems began to explode after voters passed Proposition 47, the so-called “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act,” in 2014. This grossly deceptive ballot title and summary, written by then-Attorney General Kamala Harris, helped ensure the measure was enacted.
The widespread crisis created by Prop. 47 must be solved, which is why the Family Business Association of California strongly supports the passage of Proposition 36 on the November ballot.
Prop. 47 has proven to be catastrophic for California. Its soft-on-crime “restorative justice” policies supported by politicians and prosecutors backed by far-left hedge fund tycoon George Soros aimed at keeping criminals out of jail have made California less safe. The statistics are alarming. According to Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig:
- Homelessness has skyrocketed in the state by 51% since Prop. 47 passed, while in the rest of the country it has decreased by 10%
- Smash-and-grab thefts have exploded to the point where retail theft is costing California businesses nearly $9 billion a year in lost revenue
- Fentanyl is being trafficked over the border and infiltrating into our communities. More than 100 Californians die each week from this deadly poison and more than 20% of youth deaths in California are now due to fentanyl.
Proposition 36, the Drug and Theft Crime Penalties and Treatment-Mandated Felonies Initiative, creates targeted, commonsense reforms by tackling organized and serial retail theft, confronting the fentanyl crisis in our communities, and prioritizing mental health and drug treatment from a compassionate “carrot-and-stick” approach to ultimately getting people off the streets.
Stopping Repeat and Organized Retail Theft
One of the biggest problems created by Prop. 47 was making retail theft a misdemeanor if thieves stole less than $950 worth of property. These thefts remain misdemeanors even if the same criminal steals that much property from many different stores. Prop. 36 fixes this giant loophole by classifying repeated theft as a felony for those who steal less than $950 if they have multiple prior theft-related convictions, and allows stolen property values from multiple thefts to be combined so repeat offenders can be charged with a felony if the total exceeds $950.
It also authorizes judges to impose an enhanced penalty when an offender steals, damages, or destroys property by participating in organized theft with two or more offenses or by causing losses of $50,000 or more.
Confronting the Fentanyl Crisis
Prop. 36 adds fentanyl to the list of hard drugs, alongside drugs like heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine – appropriate since it is much more lethal. In fact, fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin, and according to the Drug Enforcement Agency, just 2 milligrams of fentanyl is enough for a lethal dose, the equivalent of just a few grains of salt.
In addition, Prop. 36 enables stricter penalties for dealers whose trafficking of fentanyl causes death or serious injury and provides warnings of potential murder charges if they continue trafficking as a result of fatalities.
Combatting Homelessness, Supporting Mental Health and Drug Treatment
Studies have demonstrated up to 75% of people chronically experiencing homelessness have a substance abuse or mental illness disorder. Prop. 36 provides critical mental health, drug treatment services and job training within our justice system for people who are homeless and suffering from mental illness or struggling with substance abuse
In addition, Prop. 36 enacts a new class of crime called a “treatment-mandated felony” where offenders with multiple hard drug possession convictions would be given the option of participating in drug and mental health treatment in lieu of incarceration. Finally, Prop. 36 allows offenders who successfully complete drug and mental health treatment to avoid jail time and have the charges fully expunged from their record.
The time is now to correct the destructive policies of Proposition 47 and restore safety while creating accountability and consequences by supporting Proposition 36. If we make crime illegal again, maybe we can look forward to a more business- and family-friendly state that can once again be “golden.”
Grant Deary is FBAC Public Policy Chairman