SAN JOSE — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a package of bills on Friday intended to crack down on retail, property and auto thefts, penning his name on legislation he requested in January in a city whose mayor — who wasn’t present — publicly backs a November ballot measure the governor opposes to further crack down on the crimes.
The 10 bills, which were largely written in collaboration with representatives from big retailers, strengthen existing anti-theft laws and introduce some new legal approaches to prosecuting theft. They largely focus on organized retail theft.
“The issue of organized retail theft, the issue of serial theft — (that is) the issue that is front and center in the consciousness of so many Californians,” Newsom said. “This goes to the heart of the issue, and it does it in a thoughtful and judicious way.”
The package of bills passed through the state legislature on Monday. Newsom signed them at an East San Jose Home Depot store, surrounded by local and state leaders, as well as Rachel Michelin, president and CEO of the California Retailers Association, and Ronald Fong, president and CEO of the California Grocers Association.
Those attending included Attorney General Rob Bonta, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, and state Senators Dave Cortese of San Jose, Scott Wiener of San Francisco and Aisha Wahab of Hayward.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who said he was not invited to Friday’s news conference and who backs Proposition 36 on the November ballot, thanked Newsom for visiting the city and expressed his full support for the legislation that passed into law, calling them “a great first step.”
“But they’re just that — a first step,” Mahan said in an interview with Bay Area News Group. “They address some much needed accountability around various types of property crime, but they really ultimately, to be successful and not return us to an era of mass incarceration, need to be complimented with mandated treatment.”
Mahan and San Francisco Mayor London Breed both publicly support Proposition 36, which would toughen some provisions eased under Proposition 47 in 2014. Newsom supported Proposition 47, but it has been blamed for spurring retail thefts and drug abuse. Mahan announced earlier this week that he was forming a campaign committee to spur support for Proposition 36.
The November ballot measure is backed by law enforcement and business groups and many Republicans but also has garnered support from Democrats including Mahan, Breed and Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper, a former Assemblyman.
A poll put out Friday morning by the Los Angeles Times and University of California, Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies found that 56% of California voters plan to support Proposition 36, leading opponents by more than a two to one margin.
The Yes on Proposition 36 campaign criticized legislative leadership for shelving AB 1960 and AB 1794, bills that would have addressed smash-and-grab crimes and aggregating thefts, in a press release.
“State leaders have had years to address California’s crime and drug crises, yet little has been done to tackle the root causes,” the statement said. “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.”
Newsom derided the proposition as promoting “a promise that can’t be delivered” and a return to the “mass incarceration” and “war on drugs” of the 1980s and 1990s. He added that most counties are not equipped with sufficient resources to mandate drug treatment.
“Where are the treatment slots? Where are the beds?” Newsom asked mayors who support the initiative. “I don’t know that they’ve really given it a lot of thought. And I don’t mean that as a cheap shot. I mean this sincerely.”
The bills he signed include AB 2943, which allows multiple thefts to be aggregated together to meet the felony threshold of $950; AB 3209, which would allow retailers to get court restraining orders against thieves, vandals or those who batter their workers; and AB 1960, which enhances sentences for destroying or damaging property.
Other bills extend the California Highway Patrol’s property crimes task force, enhance sentences for those who set fires during retail thefts and remove time restrictions on charging retail thefts.
“It’s not the end of a process,” Newsom said. “We’re still working on a number of other bills. We still have more work to do more broadly in this space, but this is a demonstrable advancement of that collective effort.”
Mahan said Proposition 36 fills in gaps that these laws do not address, specifically the emphasis on treatment for those facing drug addiction.
“While this issue has become very politicized and there seem to be partisan lines being drawn in Sacramento, that just isn’t the case at the local level,” Mahan said. “When you go out and walk around San Jose and talk to residents, small business owners, police officers and firefighters and people at the community level, it’s not controversial.”
Originally Published: