California voters face a decision on how the state should punish people repeatedly convicted of theft or crimes involving the deadly drug fentanyl. Proposition 36 on the November ballot asks voters to amend parts of Proposition 47, which passed in 2014 and converted some nonviolent felonies into misdemeanors.
Here’s what you need to know about how this year’s measure, if passed, would change California’s laws that were approved a decade ago.
Why did Proposition 47 come about?
In May 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a California ruling: required Reduce prison populations to avoid overcrowding. A three-judge federal panel has ordered California state prisons to reduce their populations to 137.5% of their “design capacity” within two years. In the 2010s, the state’s prison occupancy rate exceeded 180 percent, meaning it held about 34,000 more inmates than the federal court-imposed limit.
State lawmakers approved legislation changing the way the state prosecutes low-level, non-serious crimes, known as “realignment,” allowing some offenders to serve time in county jails instead of state prisons.
Liberal advocacy groups push Proposition 47 as another way to reduce prison populations and put more money toward drug treatment and victim services.
How did Proposition 47 in 2014 change California law?
Proposition 47 has three main components: reducing some felonies to misdemeanors; allowing inmates to reduce their sentences if they serve time for a crime that was reduced to a misdemeanor; and directing the savings from reducing incarceration to services in local communities.
Proposition 47 reclassifies some felonies and provides that individuals who commit certain nonviolent drug and property crimes, including shoplifting (theft of merchandise under $950) and simple drug possession, will be charged with misdemeanors Sentencing on non-felony charges. Although prosecutors filed misdemeanor charges for many of these crimes before Proposition 47 was enacted, some of the crimes are considered “wobblers” and may be charged as misdemeanors or felonies. A misdemeanor conviction can still result in a person serving a year in county jail. Proposition 47 does not apply to people who have been previously convicted of serious or violent crimes, nor does it apply to registered sex offenders.
Proposition 47 allows more than 1 million people to have old, low-level, nonviolent felonies on their records reduced to misdemeanors. But the mechanism to do so under Proposition 47 expired in November 2022, and state law only allows people to apply later if they can show “good cause,” according to the state Judicial Council. Criminal justice advocacy group California Safety and Justice, one of the measure’s leading backers, said an estimated thousands of prisoners remain eligible for resentencing, and a bill is expected to be on the ballot this August that would extend The term is indefinite.
The measure passed with more than 1.3 million votes. Notable backers at the time included social justice organizations such as California Safety and Justice and the American Civil Liberties Union, and the organization was funded primarily by five major philanthropic foundations, including the Rosenberg Foundation, a Bay Area social justice organization, George Sorostow Through his open-funded community foundation and the Ford Foundation. Opponents of the measure include the California Association of Chiefs of Police. as well as other law enforcement groups and district attorneys from Alameda and Contra Costa counties, as well as former Assemblyman Jim Cooper (now Sacramento County Sheriff).
Since 2014, the state has saved approx. $100 million per year This is a result of sentencing changes made under Proposition 47.
What is the difference between a misdemeanor and a felony?
A misdemeanor is less serious than a felony. Typically, a person convicted of a misdemeanor will serve up to one year in county jail. In California, county jails are overseen by local sheriff’s departments. Other forms of punishment for misdemeanor convictions include supervision by a probation officer or fines.
A felony is defined as a violent or serious type of crime. These crimes may include murder, robbery or rape. People convicted of felonies can be sentenced to county jail and community supervision, or state prison.
How will this year’s Proposition 36 change the status quo?
Proposition 36 would impose mandatory drug treatment for certain drug crimes, add new penalties for certain theft and drug crimes, and add new sentencing enhancements applicable to any crime.
drug
Personal possession of illegal drugs is usually charged as a misdemeanor. The ballot measure would add fentanyl to the list of hard drugs like heroin, cocaine or methamphetamine that are already considered felonies, depending on the amount sold or whether a gun is carried when trafficking the drugs. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 100 times more potent than morphine and may be used to treat severe pain under the supervision of a licensed medical professional. In recent years, illicit forms of fentanyl have been smuggled into the United States, and other more common street drugs, such as cocaine, have been found to contain lethal doses of the drug. Drug-related deaths have increased in California, with 3,946 people dying from fentanyl overdoses in California alone in 2020.
Under Proposition 36, a judge can sentence a person for possession of any amount of hard drugs to up to three years in state prison if the person has been convicted of two or more drug-related crimes. The measure allows a judge to determine whether a person is eligible for treatment and can participate in a felony that mandates treatment instead of incarceration.
If a person successfully completes drug treatment, their charges will be dismissed.
The ballot measure also would allow judges to sentence convicted drug dealers who traffic large quantities of hard drugs, including fentanyl, or who carry firearms while trafficking drugs to state prison instead of county jail. If someone is caught possessing such drugs for a fourth time and also possessing a firearm, it will be a felony. Existing law requires felony drug candidate charges to be filed in these circumstances. The measure would add fentanyl to that list.
Proposition 36 would also authorize more serious consequences for hard-core drug dealers who sell fentanyl that kills or seriously injures drug users. It would empower judges to warn convicted drug dealers that they could be charged with murder in the future if someone dies as a result of the drugs they sold.
theft
Under Proposition 36, theft of money or property worth $950 or less would be punishable as a felony for a person who has been convicted of certain theft-related crimes. The bill would also allow prosecutors to file felony charges if a person is accused of multiple thefts totaling more than $950. Previous theft convictions may also be counted. If someone has two misdemeanor theft of property charges years ago and then steals again a third time after Proposition 36 was enacted, they may also be eligible for felony charges.
cost
Proposition 47 helps the state save nearly $100 million annually in prison costs, which in turn allocates that money to victim services and reentry programs. Those savings could be reduced if more people are incarcerated under the new ballot measure, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office wrote in the analysis. This means less funding will be allocated to these public services.
The analyst’s office also said the state would see cost increases in two other ways: The first would require some people now serving county sentences to serve in state prisons, doubling the prison population. people. The second is the cost of increased workload as courts take additional time to resolve felonies and facilitate felonies that mandate treatment.
If voters pass Proposition 36, which parts of Proposition 47 will remain?
drug
Before Proposition 47, if you had drugs of any weight (also called simple possession), it could be considered a felony or misdemeanor. After Proposition 47 passed, simple drug possession became a misdemeanor. Under Proposition 36, a person would still be charged with a misdemeanor on the first two simple drug possession convictions, but on the third conviction, a person would be charged with a felony and become eligible for jail or prison time. prison.
theft
Since Proposition 47, any nonviolent property theft under $950 has generally been charged as a misdemeanor.
Under Proposition 36, the first two thefts of less than $950 would still be a misdemeanor — similar to Proposition 47 — but a person’s third theft conviction, regardless of whether the amount of the theft was less than $950, would still be a misdemeanor. Will be charged as a felony and eligible for jail time.
heavy sentence
Proposition 36 does not explicitly change anything about resentencing rules, but policy analysts have raised the possibility that certain individuals would not be eligible for resentencing under the new measure.
