California voters approve measure making some shoplifting, drug offenses felonies

California voters on Tuesday approved a ballot measure seeking harsher punishment for retail crimes including shoplifting and theft.

Repeat offenders may now be charged with felonies under Proposition 36, which partially repeals legislation lightening non-violent crime sentences in 2014.

Crimes involving drugs including synthetic opioid fentanyl will also now hold harsher penalties under the measure.

The state of California saw an uptick in shoplifting from 2021 to 2022 in metropolitan cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, according to a study by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.

Since then, lawmakers have passed a series of legislation in an effort to crack down on crime.

In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed AB1960 introducing higher penalties for those who damage or destroy property valued at more than $50,000 while committing a felony, including retail theft.

“California already has some of the strictest retail and property crime laws in the nation — and we have made them even stronger with our recent legislation,” Newsom said after signing the bill.

“We can be tough on crime while also being smart on crime — we don’t need to go back to broken policies of the last century.”