California lawmakers unveil plan to target organized retail theft — without Prop. 47 changes

California lawmakers on Thursday announced plans for legislation to tackle retail theft by creating new penalties, requiring online sellers to report the source of their products and mandating crime data collection.

But the bill, co-authored by Assemblyman Rick Chavez Zbur, D-West Hollywood, and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister — and similar to a plan pushed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last month — does not touch Proposition 47, the 2014 ballot initiative that set a $950 threshold for misdemeanor shoplifting.

Rivas declined to say whether he agrees with calls from retailers, Republicans and some moderate Democrats to make changes to the voter-approved measure, although he did express some skepticism about its link to an uptick in crime.

“There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors when it comes to retail theft and its connection to Prop. 47,” he said during a Thursday press conference.

Retail theft legislation

Rivas has said addressing retail theft is a top priority for him, and he created an Assembly Select Committee on Retail Theft to solicit ideas and information on the problem. Zbur chairs that committee, which has held two hearings since December.

Rivas and Zbur’s bill would take a multi-pronged approach to dealing with retail theft. It almost mirrors legislation Newsom requested last month to “crack down on professional thieves.”

The measure would create a new crime, retail theft with intent to sell, to penalize organized groups of thieves who steal merchandise and then post it for sale online.

It would also allow prosecutors to aggregate “the value of thefts from different victims” to reach the threshold for a more serious crime, Zbur said.

The bill would require online retailers to keep records “demonstrating the lawful chain of custody” of products they sell. It would also mandate that large retailers report specific theft data, although Zbur could not yet say who would be responsible for collecting that information.

The assemblyman said the measure would expand the use of diversion and rehabilitative programs, such as drug courts, which Zbur said would involve “increased supervision for shoplifting and petty theft and the opportunity for early discharge from probation if a program is completed.”

Addressing Proposition 47

Although Rivas and Zbur’s bill does not address Proposition 47, the assemblymen did not completely rule out possible legislative efforts to modify it.

The lawmakers announced their legislation alongside Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, the new chair of the Assembly Public Safety Committee. McCarty has authored a placeholder measure, Assembly Bill 1794, which currently has language suggesting an intent to alter Proposition 47.

Newsom has said is not interested in major Proposition 47 changes. But a ballot measure from the California District Attorney’s Association would allow opponents to circumvent the governor and lawmakers and take proposed alterations directly to voters.

McCarty said during the press conference that “everything is still on the table” in terms of anti-theft strategies. Zbur said McCarty is “continuing to work with stakeholders with respect to things that might have to go to the ballot.”

Rivas declined to discuss potential Proposition 47 negotiations involving legislative leaders, Newsom and Proposition 47 opponents.

“Our interest is to continue to listen and to learn about this problem,” he said. “And as we know, it’s going to require multiple solutions. This is just one bill, and this is the first step.”

This story was originally published February 15, 2024 at 3:05 PM with the headline "California lawmakers unveil plan to target organized retail theft — without Prop. 47 changes."