By Neha Suri
SACRAMENTO, CA – Following the passage of AB 1960 in the California legislature here, Gov. Gavin Newson signed a bill at the State Capitol last week that would increase felony charges for retail theft crimes across the state for large dollar thefts.
The bill will automatically impose enhancements on crimes leading to longer sentences, according to a Sacramento Bee story.
The Bee reported, for property theft of $50,000 or more, there is a one year increase in sentencing, theft of $200,000 or greater will result in a two-year enhancement, $1 million or more will increase jail time by three years, and $3 million theft will result in four years of enhancement, with each additional $3 million in theft resulting in an automatic one year of added jail time.
This bill comes amid growing concerns regarding retail theft related crime across California and increasing calls for lawmakers to take action.
The bill’s author, former Speaker Robert Rivas, stated, said the Bee, “I authored this new law to hold appropriately responsible those who damage stores and property, because our business owners and workers should not have to live in fear that these crimes will come to their doorstep.”
AB 1960 has been launched as part of a bigger retail theft bill package that lawmakers have been working on over the past year.
Proposition 36, which will be on the California ballot this November, runs in opposition to this bill and is part of the reason the state’s legislators have been more supportive of AB 1960, the Bee said, noting Prop 36 “will impose automatic sentence enhancements for repeat retail thefts and fentanyl possession.”
However, lawmakers are split on the issue of fentanyl possession but have expressed more support for AB 1960 in the hope that this will deter voters from voting yes on the ballot measure in November, wrote the Bee.
In a statement while signing the bill, Gov. Newsom said that “we can be tough on crime while also being smart on crime,” a callback to California’s turn away from mass incarceration and toward effective crime deterrent policies.
Newsom also emphasized how tough on crime California already is, especially compared to other states.
In fact, the Sacramento Bee explained that, in California, “stealing property worth $950 or more will result in a felony theft charge, compared to other states including Texas and Wisconsin, where felony theft begins at $2,500.”
