Prop 36 draws support from small business owners

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Ten years ago, California voters passed Proposition 47 which reclassified some crimes as misdemeanors instead of felonies. This November, California voters will decide on Proposition 36.

“Once Prop 47 went into effect, crime basically became legal,” said Beth Booth, the owner and designer of Spaces Renewed.

Booth says Prop 36 is an opportunity to correct what went wrong with Prop 47.

“Prop 47 back in 2014 decriminalized not only drug offenses but a lot of theft offenses,” said San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez.

A goal of Prop 47 was to reduce prison populations, but California small business owners are paying the price.

“We’ve normalized drug use, we’ve normalized some theft offenses and people don’t think anything of either,” said Martinez.

“You can call the police all day long and they’ll show up, but they can’t do anything and so business owners are left completely deflated, they have no power, they have no recourse,” said Booth.

San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan says Prop 36 aims to fix that. At a press conference Wednesday, she explained that under Prop 36, repeat offenders for hard drug offenses and retail theft will be held accountable.

“36 really provides a real solution. It still allows a first conviction to be a misdemeanor, a second conviction to be a misdemeanor whether drugs or theft,” said Stephan.

Upon the third conviction, repeat offenders are given two options.

“One is to address the root causes and seek the treatment for addiction, mental health,” Stephan said.

If the offenders complete treatment, they can have the charge expunged. The other option is to go to jail or prison.

“I hope people will read the proposition thoroughly, make sure they understand what it is and understand that law enforcement up and down the state supports this proposition,” said Sheriff Martinez.

The ACLU of Southern California does not support Prop 36, citing concerns about funding cuts for treatment programs. FOX 5/KUSI has reached out to them and is awaiting a response.

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