In a bid to address the rising issue of retail theft within the state, California Governor Gavin Newsom is set to enact a series of bills aimed at combating this criminal activity. This legislative effort comes as a response to Proposition 36, a criminal justice reform measure that has faced opposition from Democrats seeking to strengthen penalties for certain theft and drug offenses. The new laws will allow prosecutors to more easily charge theft as felony grand theft by aggregating the value of stolen goods from multiple locations. Additionally, a new offense category will be created specifically for organized-crime rings involved in retail theft.

Originally, Governor Newsom and Democratic lawmakers designed these bills as leverage in negotiations with a coalition consisting of local prosecutors, big-box retailers, and grocery chains to prevent Proposition 36 from reaching the November ballot. However, these negotiations failed to produce a compromise before the June 27 deadline, leading Democrats opposed to Proposition 36 to shift their focus towards undermining the initiative's funding sources.

Large retailers such as Walmart, Target, and Home Depot have made significant contributions towards placing Proposition 36 on the ballot and are expected to provide financial support to the Yes on 36 campaign, which aims to persuade voters. However, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas expressed optimism that the bills being signed into law would discourage some retailers from supporting the campaign, noting that they constitute a robust package of legislation.

The process of developing these bills began while proponents of Proposition 36 were still collecting signatures to qualify their initiative for the ballot. Last fall, Assembly Speaker Rivas initiated a select committee in the Assembly to draft legislation, while the Senate introduced its own public safety bill package in February. The Assembly followed suit in April, with both chambers aiming to address the issue without amending Proposition 47, which would require a separate ballot initiative given that the changes were initially enacted by voters in 2014.

Facing difficulties in negotiating with prosecutors, Democrats attempted various maneuvers, including including "poison pill" inoperability clauses and a potential countermeasure, to force voters to choose between competing sets of reforms. However, these tactics were ultimately abandoned, and Democrats decided to move forward by passing the laws without conditions.

In addition to creating new categories for theft-related crimes, the laws being enacted would grant police the power to make arrests even without witnessing a crime or having access to footage of it. Assembly Speaker Rivas emphasized that the package was the result of a collaborative effort with a broad range of stakeholders, in contrast to Proposition 36, which he described as a one-sided and exclusionary process.

Now, Governor Newsom, Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire, and other Democratic lawmakers involved in the process hope that the enactment of these laws will ease concerns among business interests who have supported Proposition 36. Rachel Michelin, the head of the California Retailers Association, expressed enthusiasm for the bill package and its inclusion of provisions not present in Proposition 36. She suggested that this could lead some businesses to reconsider their financial support for the Yes on 36 campaign.

As Governor Newsom prepares to sign these bills into law, it remains to be seen how they will shape the discourse around retail theft in California and influence the upcoming Yes on 36 campaign. The state government's efforts to combat this issue reflect a broader push to integrate multiple perspectives and stakeholders in the pursuit of effective criminal justice reform.