By Jamie Joseph

February 8, 2023

In a move hoping to tackle the state’s rising crime rates, California Assemblyman Juan Alanis (R-Modesto) has proposed a bill to repeal Proposition 47.

Proposition 47, passed by voters in 2014 with nearly 60 percent of the vote, raised the felony threshold for theft in retail stores from $400 to $950, limited jail time for misdemeanors to a maximum of six months, and reduced some drug-related crimes from felonies to misdemeanors.

The bill was part of a criminal reform effort to alleviate prison overcrowding, but it has faced criticism for an increase in crime, particularly property theft, across the state’s largest cities since it passed.

Alanis, who also sits as the Chairman of the Assembly Public Safety Committee, proposed his new bill—AB 335—which, if approved, would roll back the statutes of Proposition 47, with the exception of the lesser penalty for possessing concentrated cannabis since marijuana is legal in the state.

The legislation must be approved by the electorate, presumably in the 2024 statewide General Election.

Read more at The Epoch Times