California voters will have the opportunity this fall to roll back a controversial criminal justice reform measure that they adopted in 2014 that’s drawn criticism for its impact on public safety.
Proposition 36, known as the Drug and Theft Crime Penalties and Treatment-Mandated Felonies Initiative, will be on the ballot this fall and would reform elements of Proposition 47 that voters approved a decade ago and has been criticized for contributing to a rise in retail theft.
Under Proposition 36, penalties would be increased for certain theft and drug crimes, with the theft of items worth $950 or less a felony if a person has two or more past convictions for certain theft crimes like shoplifting, burglary or carjacking.
It would also require that sentences for certain felony convictions be served in state prison rather than county jail and would allow sentences for selling drugs such as fentanyl, heroin, cocaine or meth to be …