Long Beach could back statewide ballot measure that amends controversial Prop. 47
Proposition 36 would amend some parts of Proposition 47, which classified drug possession and thefts under $950 as misdemeanors.
The Long Beach City Council is being asked to support two statewide ballot measures that could change when people are charged with felonies for theft and drug possession and generate billions of dollars through bond proceeds to pay for environmental projects.
The council’s Intergovernmental Affairs Committee voted Tuesday to refer the issues to the full council for approval with City Prosecutor Doug Haubert stumping for support of Proposition 36, which would amend the controversial 2014 law, Proposition 47, that classified all drug possession offenses and thefts under $950 as misdemeanors no matter how many times a person is arrested for those crimes.
“As your City Prosecutor, I’m telling you this is something that’s needed if we’re going to tackle the problems we see on the streets of Long Beach,” Haubert said.
The dire conditions in the city prompted Haubert to ask that the full council support the statewide measure, something he said he’s never done in his 14 years in office.
According to Long Beach Police Department crime data, petty theft (under $950) is up 14.3% through June compared to the same point in 2023 as is commercial burglary (32.6%) as business operators continue to contend with shattered windows and stolen merchandise.
Long Beach has outpaced Los Angeles County in opioid-related overdose deaths in recent years with the city’s fire department responding to over 1,300 overdose calls between July 2019 and April 2023, according to city data.
Proposition 36 would create a “treatment-mandate felony” for people with at least two drug possession charges. The felony would be dropped if the person goes into a treatment program, according to Haubert.
“The goal is to get them into treatment,” he said Tuesday. “I wouldn’t be supporting it if the goal was to put people in prison.”
But Haubert said that in LA County even when people are sentenced to jail time they often don't serve a single day if their sentence is less than 180 days because of the overcrowding at the county's facilities.
The committee voted 3-0 to send the issue to the council where the full body could vote to sign on as supporters of the ballot measure that voters will get to decide in November.
“I want to see people get help, it’s tragic when people are addicted and they overdose, but we need to see some balance and when people are doing these smash and grabs repeatedly that they’re arrested,” said Councilmember Cindy Allen.
The city could also back a package of bills aimed at addressing the state’s fentanyl crisis and combating retail theft.
The “Safer California Plan” that originated in the California Senate includes 15 bills, some of which have already been chaptered, and is similar to a package of bills originating in the California Assembly. However, the Senate’s package doesn’t focus on imposing harsher penalties on offenders.
Because the plan aligns with the city’s already adopted legislative agenda, it won’t require a council vote for the city to send a letter of support to Sacramento.
But Proposition 4, a $10 billion statewide bond measure that would fund environmental projects, will require the council’s support.
The bonds would provide funding for wildfire preparedness, parks and outdoor access and clean energy projects like the $4.6 billion Pier Wind project at the Port of Long Beach that would install offshore wind turbines to create a source of renewable energy.
At least 40% of the funds would have to go toward projects that benefit vulnerable populations or disadvantaged communities and 10% would have to go toward projects that benefit severely disadvantaged communities.
The debt service on the bonds are projected to cost $19.3 billion to pay off the $10 billion in bond proceeds.
Both propositions will appear on the Nov. 5 statewide ballot.
We need your support.
Subcribe to the Watchdog today.
The Long Beach Watchdog is owned by journalists, and paid for by readers like you. If independent, local reporting like the story you just read is important to you, support our work by becoming a subscriber.
