Golden State Today

A new measure has become eligible for California's November 2024 ballot after meeting the required threshold of valid petition signatures. The initiative needed 546,651 valid signatures, equivalent to five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 General Election.

The measure surpassed the necessary 601,317 projected valid signatures through random sampling, a process that allows eligibility if the sampling projects more than 110 percent of the required number. The Secretary of State will certify the initiative on June 27, 2024, unless it is withdrawn by the proponent before certification as per Elections Code section 9604(b).

The Attorney General's official title and summary for the measure is: "ALLOWS FELONY CHARGES AND INCREASES SENTENCES FOR CERTAIN DRUG AND THEFT CRIMES. INITIATIVE STATUTE." The measure includes provisions to:

- Allow felony charges for possessing certain drugs, including fentanyl, and thefts under $950—currently chargeable only as misdemeanors—with two prior drug or theft convictions.

- Permit defendants who plead guilty to felony drug possession and complete treatment to have charges dismissed.

- Increase sentences for other specified drug and theft crimes.

The Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance estimate that this measure could lead to increased state criminal justice system costs potentially in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually due to a rise in the state prison population. Some costs might be offset by reductions in state spending on local mental health and substance use services, truancy and dropout prevention, and victim services as mandated by current law. Additionally, local criminal justice system costs could increase by tens of millions of dollars annually due to higher court-related workloads and an increase in individuals in county jail or under county community supervision.

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1959, while the Attorney General's tracking number is 23-0017A1.