California Proposition 36 Passes With 68.42 Percent Yes Vote, Raising Penalties for Certain Drug and Theft Crimes
Voters in the state of California approved Proposition 36 in the November 5 general election. The citizen-initiated statute passed by a wide margin, increasing penalties for certain drug and theft crimes and partly rolling back the sentencing changes of Proposition 47, approved in 2014.
Certified results from the California Secretary of State show Proposition 36 receiving 10,307,296 yes votes, or 68.42 percent, against 4,756,612 no votes, or 31.58 percent. The Secretary of State issued the official declaration of the vote for state ballot measures on December 13, 2024, and the measure took effect in December 2024.
Under the official ballot title and summary published by the Secretary of State, Proposition 36 allows felony charges for possessing certain drugs, including fentanyl, and for thefts under $950, both previously chargeable only as misdemeanors, when the defendant has two prior drug or theft convictions. Defendants who plead guilty to felony drug possession and complete treatment can have the charges dismissed. The measure also increases sentences for other specified drug and theft crimes.
The Secretary of State's summary estimated that state criminal justice costs would likely rise by amounts ranging from several tens of millions of dollars to the low hundreds of millions annually, with local criminal justice costs likely in the tens of millions annually. (Source: California Secretary of State)
Source: California Secretary of State
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于 Sacramento 的加州州议会大厦正面。经 Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0。 / Photo: Front of the California State Capitol in Sacramento. Via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
