BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Changes may be incoming to California’s hotly debated Proposition 47.

Voters had a say in it in 2014, when more than 60% voted it into state law. Now, leaders around the state are working to give voters a voice once more — this time, to amend it.

Supporters of the amendment just wrapped up signature gathering. A little more than 546,000 valid signatures are needed; more than 900,000 statewide have been submitted and are awaiting verification by the Secretary of State.

“Enough is enough. We have to do this to help people, and we have to do this to help California,” said Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer.

Calls for “accountability” are ringing through the Golden State.

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“We’ve stopped holding people accountable for their actions. And that really is the root cause of everything we’re talking about,” said Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood.

Everything, as in, “The drastic rise in homelessness, the drastic rise in drug abuse, drug use and mental illness,” said Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

Bianco met with 17 News and Kern County leaders Monday to discuss the future of Prop 47 amendments.

He and law enforcement officials in Kern County and statewide are backing “The Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act,” a measure to amend Proposition 47.

Prop 47 was intended to lessen prison overcrowding in California by reclassifying some low level, non-violent felonies to misdemeanors.

“The most well-known provisions are simple drug possessions now becomes a misdemeanor, and for property theft, [the state] raised the amount from $450 to $950 to become misdemeanors,” said Chris Micheli, adjunct professor at Sacramento’s McGeorge School of Law.

But critics say Prop 47 has backfired, and change is long overdue. They say the law had
“unintended consequences.”

“You’ve empowered criminals to not only steal, but steal more, and then they’re under the belief that there are no consequences, they’re not going to be arrested or prosecuted, and it’s basically emboldening the criminal element,” Riverside County Sheriff Bianco said.

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“This [initiative] will restore accountability in California for those who are habitual serial thieves, by those who are using drugs and need rehabilitation, and for those who are selling large amounts of drugs like fentanyl,” said DA Zimmer.

Zimmer explained misdemeanors usually mean less than one year in jail or no time at all, because of overcrowding in county jails.

The measure to amend — it’s not a complete appeal — will likely be on California’s November ballots, meaning voters get a say.

Kern Elections told 17 News they’ve received more than 26,000 signatures.

“Take a look at the world we live in today,” said Sheriff Youngblood. “If you’re comfortable with that, then you’ll probably vote against this initiative. But if not, this is a step in the right direction.”

These leaders are also taking issue with what they call the misleading nature of the law.

Back in 2014, Prop 47 was listed on the ballot as the “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.”

“Prop 47 was very, very misleading in how it was presented to the voters and how it passed,” Riverside Sheriff Bianco said, adding the proposition had nothing to do with neighborhoods and schools.

Bianco also acknowledged the uphill battle leading to the November general election is due to partisanship and the political nature of the proposition.

“[He’s] a horrible leader,” Bianco said of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has been against the repealing of Prop 47.

Bianco added Newsom and many other Democratic leaders who played a large role in the passage of Prop 47 are not admitting their mistakes.

“I have to say it, this is about ego and about admitting that you may have done something wrong,” Bianco said.

“There is nothing political about law enforcement. Democrats need to be safe. Republicans need to be safe. We all have the same inherent fears of not being safe and of being victimized,” he added.

Bianco noted he hopes the passage of “The Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act,” can send a message to Sacramento that “California is fed up.”

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“This is coming from your law enforcement professionals; this is coming from your district attorneys that know their hands are tied. Your sheriffs and your chiefs of police, their hands are tied. And we need these things changed,” he concluded.

Zimmer agreed: “It is local law enforcement that has seen people who are in the throes of addiction and who are homeless because of addiction.”

The district attorney added, “In the Oildale area, so many firefighters are called out not to fires but to help people with drug overdoses, and many other parts of Kern County.”

Zimmer has been at the forefront of local signature gathering efforts since January.

“We went to parades, we went to festivals, we went to restaurants,” she noted of communal volunteer efforts to collect signatures.

Zimmer explained from these volunteer signature drives, about 49,000 were collected statewide. About 7,000, she estimated, are from Kern.

Zimmer is also one of 10 district attorneys on the Californians for Safer Communities, the coalition spearheading the Prop 47 amendment call.

“I knew [in 2014], as did most district attorneys, [Prop 47] would severely restrict our ability to keep the community safe,” Zimmer recalled. “It’s not the same place it was when I began in law enforcement forty years ago.”

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Zimmer said in addition to gathering Kern residents’ signatures, she helped fundraise. She said over the past month, over $150,000 has been raised, with GOP State Assemblymember Vince Fong being one of the major donors ($20,000).

“We offer [the homeless] a bed; we offer them a place to stay and most of them won’t take it,” Sheriff Youngblood said of homelessness in Kern. “And there’s a reason for that because they like the lifestyle that they’re living, which affects quality of life for the rest of us… What we can do is if you’d rather live that lifestyle and you’re committing crimes, we can keep you in custody.”

The amendment would:

• Hold repeat thieves accountable with felony prosecution

• Allow treatment-mandated felony prosecution for third-time hard drug convictions

• Tackle the fentanyl crisis by going after fentanyl drug dealers

These three issues, Bianco said, are considered the most important from a quality of life and public safety standpoint.

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