SACRAMENTO – Today, Assemblymember Juan Alanis announced that his law enforcement-supported retail theft legislation passed out of their first policy committee.
“We can have all the laws we want on the books, but if we do not have the resources to move those cases in the courts, they are, in fact, ineffective laws,” said Assemblyman Alanis. “We must continue to fund successful programs like the Organized Retail Theft Prevention Grant Program, which has proven successful in Stanislaus County, which I represent.”
AB 1845 establishes the Identifying, Apprehending, and Prosecuting Resale of Stolen Property Grant Program to allocate funds to local prosecutors and law enforcement agencies. The goal is to enhance efforts in investigating and prosecuting criminal networks that drive the market for theft, focusing on receiving stolen goods crimes and criminal profiteering. Grant programs like the one this bill aims to create have been successful up and down the state and have boosted the resolution of many retail theft cases that have otherwise been stalled in the courts.
Assemblymember Alanis also joined Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Chairs of the Public Safety Committee and Select Committee on Retail Theft, Assemblymembers Kevin McCarty and Rick Chavez Zbur, respectively, at a press conference this morning to announce the complete Assembly package on retail theft legislation.
Those bills include:
AB 2943 – Speaker Robert Rivas & Asm. Rick Chavez Zbur
AB 1972 – Asm. Juan Alanis
AB 1974 – Asm. Kevin McCarty
AB 3209 – Asm. Marc Berman
AB 1779 – Asm. Jacqui Irwin
AB 1802 – Asm. Jones-Sawyer
AB 1960 – Asm. Esmeralda Soria
“I promised my constituents that I would work across the aisle on real solutions wherever they can be found,” added Alanis. “California’s retail theft issues did not appear overnight and will not be solved overnight. I am proud that my bill AB 1972, dealing with cargo theft, was included in today’s bipartisan retail theft package. Doing nothing this year would have been unacceptable. I believe this bipartisan effort takes positive steps forward, but much more work must be done, including consideration of a potential ballot measure to allow the voters to decide themselves if they want to make changes to Proposition 47 at the ballot box.”
AB 1972 would expand the California Highway Patrol’s (CHP) property crimes task force to support identified counties with increased cargo theft. The bill will also require the CHP to provide railroad police with logistical support and other law enforcement resources, such as personnel and equipment, to combat cargo theft.
When asked about a potential ballot measure attempting to qualify, which would allow voters to hold a referendum on Proposition 47, a bill that was passed by the voters nearly a decade ago, the Assemblyman answered, “I support any effort where the people get to weigh in directly on the policies that govern their lives. I support the voters getting a chance to weigh in on Proposition 47 at the ballot box after nearly 10 years of living under its policies. They deserve the right to change their minds about Proposition 47 if they choose to do so.”
AB 1845 and AB 1972 have now advanced to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for consideration.
Assemblymember Juan Alanis represents the 22nd Assembly District, which includes the communities of Modesto, Turlock, Ceres, Denair, Patterson, Gustine, Newman, Hilmar, Ballico, Snelling, Keyes, Grayson, Crows Landing, Diablo Grande, Stevinson, & Empire.