California voters approve measure making some shoplifting, drug offenses felonies

California voters on Tuesday approved a ballot measure seeking harsher punishment for retail crimes including shoplifting and theft. Repeat offenders may now be charged with felonies under Proposition 36, which partially repeals legislation lightening non-violent crime sentences in 2014. Crimes involving drugs including synthetic opioid fentanyl will also now hold harsher penalties under the measure. The state of California saw an uptick in shoplifting from 2021 to 2022 in metropolitan cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, according to a study by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. Since...