California Democratic legislators announce agreement on Prop 47 reform initiative
SACRAMENTO – With just hours to spare, Democratic legislators announced Sunday night an agreement on a Proposition 47 reform initiative they plan to put on a ballot.
It will compete with a tougher version already submitted by California district attorneys. Critics are already calling it confusing.
Eleventh-hour negotiations and now a done deal by Democrats on their own Prop 47 reform initiative.
That will be an alternate option to a separate Prop 47 reform initiative already qualified for the ballot aimed at curbing California retail crime.
"Look when you have two ballot initiatives that deal with the same exact thing, it is very confusing for the general public," Republican Assemblymember Josh Hoover said.
Hoover is opposed to the Democrats' tactics. The new language introduced by Democrats also says that if the new Prop 47 reform initiative receives more affirmative votes than the measure in conflict with it, the provisions of the other measure or measures shall be null and void.
"The frustrating thing is it doesn't have to be this way, we can leave the ballot initiative that is currently qualified alone, and just let the voters vote on it as is," Hoover said.
The last-minute deadline agreement comes after Democratic leaders failed an earlier effort to pass a group of bills with so-called poison pill amendments that could have killed the very laws they were seeking to pass.
Leaked emails CBS13 first reported show the governor's involvement in seeking to keep the DA initiative on the November ballot.
Now with this new political twist.
"Was having dinner with my family on a Sunday night and this bomb gets dropped on us," Hoover said.
Califronia's retail crime fight could have you seeing double on Election Day.
Democrats say their bill is less expensive. In the past, they've said they believe the DA Prop 47 reform initiative will lead to mass incarceration.
This alternative version must be in print three days before the legislature can vote on putting it on the state ballot, on July 3rd.
That's the last day before lawmakers go on summer break.