California Theft Legislation
Californians Against Retail and Residential Theft (CARRT) was established in 2022 with the aim of pressuring the Legislature to reform California’s theft laws.
During 2022 and 2023, more than a dozen pieces of legislation addressing retail theft were introduced; however, none of these bills were ever brought to a vote by the entire legislature.
In 2024, the situation shifted. Legislative leadership appointed new committee chairs to facilitate the discussion of retail theft bills. Over a dozen such bills were introduced that year, resulting in eight measures endorsed by Democratic leadership being signed into law. Additionally, two bills made it through their initial house before stalling in the other chamber.
Crucially, the vast majority of Californians approved Proposition 36, which introduces tougher penalties and greater accountability for repeat retail theft offenders.
With prosecutors and law enforcement now equipped with enhanced tools to combat retail theft, it is essential for the Legislature to provide the necessary resources for implementing these new laws.
Proposition 36: The Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act
More than 68% of the voters supported Proposition 36. This measure holds repeat offenders accountable through felony prosecution, increases penalties for smash-and-grab crimes, and permits the aggregation of stolen property values from multiple thefts. This provision counters the tactics of career thieves who commit multiple thefts to evade harsher penalties. Furthermore, it establishes a “treatment-mandated felony” pathway, allowing individuals with two or more prior hard drug possession convictions to pursue drug and mental health treatment instead of serving time in jail. Successful completion of treatment enables individuals to avoid jail time and have their records expunged.
2024 Signed Into Law
AB 1779 – Irwin. Theft: jurisdiction – This bill allows for local prosecutors to go after certain theft offenses that were only allowed to be handled by the Attorney General’s Office. This bill was part of the Assembly’s response to retail theft and was signed into law by the Governor.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1779
AB 1802 – Jones-Sawyer. Crimes: organized theft – This bill would extend the organized retail theft provisions that are scheduled to sunset in 2026 to extend to 2031. This bill was part of the Assembly’s response to retail theft and was signed into law by the Governor.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1802
AB 1972 – Alanis. Organized retail theft: cargo – This bill would classify cargo theft as organized retail crime. This bill became a part of the Assembly’s response to retail theft and was signed into law by the Governor.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1972
AB 2943 – Zbur. Crimes: shoplifting – This bill would allow law enforcement to aggregate stolen items with the intent to sell. The bill also allows law enforcement to make a warrantless arrest for misdemeanor shoplifting even if the crime did not happen in the presence of the officer. The bill would extend the organized retail theft provisions that are scheduled to sunset in 2026 to extend to 2031. This bill was part of the Assembly’s response to retail theft and was signed into law by the Governor.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2943
AB 3209 – Berman. Crimes: theft: retail theft restraining order. This bill allows the courts to issue a restraining order against convicted thieves. . This bill was part of the Assembly’s response to retail theft and was signed into law by the Governor.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB3209
SB 982 – Wahab. Crimes: organized theft – This bill would extend the organized retail theft provisions that are scheduled to sunset in 2026 indefinitely. This bill was part of the Senate’s response to retail theft and was signed into law by the Governor.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB982
SB1144 – Skinner. Marketplaces: online marketplaces – This bill places more requirements on online marketplaces to collect information on high-volume third-party sellers in hopes of deterring the resale of stolen items. This bill was part of the Senate’s response to retail theft and was signed into law by the Governor.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1144
SB1416 – Newman. Retail Theft – This bill creates new sentence enhancements for selling stolen items if the value exceeds $50,000. This bill was part of the Senate’s response to retail theft and was signed into law by the Governor.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1416
2024 Passed One House Died in Other House
AB 1794 – McCarty. Theft: crimes – The bill would allow for aggregation of certain property crimes so that the total value of all property taken over the course of distinct but related exceeds $950 could be charged as a felony. The bill passed the Assembly unanimously and cleared all committees in the Senate unanimously but was never voted upon on the Senate floor.
AB 1990 – Carrillo. Criminal Procedure: arrests: shoplifting – The bill would allow law enforcement to make a warrantless arrest for misdemeanor shoplifting even if the crime did not happen in the presence of the officer. The bill passed the Assembly but was never heard in the Senate.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1990
2024 Failed in Appropriations Committee
AB 1772 – Ramos. Theft – This bill targets repeat offenders with two or more prior convictions to receive up to 3 years in prison for their next conviction. AB 1772 is a bipartisan bill with 19 co-authors and the bill amends Proposition 47 requiring a vote of the people. The bill was amended before it was even heard to a study bill on retail theft. The bill was held in Assembly Appropriations Committee.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1772
AB 1845 – Alanis. Crimes: Grant program for identifying, apprehending and prosecuting resale of stolen property – This bill would have the Board of State and Community Corrections to issue grants to address retail theft.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1845
2024 Failed in Public Safety Committee
AB 2406 – Davies. Crimes: Theft – This bill would make it a crime to use, persuade or coerce 2 or more minors under 18 to engage in theft crimes.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2406
AB 2438 – Petrie-Norris. Property crimes: enhancements – This bill targets repeat offenders with two or more prior convictions to receive up to 3 years in prison for their next felony theft conviction.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2438
2024 Died Without a Hearing
AB 1787 – Villapudua. Crimes: shoplifting – The bill would lower the threshold for felony shoplifting from $950 to $450.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1787
AB 2790 – Pacheco. Crimes: organized retail theft – This bill makes it a felony to steal items such as baby formula or over-the-counter medication, which is intended for the diagnosis or treatment of an illness.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB2790
AB 3109 – Muratsuchi. Theft. This bill targets repeat theft offenders with enhanced penalties up to 3 years in prison or volunteer to participate in a diversion program. The bill amends Proposition 47 and requires a vote of the people.
SB 22 – Umberg. Crimes – This bill addresses drug offenses and some sex crimes. The bill would also allow law enforcement to aggregate theft crimes and enhanced penalty of a felony up to three years for multiple theft offenses. The bill has an urgency clause so most bill deadlines do not apply. The bill amends Proposition 47 and requires a vote of the people.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB22
SB 923 – Archuleta. Theft – This bill targets repeat offenders with two or more prior convictions to receive up to 3 years in prison for their next conviction. The bill amends Proposition 47 and requires a vote of the people.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB923
SB 928 – Niello. Crimes: organized theft – The bill would extend the organized retail theft provisions that are scheduled to sunset in 2026 indefinitely.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB928
2023 Failed in Appropriations Committee
AB 335 – Alanis. Proposition 47: repeal. This bill originally proposed to repeal the changes and additions made by Proposition 47. The bill was amended significantly and now calls for a study of retail thefts by the Little Hoover Commission.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB335
2023 Failed in Public Safety Committee
AB 75 – Hoover. Shoplifting: increased penalties. This bill would reinstate a provision of law that was repealed by Proposition 47 that provides that a person who has been convicted three or more times of theft may be subject to a felony on the next theft conviction.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB75
AB 329 – Ta. Theft: jurisdiction. This bill would expand organized retail theft to include merchandise stolen from a merchant’s cargo valued over $950.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB329
AB 1708 – Muratsuchi. Theft. This bill redefines theft by increasing penalties for theft of a firearm or vehicle, identity theft, or credit card theft. It also increases the penalties for someone who commits three or more petty thefts or shoplifting.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1708
SB 316 – Niello. Shoplifting: increased penalties for prior crimes. This bill would amend Proposition 47 by reestablishing that a person who commits a petty theft and has three or more previous petty or grand theft convictions can be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony with a maximum sentence of three years.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB316
2023 Died without a hearing
AB 23 – Muratsuchi. Theft: shoplifting –This bill would amend Proposition 47 by reducing the threshold amount for petty theft and shoplifting from $950 to $400.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB23
AB 523 – Vince Fong. Organized retail theft: cargo. This bill would expand organized retail theft to include merchandise stolen from a merchant’s cargo.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB523
2022 Failed in Public Safety Committee
AB 1597 – Waldron. Shoplifting: increased penalties for prior crimes. This bill would provide increased penalties for a person who has been convicted 3 or more times of petty theft or grand theft.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1597
AB 1603 – Salas. Theft: shoplifting: amount. This bill would amend Proposition 47 by reducing the threshold amount for petty theft and shoplifting from $950 to $400.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1603
AB 2390 – Muratsuchi. Theft: aggregation of amounts. This bill would amend Proposition 47 by authorizing the aggregation of the values of the property involved in one or more cases of shoplifting or theft into a single count.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2390
AB 2718 – Cooper. Theft. This bill would create the offense of serial theft for an offender who has been convicted for two or more thefts with property valued over $500.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2718
SB 1108 – Bates. Shoplifting: increased penalties for prior crimes. This bill would establish increased penalties for a person who has been convicted 3 or more times of petty theft or grand theft.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB1108
2022 Died without a hearing
AB 1699 – Maienschein. Vehicles used in commission of crimes. This bill would count as a point against a driver’s record a conviction of organized retail theft that involved the use or acquisition of a vehicle in the commission of the crime.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB1699
AB 2543 – Fong. Theft and burglary. This bill would increase sentences for shoplifting that occur on 2 or more separate occasions within a 12-month period, and the aggregated value of the merchandise taken exceeds $950.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB2543