California Crime Laws Face Overhaul Amid Rising Retail Theft (1)

A coalition seeking to revamp California’s landmark criminal justice law says it’s collected enough signatures to qualify for November’s ballot.

The group said Thursday it had collected 900,000 signatures for the initiative, indicating strong support. A little more than 500,000 names are required for the measure to appear on the statewide ballot.

The proposed Homeless, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act seeks to roll back parts of Proposition 47, a law passed in 2014 that reduced punishments for some lower-level crimes, like petty theft and drug possession.

“Unfortunately, Prop 47 has had the worst unintended consequences, which is hurting ...