Crime has been a hot topic in California's state legislature, reflecting the growing dissatisfaction many residents are expressing with the crime rate.
Several Democratic lawmakers are sponsoring bills aimed at cracking down on crime, including tougher penalties for retail theft and more prosecutions for car break-ins. There will likely be a measure on the November ballot asking voters whether to impose harsher penalties on shoplifters and fentanyl dealers.
Another group of Democrats is taking a different approach. Progressive lawmakers introduced a 29-item bill last month that focuses on crime prevention, rehabilitation and services for offenders, arguing that states should not rely on mass incarceration as a solution.
One of those bills, Senate Bill 1446, has recently received a lot of attention for its potential to change the daily activity of grocery shopping.
The bill would require grocery stores and drug stores with self-checkout systems to assign employees to monitor them without performing other duties, and to monitor no more than two machines each. A customer can only use the station if he buys 10 or fewer items.
The idea is to reduce theft, prevent workers from being overwhelmed and reduce the risk of violence by shoplifters, said state Sen. Laura Smallwood-Cuevas, a Los Angeles Democrat who introduced the measure.
“There are a lot of bills in this Congress that try to increase penalties,” Smallwood-Cuevas told me. “We know that what makes our communities safer is not more jail time or more fines. What makes our communities safer is real work by real workers on the ground. Execution.”
The bill is supported by labor groups but opposed by business groups, who say the rules will stifle growth without deterring crime. The California Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the California Retailers Association wrote in a letter to a state legislative panel that “retail theft committed inside a store is not related to whether the checkout lanes are staffed or self-checkout lanes are present. “This is being done brazenly,” the letter said. report.
Still, Smallwood-Cuevas said her bill would create a better environment for workers and customers alike. “I don't want to just be tough on crime,” she says. “I also want to be smart about it, and I think this is the way to do that.”
And before we leave, we have some good news
After an unusually wet winter, California's reservoirs appear to be pretty full.
Lake Oroville, the state's second-largest reservoir, reached 100 percent capacity last week, the Los Angeles Times reported. “This is great news for ensuring an adequate water supply for millions of Californians,” the Department of Water Resources wrote on Facebook.
thank you for reading. I'll be back tomorrow. — Soumya
PS it's here today's mini crossword.
Jordon Wallner Maia Coleman and brianna scalia Contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com.
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