Trump claims Harris is responsible for a controversial shoplifting law, but he overstates her role

Former President Donald Trump often blames Vice President Kamala Harris for a California law that he claims permits shoplifting up to $950 in merchandise without consequences, seeking to portray her as a member of the “radical left” by lambasting her positions and record on criminal justice. 

In at least eight recent campaign and press events, Trump and other high-profile Republicans have sought to cast Harris as weak on crime, holding her responsible for California’s Proposition 47, which makes the theft of goods worth $950 or less a misdemeanor, rather than a felony. 

“She came up with a great idea. You can steal as much as you want up to $950, and nothing happens to you,” Trump said earlier this month in remarks to the Fraternal Order of Police in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Trump’s claim is misleading because it overstates Harris’ role in the bill. As California’s attorney general when the proposal took effect, Harris had a role in writing the initiative’s finalized title and summary, and she verified that the proposition met the number of signatures required to be added to the ballot. However, Harris was not involved in drafting the law or passing it, and she remained neutral on the initiative throughout the process, according to The Mercury News and SFGate. 

The law

Proposition 47 was a ballot initiative created in response to a 2011 Supreme Court ruling that ordered California to reduce its prison population due to overcrowding. California voters passed the measure in 2014.

Previously under state law, shoplifting goods worth up to $950 was often charged as a misdemeanor. In some cases, the crimes were also charged as burglaries, which could be a felony. Under Proposition 47, shoplifters with prior serious or violent convictions would face county jail rather than state prison sentences, with the aim of saving taxpayer dollars. People convicted of misdemeanor shoplifting can still face consequences of up to six months in jail and fines up to $1,000. 

In 2010, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was California’s Republican governor and before Harris’ tenure as state attorney general, California legislators passed Assembly Bill 2372, which set a $950 threshold for grand theft. This raised it from the 1982 threshold of $400 to account for inflation. 

Proposition 47’s threshold is lower than the amount set by other states including Republican-led Arkansas, Nebraska and Texas, which charges a felony for $2,500 worth of stolen goods. More than half of all states have higher thresholds than California, according to World Population Review, an independent organization that analyzes data and demographics. 

However, unlike California, other states allow prosecutors to charge repeat lower-level offenders with felonies.

Trump has repeatedly attacked Harris’ record as a prosecutor as both candidates attempt to appeal to voters who are concerned about crime. 

Recent surveys indicate that the topic is a key issue for voters. CBS News found 63% of registered voters who were polled say crime is a major factor in their vote in the presidential election.