UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, or IGS, published a poll Friday that shows vast support for California’s Proposition 36, which would increase punishment for repeat offenders.
The proposition focuses on theft and drug possession and is a response to rising crime rates and Proposition 47, which was passed in the 2014 election and made shoplifting items of value less than $950 and most drug possession misdemeanors.
According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, fiscal impacts of Prop. 36 include increasing the prison population and increasing state criminal justice costs. In addition, the proposition would make some misdemeanors felonies, create a new treatment-focused court process and lengthen some felony sentences…