As the op-ed “Proposition 36 is a backward mass incarceration plan that solves nothing” in the San José Spotlight said: “Proposition 36 is literally a proposal to go backward. It aims to overturn the advances in public safety secured through the passage of Proposition 47 in 2014. That proposition, which was overwhelmingly supported by voters, reclassified six low level felony offenses to misdemeanors and earmarked the savings secured through cost reductions in prison sentences to actual solutions: drug and mental health treatment, housing, re-entry services and more.”
In Santa Barbara County, Prop 47 funding currently provides services for “individuals with a history of serious mental illness (SMI) and/or substance use disorder (SUD) from the criminal justice system to community based services, including crisis stabilization, comprehensive mental health and SUD wraparound services, case management support, and housing assistance” under the CREDO 47 program.
Senator Monique Limon and Assemblymember Gregg Hart oppose Prop 36.