California Increased Penalties for Fentanyl Dealers Initiative (2024)
| California Increased Penalties for Fentanyl Dealers Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 5, 2024 | |
| Topic Drug crime policy | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The California Increased Penalties for Fentanyl Dealers Initiative (#23-0023) was not on the ballot in California as an initiated state statute on November 5, 2024.
The initiative would have required courts to give fentanyl dealers notice that a repeat offense could result in murder charges. It would have also made the prison sentence for a person convicted of dealing fentanyl that resulted in a person's death 10 to 12 years.[1][2]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[3]
| “ | Increases prison sentences and requires warning about possible homicide charges for distributing certain drugs resulting in death. Initiative statute.[4] | ” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:[3]
| “ | Creates new mandatory minimum of 10- to 12-year prison sentence—in addition to possible homicide charges—for distributing certain opiates that cause a user’s death, and makes such offense subject to enhanced penalties under Three Strikes Law. Requires courts to advise individuals convicted of drug offenses for specified drugs (including fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and PCP) that they can be charged with homicide in the future if someone dies from taking a drug they provide.[4] | ” |
Fiscal impact
The fiscal impact statement was as follows:[3]
| “ | Increased state criminal justice system costs likely in the tens of millions of dollars annually, primarily due to an increase in the state prison population. Reduced county criminal justice system costs likely in the millions of dollars annually, primarily due to a reduction in the number of people in county jail and under county community supervision.[4] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the initiative can be read here.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated state statute is equal to 5 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election. Petitions are allowed to circulate for 180 days from the date the attorney general prepares the petition language. Signatures need to be certified at least 131 days before the general election. As the verification process can take multiple months, the secretary of state provides suggested deadlines for ballot initiatives.
The requirements to get initiated state statutes certified for the 2024 ballot:
- Signatures: 546,651 were required.
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification was 131 days before the general election, which was around June 27, 2024. However, the process of verifying signatures can take multiple months and proponents are recommended to file signatures at least two months before the verification deadline.
Signatures are first filed with local election officials, who determine the total number of signatures submitted. If the total number is equal to at least 100 percent of the required signatures, then local election officials perform a random check of signatures submitted in their counties. If the random sample estimates that more than 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, the initiative is eligible for the ballot. If the random sample estimates that between 95 and 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, a full check of signatures is done to determine the total number of valid signatures. If less than 95 percent are estimated to be valid, the initiative does not make the ballot.
Details about this initiative
- The initiative was filed on September 5, 2023, by Matthew Capelouto.[2]
- The initiative was cleared for signature gathering on November 9, 2023.[2]
- The campaign did not submit signatures by the signature deadline of May 7, 2024.[2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ California Attorney General's Office, "Full text," accessed September 6, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 California Secretary of State's Office, "List of petitions," accessed May 12, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed October 20, 2021
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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State of California Sacramento (capital) |
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