PROP 6 – Vote NO
This Proposal:
This measure, the POLICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT FUNDING. CRIMINAL PENALTIES AND LAWS. INITIATIVE STATUTE would mandate an increase of $365 million (a 60% increase) in the amount of funding the State provides to local law enforcement and includes a requirement that certain criminal justice program spending increase annually with inflation. The measure also increases criminal penalties for certain crimes related to gang participation and recruitment and some drug offenses, as well as creates some new felonies and misdemeanors. Prop 6 makes numerous other changes to current laws relating to California’s criminal justice system.
The fiscal impact of passing this proposal would be to cost taxpayers billions of dollars due to increased funding mandates and increased mandatory incarceration of criminals. These increased costs would be paid for by either cutting funding to other programs or raising taxes.
Recommendation:
My recommendation is to vote NO. While this proposal sounds good on its face, when you look deeper, there are many reasons to oppose its passage. First, the one size fits all approach of mandatory sentencing is almost always a bad idea. Judges need to be given the latitude to sentence criminals according to the individual situations and facts of each case. Also, this proposition makes numerous other changes to existing California laws. While some changes might be improvements, many definitely would not. Therefore, passing this proposition would, overall, make our criminal justice system worse, not better.
In addition, simply mandating a 60% increase in funding to local law enforcement and then mandating an additional annual increase is not necessarily going to make anyone safer. This proposition has no requirement that the funds allocated be used to hire any new police officers nor does it require that the funds be used for programs that are proven to reduce crime. Funding for crime reduction programs must be evaluated on their merits and then funding levels increased for those programs that are working while cutting funding for those that are not. Under Prop. 6, the largest increase in funding is for “Citizens Options for Public Safety,” a program reviewed by the state’s independent Legislative Analyst and found to have “no definable goals” and “no identifiable results.”
Finally, since Prop 6 doesn’t pay for itself, taxes would have to increase or funding would need to be cut for other items in the budget such as schools, healthcare, and other vital programs.
For more information: Voter Information Guide – Prop 6
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by David Boaz or 
by David Bergland, both excellent books on libertarian thought.
