It’s not on the March ballot, but state voters, in November, will decide whether to toughen criminal penalties, as part of an effort to roll back reforms adopted by voters within the past decade. That includes Proposition 57, approved in 2016, that allows nonviolent inmates to petition for earlier release and participate in rehabilitation programs, as a way to reduce prison overcrowding. Nevada County District Attorney Cliff Newell says Proposition 47, approved in 2014, changed a number of crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, including raising the dollar threshold for felony theft from 450 to 950 dollars…

Newell, who supports the measure, says it would establish a felony option for so-called “serial theft” for a person caught stealing merchandise three times that’s valued at more than 250 dollars. Newell says recent reforms have reduced rehabilitation options, especially for drug offenders no longer facing felony charges…

The measure would make more specific types of theft and fraud crimes, including firearm and vehicle theft, and unlawful use of a credit card, chargeable as misdemeanors or felonies, rather than just misdemeanors.