(NewsNation) — A 2014 California law downgrading several nonviolent felonies into misdemeanors could soon be undone. Come November, Golden State voters will make the call.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate pro Tempore Mike McGuire and Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas announced Monday that “targeted reforms” to Proposition 47 would be on California’s ballot this fall.

The measure was conceived as an alternative to the Republican-backed Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Retail Theft initiative already on the ballot, which would roll back Proposition 47 and increase punishments.

What is Proposition 47?

When it passed a decade ago, Proposition 47 was considered a breakthrough in criminal justice reform, as it lessened consequences for many offenses, including:

• Commercial burglary
• Petty theft with priors
• Bad check
• Grand theft crimes
• Possession of stolen property
• Possession of a controlled substance

For theft and forgery offenses, transgressors are protected up to $950, with little discretion between types of items taken. Whether stealing a car worth $950 or robbing a store of $950 of merchandise, Proposition 47 prevents charges from reaching felony status.

The law also made it possible for people with qualifying felony convictions to petition that the crimes be reclassified as misdemeanors.

The express stated purpose of the proposition was to “ensure that prison spending is focused on violent and serious offenses, to maximize alternatives for non serious, nonviolent crime, and to invest the savings generated from [the proposition] into prevention and support programs in K-12 schools, victim services, and mental health and drug treatment.”

Proposition 47 controversy

Some of the law’s previous supporters have joined the call to alter the legislation, citing rampant problems with fentanyl and petty crime in California.

“Prop 47 was well-intended but what really matters is its impact — and unfortunately, it’s hurting far too many families and small businesses across the state. We need reform that doesn’t take us back to the era of mass incarceration, but allows judges to mandate treatment for those struggling with severe addiction, hold repeat offenders accountable, and treat fentanyl like the killer it is,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said on X.

Detractors of the law have criticized it for allowing repeat offenders to stay on the streets, abusing the $950 limit.

Proposed Proposition 47 reforms

Newsom called the ballot measure “a critical step forward in our efforts to strengthen California’s public safety laws and provide law enforcement with additional tools to address the growing concerns of property crime and the fentanyl crisis.”

The ballot measure establishes penalties for those caught three times for petty theft or shoplifting within three years, punishing them with up to three years.

Theft totals can also be aggregated by law enforcement, allowing officers to combine multiple thefts over the $950 threshold in order to charge a felony.

A statewide fentanyl admonishment requirement would also be added to the law, which would make it easier for prosecutors to charge drug dealers who repeatedly sell fentanyl with murder in the case of a death.

But Republican legislators and law enforcement agencies alike are admonishing the ballot measure for still being too lax on criminals.

Assembly GOP leader James Gallagher on X called Newsom’s last-minute ballot measure a “shady” game by Democrats.

“They never cared about Prop 47 reform, they said it wasn’t needed. Now they are concocting a last minute attempt to put their own “reform” initiative as #1 on the ballot, in order to confuse voters on the Prop 47 measure that has already qualified and actually does something. Sad,” the post reads in part.