Harris dodges question on California measure that would increase crime, drug penalties

 

US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a moderated conversation with former Trump administration national security official Olivia Troye and former Republican voter Amanda Stratton on July 17, 2024 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. (Getty Images)

Vice President Kamala Harris was tight-lipped when asked Sunday to comment on a California measure that reverse many of the Golden State’s soft-on-crime policies.

Proposition 36, or The Homeless, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act, aims to address crime, drug use, and homelessness that has skyrocketed since California voters passed Prop 47.

Harris, a former San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general, and U.S. senator, said she would not “talk about the vote on that because, honestly, it’s the Sunday before the election and I don’t intend to create an endorsement one way or the other.”

The initiative, if passed, would make the crime of shoplifting a felony for repeat offenders and increase penalties for some drug charges, including those involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl. It also would give judges the authority to order people with multiple drug charges to get treatment.