‘B*tch new laws’: Viral video shows California shoplifters learning the hard way that shoplifting is now a felony

A huge majority of California residents voted for State Proposition 36 on Nov. 5. The initiative has reclassified some misdemeanor theft and drug crimes as felonies as voters insisted on restoring law and order. The measure received support from 68.4 percent of voters.

The video was posted by the Seal Beach Police Department, which said in a caption, “A friendly reminder that Proposition 36, which increases punishments for some retail theft and drug possession offenses, went into effect Wednesday morning in California,"

The footage showed the women shoplifting from a Kohls, and parading off around $1,000 in stolen goods. They were quickly arrested and taken into custody. Bodycam footage then showed one woman asking, “It’s a felony?” to which the other replied, “B*tch new laws. Stealing is a felony.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom did not support the law change and said it would take “us back to the 1980s [and] mass incarceration." The change makes it a felony to steal less than $950 worth of goods from a store, according to Fox News. The measure is aimed at stopping the epidemic of shoplifting that has taken place in California.

Prop 47 the law that had been passed in 2014, made it a misdemeanor to steal an amount of merchandise if it was under $950 "unless the defendant had prior convictions of murder, rape, certain sex offenses, or certain gun crimes."

Prop 36 also enables people who have been convicted of a drug offense to have the incident expunged from their record if they surrender to a rehab facility for treatment. The defendant must admit guilt and successfully complete the treatment program to have the charges dropped, the law states.

The initiative enjoyed bipartisan support in the blue state and was enthusiastically endorsed by police departments.