Speaker Robert Rivas Joins Governor as Major Retail Theft and Public Safety Legislation is Signed Into Law

SAN JOSE, CA— Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas joined community and business leaders, law enforcement officials and state legislators and community leaders in San Jose on Friday to sign new laws that will improve public safety and hold accountable people who steal repeatedly from stores and businesses.

These historic, bipartisan and balanced new laws are the culmination of Speaker Rivas’ and legislative leaders' hard-fought, collaborative effort to bring all colleagues and stakeholders to the table, including retail and business owners, criminal justice advocates, workers, shoppers and many others.

What Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) Says

“California’s hard-working business owners asked for our help, and today we are delivering thoughtful, balanced new laws that will protect their livelihoods, workers and customers. To those who brazenly harass and shoplift from our stores: Accountability is here. I’m deeply proud of my colleagues for taking on this crucial public-safety issue, and I thank Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, the Governor, Pro Tem and Attorney General for their dedication and leadership. In California, we keep each other safe and get the job done.”

What Governor Gavin Newsom Says

“Let’s be clear, this is the most significant legislation to address property crime in modern California history. I thank the bipartisan group of lawmakers, our retail partners, and advocates for putting public safety over politics. While some try to take us back to ineffective and costly policies of the past, these new laws present a better way forward — making our communities safer and providing meaningful tools to help law enforcement arrest criminals and hold them accountable.”

What Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire (D-North Coast) Says

“A promise made is a promise kept — we’re taking bipartisan action to make our communities safer and stronger. These ten critical bills will crack down on retail theft, blunt local crime, and help our downtowns thrive for decades to come. Thanks to the partnership of Governor Newsom, Speaker Rivas, and the tireless work of our Senate and Assembly colleagues, California communities are getting the laws they need and rightfully deserve.”

What Select Committee on Retail Theft Chair and Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood) Says

"I am grateful to the Governor for signing this landmark legislative package and to Speaker Rivas for making retail theft a priority. This legislation directly benefits Californians by addressing the urgent issue of retail crime, which impacts shoppers, business owners, and workers across our state. Many constituents have expressed concerns about local retailers closing, job losses, and safety. By working together with various stakeholders, we crafted a balanced solution that disrupts retail crime rings while maintaining crucial criminal justice reforms. This law is a significant step toward making our communities safer and stronger."

What Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) Says

“From small businesses in our unique downtowns to large retailers at regional malls, the Bay Area experienced the highest reported rates of shoplifting in California in the last few years. Whether you are shopping at a local store or working there, every Californian deserves to feel safe. AB 3209 will help protect our local businesses, employees, and shoppers by adding a needed enforcement tool to combat organized and repeated retail theft. The creation of a Retail Crime Restraining Order, which received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Legislature, is a key component of the Assembly’s comprehensive retail theft legislative package. I would like to thank Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas for leading this effort and Governor Newsom for signing these bills that will provide Californians with smart and thoughtful solutions to reduce retail crime and theft.” 

What Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) Says

“I stand with all Californians who are tired of going shopping only to find every-day items locked up behind closed doors or cages as a method to prevent out of control organized retail theft. I want to thank the Governor for signing AB 1779 and restoring a common-sense law that will allow county prosecutors to convene a single trial for organized theft cases spanning multiple counties. These highly organized criminal enterprises will once again be held accountable for their crimes.”

Delivering Results

In November 2023, Speaker Rivas formed the Assembly Select Committee on Retail Theft and appointed Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur to lead the committee’s work. Under Chair Zbur, the select committee held multiple public hearings across the state to hear from a diverse array of stakeholders. Those meetings resulted in the introduction of a comprehensive and bipartisan legislative package to provide law enforcement and prosecutors additional tools to tackle retail theft, fentanyl, auto break-ins, cargo theft and more.

The retail theft legislative package delivers new tools for California while preserving the state’s needed criminal justice reforms. They create a new felony crime for repeat shoplifting and stealing with intent to resell, allows for intra-county prosecutorial collaboration, and addresses critical issues in litigating auto break-ins and cargo theft. In addition, the bills provide diversion pathways for people stealing due to food insecurity or substance abuse, to avoid the overcriminalization and mass incarceration of young Californians and people of color.