SACRAMENTO – With just hours to spare, Democratic legislators announced Sunday night an agreement on a Proposition 47 reform initiative they plan to put on a ballot.

It will compete with a tougher version already submitted by California district attorneys. Critics are already calling it confusing.

Eleventh-hour negotiations and now a done deal by Democrats on their own Prop 47 reform initiative.

That will be an alternate option to a separate Prop 47 reform initiative already qualified for the ballot aimed at curbing California retail crime.

“Look when you have two ballot initiatives that deal with the same exact thing, it is very confusing for the general public,” Republican Assemblymember Josh Hoover said.

Hoover is opposed to the Democrats’ tactics. The new language introduced by Democrats also says that if the new Prop 47 reform initiative receives more affirmative votes than the measure in conflict with it, the provisions of the other measure or measures shall be null and void.

“The frustrating thing is it doesn’t have to be this way, we can leave the ballot initiative that is currently qualified alone, and just let the voters vote on it as is,” Hoover said.

The last-minute deadline agreement comes after Democratic leaders failed an earlier effort to pass a group of bills with so-called poison pill amendments that could have killed the very laws they were seeking to pass.

Leaked emails CBS13 first reported show the governor’s involvement in seeking to keep the DA initiative on the November ballot.

Now with this new political twist.

“Was having dinner with my family on a Sunday night and this bomb gets dropped on us,” Hoover said.

Califronia’s retail crime fight could have you seeing double on Election Day.

Democrats say their bill is less expensive. In the past, they’ve said they believe the DA Prop 47 reform initiative will lead to mass incarceration.

This alternative version must be in print three days before the legislature can vote on putting it on the state ballot, on July 3rd.
That’s the last day before lawmakers go on summer break. 

More than 100 horses are in danger of being displaced, including some that are too old to be moved and would need to be euthanized, after the city of Lakewood announced it could no longer afford to run the beloved equestrian center.  

The Lakewood Equestrian Center also houses miniature horses and some mules. Some of the horses are old and have been retired, while others are used for training and riding.  

Taylor Cohen, who works as a first responder and boards her horse at the center, explained that horses provide people with the opportunity to relax and just love their animals.  

Hearing news that the city plans to shutter the equestrian center, she said, was devastating.  

“Having been a first responder [for] the last 18 years of my life, finding ways to manage the stress that you come into is huge,” Cohen explained. “There has to be other ways [to do that] besides going and seeing a therapist.”  

Part of the land the equestrian center sits on is owned by the county. Another portion is owned by Southern California Edison.  

The city has announced plans to wipe the equestrian center out and build a park with pickleball courts, though, according to Cohen and others, this comes with a huge problem.  

“There’s nowhere for these horses to go,” she said. “Some of them won’t be able to be moved because of age or health issues. There’s actually no place around that will be able to board all these horses.”  

Lakewood City Council halted their vote on the issue to give people more time to come up with a proposal for taking it over, but the facility needs at least $6 million in repairs and Edison is owed more than $40,000 on the lease, leaving some people who use the center at a loss.  

“We have nowhere else to go,” Noah Grove, who boards his animals at the facility, told KTLA’s Jennifer McGraw. “Huntington Beach Equestrian Center, their full and have a 35-horse waitlist. I’m actually from Huntington Beach. I drive 18 to 30 minutes to get here, depending on traffic, and I’m up here sometimes twice a day.”  

Riders like Makella Mahan are hoping someone can grab the reins of the facility and save this haven for her and the horses.  

“Honestly, all these beautiful horses would be out of a home, and I think that would be very sad,” she said.  

For its part, city officials have said they don’t necessarily want to close the facility and are hoping to come up with a plan, along with the equestrian community, for making the center profitable or even getting it to break even.  

CNN
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A new law requiring many California bars and nightclubs to offer common date-rape drug test kits will take effect Tuesday, according to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

The law, Assembly Bill 1013, requires approximately 2,400 establishments with a Type 48 license to have signage letting patrons know that drug testing kits are available.

Type 48 licenses are issued to bars and nightclubs and authorize the sale of beer, wine, and distilled spirits, according to the department.

The signage reads, “Don’t get roofied! Drink spiking drug test kits available here. Ask a staff member for details.”

The drug testing devices will either be offered for sale at a reasonable price or be given to customers for free, according to the department.

Devices could include test strips, stickers, or straws that can detect the presence of controlled substances in drinks.