California voters overwhelmingly voted to increase penalties for theft and drug trafficking after a record number of brick-and-mortar retailers closed down due to smash-and-grab robberies.

Governor Gavin Newsom (D) opposed Prop 36 because he said it’s “too harsh.”

Per LA Public Press, Prop 47 “scaled back punishments for certain nonviolent offenses for drugs and theft, which were reclassified from felonies to misdemeanors.”

Under Prop. 36, penalties will be increased, and sentences will be lengthened for drug possession and for the theft of items valued at less than $950.

Prop. 36 rolls back some of the soft-on-crime policies that California voters passed in 2014 with Prop. 47.

Newsom has only approved $100 million for prop 36 – far below the $400 million needed to fully pay for the new law.

Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman blasted Newsom for not funding prop 36.

“We will call [Newsom],” Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said. “We will send him social media. We will DM him. I’ll say it right to the camera, Governor Newsom if you’re watching, get us this funding. If you want to save lives, get us this funding.”

WATCH:

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman argues that without the needed funding, the implementation of Prop. 36 is “slower” and jails are not equipped to act as treatment centers. Despite the push for more funding, Governor Newsom’s office reports that California has spent $1.7 billion on public safety, and so far the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office has filed about 3,000 Proposition 36 cases. Following a town hall in Torrance about Proposition 36, FOX 11 exclusively interviewed Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. “We will call [Governor Newsom],” Hochman said. “We will send him social media. We will DM him. I’ll say it right to the camera, Governor Newsom if you’re watching, get us this funding. If you want to save lives, get us this funding.” Last November, almost 70% of Californians voted in favor of Proposition 36, which increases felony charges and sentences for certain drug and theft crimes while creating a treatment-focused court process for certain drug possession crimes. Newsom approved $110 million for the new law, but that’s less than the $400 million Proposition 36 supporters argue is needed every year. FOX 11 asked Hochman if the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office can effectively carry out Proposition 36 without the funding some believe is necessary. “[It’s] slower,” Hochman said. “It’s much slower. If the jails effectively have to be the treatment centers, they are not equipped fully to be proper treatment centers.”