I hate to take issue with the author, but under Prop 47 thefts under $950. were not reduced to Misdemeanors, they fall under an entirely new class of crimes known as INFRACTIONS, So now if a cop witnesses a property crime being committed, and he “determines” the value of the booty is under $950. He must issue the perp a citation and release him immediately. Also property trespass is the same deal. When we owned a commercial office building in Northern California, the only time the cops issued a citation to a “transient” was when the found a guy who had plugged in his electric blanket into one of our exterior plug outlets. They charged him with “theft of electricity.”
Thanks for clearing that up. That line confused me, because I was pretty sure petty theft was already a misdemeanor in pretty much every state.