California Legislature Drops Controversial ‘Pro-Shoplifting’ Provision

The California State Senate has passed a bill requiring employers to prepare workplace violence plans — without a controversial provision that would have prevented bosses from telling their employees to confront shoplifters.

Earlier this month, as Breitbart News reported, Republicans and shopkeepers — many of them immigrants — rallied at the State Capitol to oppose SB 553, saying it would only encourage a continued wave of violent crime.

Now, however, the offending provision has been dropped, and the amended bill passed Tuesday, as the Los Angeles Times noted:

Gone from SB 553 is a requirement that employers implement active shooter training, as well as a controversial provision that prohibited businesses “from maintaining policies that require employees who are not dedicated safety personnel to confront active shooters or suspected shoplifters,” as was written in previous versions.

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The bill’s language prohibiting businesses from requiring untrained employees to confront shoplifters, which critics said would have required trained security or loss prevention, was removed.

[State Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San Jose)] also carved out an exemption for small businesses that employ 10 or fewer workers and are not generally open to the public. They join healthcare and corrections facilities, law enforcement agencies and telework employees who are all exempt from the new regulations.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will now decide whether or not to sign the bill; he is expected to do so.