Senator Suzette Valladares (R-Santa Clarita) announced today that the Joint Legislative Audit Committee has approved her request for a comprehensive audit of the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) and its administration of Proposition 47 grant funds. The California State Auditor will now move forward with a full review of how hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars are being spent, and whether California's communities are any safer because of it.
"Californians were told that Proposition 47 would reduce crime, cut recidivism, and get people the help they need," said Sen. Valladares. "A decade later, crime and homelessness are visible on every street corner, our communities don't feel safer, and no one in Sacramento can show the receipts. That ends now. Taxpayers deserve to know exactly where this money has gone and whether it’s done a single thing to make California safer."
“As a former member of the BSCC, I believe accountability and transparency are essential,” said San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus. “When programs rely heavily on self-reported outcomes, especially around recidivism, the public deserves an independent review. The State Auditor is the right entity to determine whether these funds are producing measurable public safety results and whether they can better support the treatment and accountability framework voters demanded through Proposition 36."
A Decade of Spending. No Proof It's Working
Proposition 47, passed by California voters in November 2014, reduced certain non-violent drug and property offenses from felonies to misdemeanors, a policy change that flooded California's streets with repeat offenders and contributed to the open-air drug markets and retail theft epidemic that followed. Voters were promised that the resulting state savings would be reinvested to reduce recidivism and expand mental health and substance use treatment.
Sixty-five percent of those savings, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, flow annually to the BSCC to administer competitive grants for mental health services, substance use disorder treatment, diversion programs, housing assistance, and job training.
But under the current system, the organizations receiving those grants largely self-report their own results, with minimal independent oversight. There is no reliable, publicly available data to confirm whether recidivism is actually declining among program participants, whether funds are reaching the community-based providers they are intended for, or whether taxpayers are getting anything close to what they were promised.
That is not accountability. That is a blank check.
Voters Sent a Message - Sacramento Isn't Listening
In November 2024, California voters approved Proposition 36, a sweeping rebuke of the consequences of Proposition 47. Proposition 36 restored felony penalties for repeat drug and theft offenses, required treatment for drug offenders, and sent an unmistakable message: Californians want consequences for crime, and they want real results from their tax dollars.
The Legislature has an obligation to honor that mandate. That starts with an honest accounting of what Proposition 47 grant funds have actually accomplished, and whether those dollars would deliver better outcomes directed toward the treatment and accountability framework voters just demanded under Proposition 36.
"Voters want safer streets and they want to see real results," said Sen. Valladares. "They want safer communities, real treatment, and real accountability. This audit is about finding out whether Sacramento has delivered any of that - and if not, making sure we fix it."
What the Audit Will Examine
The California State Auditor will conduct a comprehensive review of BSCC-administered Proposition 47 grants, including:
Recidivism Outcomes - Whether funded programs are actually reducing reoffending among participants, and which organizations are producing measurable results
Grant Administration & Oversight - Whether BSCC has adequate oversight to ensure compliance, including the mandated pass-through of at least 50 percent of funds to community-based providers
Program Effectiveness - Whether taxpayer dollars are being spent efficiently on mental health treatment, substance use services, housing assistance, and job training or simply being absorbed by administrative overhead
Future Budget Implications - Whether Proposition 47 savings should continue flowing through BSCC grants, or whether those funds would be better deployed under the treatment and accountability framework established by Proposition 36
Senator Valladares will continue to monitor the audit process and push for legislative reforms based on the State Auditor's findings. Californians have waited long enough for answers.