CA Prop 47 (2014)

A viral post highlighting open-air stolen wine sales at 7th and Market in San Francisco has renewed debate over Prop 47's role in enabling low-level theft by keeping penalties below the felony threshold. The contrast is stark: law-abiding restaurant owners navigate six months of permitting and nearly $2,400 in annual fees before serving a legal glass of wine, while fencing stolen bottles carries virtually no consequence. The episode illustrates a core criticism of Prop 47—that it systematically reduced the cost of property crime without reducing the friction of following the law.