A battle between Democrats and Republicans in the Golden State is brewing over how to combat retail theft, with Democrats pushing forward legislative action while the GOP argues additional changes are necessary.

Democrats in the state legislature are hoping to push forward a raft of bills that would increase penalties on retail theft and other crimes in a bid to stop the wave of crime that has hurt California in recent years. Republicans had been supportive of the efforts but have also pushed for a ballot measure in November to modify Proposition 47, a 2014 ballot measure that reduced penalties for some crimes in the state that they have said is at the core of the spike in crime in the past decade. However, Republicans now say the proposed ballot measure is being sabotaged.