Just when you thought California lawmakers could not get any more insane, they beat everyone's expectations.

California state Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas introduced a bill attempting to decriminalize welfare fraud under $25,000. It’s unclear exactly who this will benefit besides the people committing the fraud, but we can almost be certain this would only incentivize more people to abuse the system if passed.

Isn't it such a wild coincidence that the same state that decriminalized theft is also trying to decriminalize fraud? What are the odds?

According to Fox News:

State Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas introduced Senate Bill 560, which would delete criminal penalties for welfare fraud below $25,000, and delete a provision for criminal penalties for any attempt at welfare fraud below $950, according to the legislation, which was introduced in February.

"California’s safety net should lift families up, not trap them in poverty," Smallwood-Cuevas told Fox News Digital. "Right now, a missed deadline or paperwork mistake can lead to felony charges that tear families apart — even when there’s no intent to deceive."

It’s unclear how missing a deadline or checking the wrong box would innocently lead someone to receive over $20,000, but at some point, leftists have got to start holding people accountable for their actions.

Someone should also inform leftists that just because you are poor, that does not automatically make you a good person. And although people on welfare often have trouble making ends meet, that also does not make them morally superior. Therefore, any attempt to steal $25,000 should be treated exactly as that—an attempt to steal $25,000.

The lawmaker said the bill "offers a smarter, more humane approach by allowing counties to resolve most overpayment cases administratively, holding people accountable without criminalizing poverty."

It would prohibit a person from being subject to criminal prosecution in certain instances for an overpayment or overissuance of benefits, the bill states.

"This bill is about keeping families out of the criminal justice system from making administrative errors on raising the threshold for welfare fraud prosecutions," Smallwood-Cuevas said in an April 8 Instagram post.

Is there some significant epidemic in which the majority of families applying for these unearned benefits are committing fraud worth over $20,000? I am having trouble seeing how there is a dire need for such a law, and the fact that some lawmakers have decided to prioritize this is deeply pathetic and a slap in the face to all productive Californians.

Why is it that policies from the left so often seem to make life easier for liars and thieves, while making it harder for those genuinely trying to make ends meet? State officials should prioritize helping people transition off public benefits to become productive members of society, rather than enabling behavior that further undermines an already corrupt system. Unfortunately, in California, that’s not the reality. This isn’t just incompetent governance—it would be de facto theft from the taxpayers.

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