Diversion: retail theft.

The bill was reformatted from a traditional legislative document layout (with line numbers, page headers/footers, and column formatting) to a web-based presentation with navigation elements. All substantive legal provisions remain unchanged.

Added an entirely new Chapter 2.955 (Section 1001.91) to the Penal Code creating a mandatory 'Theft Diversion' framework applicable to cases involving shoplifting (459.5), vandalism (473(b)), and various other theft-related offenses (476, 487, 488, 489, 490.1, 490.2, 496, 594).

The sole remedy for a defendant found ineligible for pretrial diversion under this chapter is a postconviction appeal, meaning no pretrial motion is available to challenge ineligibility.

Added a provision that the arrest may still be disclosed by the Department of Justice in response to peace officer application requests, and defendants must disclose it on peace officer questionnaires despite the general 'deemed never occurred' language.

Requires the prosecuting attorney or county probation department to evaluate whether a defendant is eligible for theft diversion based on two criteria: the offense did not involve violence or threatened violence, and there is no contemporaneous theft violation other than the listed offenses.

Mandates that if a defendant complies with all imposed terms and conditions of diversion, the court shall dismiss the action against the defendant at the end of the diversion period.

Requires the prosecuting attorney to file a declaration with the court (or state for the record) the grounds for finding a defendant eligible or ineligible for diversion, and that information must be made available to the defendant and their attorney.

Upon successful completion of diversion, the arrest is deemed to have never occurred. The record cannot be used without the defendant's consent to deny employment, benefits, licenses, or certificates.

Excludes persons charged under Section 666.1 (organized retail theft) from the mandatory diversion eligibility determination.

Changed from 'no' to 'yes' on both fiscal committee review and state-mandated local program designation, meaning the bill imposes costs on local agencies that the state must reimburse under Government Code Part 7.

A new criterion was added requiring that the offense charged is not a felony. This excludes defendants facing felony theft charges from the diversion program, limiting it to misdemeanor-level offenses only.

The introductory language in subdivision (a) changed from 'both of the following apply' to 'both all of the following apply' to accommodate the new third eligibility criterion.

A new subdivision (j) defines 'contemporaneous violation' as a violation that occurs at the same time as or during the same course of conduct as the offenses charged in the accusatory pleading. This clarifies an existing eligibility factor that previously lacked a statutory definition.