Democratic leaders of the California Assembly and Senate remained silent as of Monday night as some lawmakers within the party pushed back against their plan to kill a set of retail theft legislation if voters approve a separate public safety measure in November. That public safety measure, also known as an effort to reform Proposition 47, would ramp up the penalties and require prison time for fentanyl dealers and repeat thieves. With concerns that the measure would swell the state's prison population, last week, Democratic leaders made public their plan to add amendments to a set of separate retail theft bills that would kill the legislation if voters approve the ballot initiative. Experts note this is a negotiation tactic to put pressure on the campaign seeking to reform Prop 47, forcing them to choose between the ballot initiative and the package of bills. The State Senate Appropriations Committee started that process on Monday by adding the amendments to six of the 14 pieces of legislation. Ahead of the hearing, the Assembly's Public Safety Chairman and Sacramento Assemblyman Kevin McCarty pulled his related bill from the hearing. His proposal would have established a reporting system between retailers and prosecutors. "Unfortunately, I can’t support the retail theft package which contains my Retail Theft Accountability bill, AB 1794, with the poison pill non-operative amendments included," McCarty said in a statement. "However, I am still optimistic I will be able to revisit AB 1794 as we continue to work out a solution with stakeholders by the 27th."Democratic Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria announced Monday she dropped her name from one of the bills amended in the Senate committee. The bill would increase penalties for those who take or destroy property in the process of committing a separate felony. "My commitment was to work with my local law enforcement officials when I first introduced AB 1960," Soria told reporters on Monday. "When the bill was amended today, they ended up pulling their support so, for me, I want to keep my commitment." Soria would not say if she would drop her support from the set of bills entirely. She said she would analyze each bill in the legislative public safety package before deciding whether to support or reject the measures individually. Neither Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas nor Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire would comment on Monday. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.