Just when you thought California couldn’t sink any lower in its crusade against common sense, state senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas has introduced a jaw-dropping bill to *decriminalize welfare fraud*—as long as it’s under $25,000. That’s not a typo. According to SB560, lying to steal taxpayer money is just fine, as long as you keep it under five figures.

The bill, exposed by Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin on April 28, has ignited a firestorm online, especially among conservatives who are tired of watching the Golden State spiral into lawless lunacy.

“NEW: California Democrat state senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas has introduced SB560, a bill that would decriminalize welfare fraud below an amount of $25,000,” Melugin posted on X. “It would also prohibit prosecutions for attempted welfare fraud and would prohibit someone from being charged w/ perjury if they are subject to prosecution for welfare fraud.”

In plain English: not only would it be legal to defraud the welfare system of tens of thousands of dollars, but you could lie about it under oath and walk away without consequences. Welcome to California, where criminals are coddled, taxpayers are punished, and leftist politicians seem hell-bent on rewarding bad behavior.

A look at the bill’s language confirms just how dangerous and irresponsible this proposal is. The draft reads:
“This bill would delete the provision that establishes criminal penalties for an attempt to commit welfare fraud… [and] make welfare fraud when aid was obtained or retained in the total amount of $25,000 or more punishable.”

That’s right. If you steal *less* than $25,000, the law would look the other way. This bill also prohibits prosecution in many overpayment cases and even blocks perjury charges in fraud investigations. It’s essentially a green light for massive abuse of public funds.

In an age where hardworking Americans are already crushed by inflation, rising taxes, and soaring costs of living, California Democrats want to make it *easier* for scammers to abuse the system that taxpayers fund. No wonder people are fleeing the state in record numbers.

Social media was quick to respond. One user sarcastically wrote, “I think that anyone who commits less than 5 drive-by shootings in a single year should not be prosecuted… and if you are a member of a protected minority, then you can shoot as many people as you want with no penalty.” Others took a more serious tone, demanding political change. “Every sane Californian needs to bring everybody they know to vote for Republicans up and down the ballot in 2026,” one commenter said. “When are we going to say enough is ENOUGH?”

Another echoed the growing frustration with progressive governance: “California is such a lost state. What are they gonna do when they have no more taxpayers and nothing but debt?”

And then came the most obvious question of all: *Why* would any lawmaker want to protect fraudsters? “She needs to be investigated at the very least,” one user posted. “Welfare fraud is so rampant, the penalties should be far worse than they are now.”

It’s a fair point. We’ve seen what happened when California decriminalized theft under $950—entire cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles were gutted by shoplifting waves that law enforcement was powerless to stop. Now, they want to apply the same broken logic to welfare fraud?

Let’s be clear: this isn’t compassionate policy. It’s reckless, destructive, and an insult to every law-abiding citizen footing the bill. If Democrats like Smallwood-Cuevas get their way, California’s welfare system won’t be a safety net — it’ll be an open vault.

Enough is enough.