SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In a wild turn of events, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers backed away Tuesday from plans to put an anti-crime measure on the ballot, a day after they announced the proposal that had been the subject of protracted negotiations at the Capitol.

The abrupt cancellation capped half a year of political maneuvering on criminal justice policy, with Democrats zigging and zagging as they responded to a tough-on-crime initiative backed by Republicans, district attorneys and major retail stores. That initiative is still heading to the November ballot, asking voters to repeal parts of Proposition 47, the decade-old law that turned some nonviolent felonies into misdemeanors.

Newsom had hoped to offer voters an alternative measure, something that would address concerns about theft and fentanyl without being as punitive as the prosecutors' measure. Democrats spent days haggling over the alternative measure, and it was formalized in legislation Sunday night — in the final hours before the cutoff for lawmakers to draft a measure for the November ballot.

The measure backed by the governor and legislative leaders addressed repeat shoplifting by making the third petty-theft-related offense over a three-year period eligible for a three-year jail sentence. In cases involving multiple thefts, the offenses could be prosecuted as a felony if the total value of stolen goods exceeded $950. It also would have stiffened penalties for drug dealers who sold fentanyl without the buyer's knowledge.

Newsom touted the plan as "targeted reforms to Prop. 47" that reflected a "balanced approach."

He said it would "put public safety first without reverting to outdated and ineffective policies of decades past."

But it fundamentally sought to do something that Newsom and legislative leaders had said for months that they did not want to do — ask voters to change Proposition 47, a pillar of the state's progressive criminal justice reforms that's meant to reduce incarceration.

Lawmakers were scheduled to vote on Newsom's measure Wednesday night, a plan that was already chaotic with members leaving Sacramento for the July 4 holiday and a one-month summer recess — and a deadline for Newsom to sign the legislation before midnight Wednesday to make the ballot. Then Newsom decided to fly to Washington on Wednesday to "stand with the President," his campaign spokesman said, as Biden meets with Democratic governors in an attempt to shore up support for his reelection campaign.

Newsom blamed the tight timeline in a statement explaining his decision to pull the measure.

"We are unable to meet the ballot deadline to secure necessary amendments to ensure this measure's success and we will be withdrawing it from consideration," Newsom said in a statement. "I'd like to thank the Legislature and countless stakeholders who came to the table to work on meaningful reforms and I look forward to our work ahead."

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