Plan to Reclassify Fraud Crimes as Misdemeanors Not in Budget

The budget deal agreed to by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders on Monday does not include a controversial provision that would have prevented district attorneys from prosecuting some insurance fraud offenses as felonies, according to a partial budget outline obtained by WorkCompCentral on Wednesday.Prosecutors and fraud-fighting groups raised an outcry in June over Schwarzenegger's proposal to reclassify as misdemeanors 73 offenses that may now be prosecuted as either misdemeanors or felonies — commonly called “wobblers.” The offenses to be reclassified i...