A 2014 initiative that reduced theft crimes to misdemeanors if they involved nonviolently taking $950 or less from a business doesn’t apply to stealing property by using someone else’s identity, which remains a felony, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday.

Reversing lower-court rulings, the court unanimously said the crime of using personal identifying information without authorization is not a theft — even if it results in a theft — and therefore is not covered by the leniency provisions of Proposition 47.

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The law prohibiting unauthorized use of personal identifying information “protects primarily the person or entity whose information was unlawfully used without consent,” Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar said in the 7-0 ruling. By contrast, he said, laws against shoplifting and other types of theft seek to protect the property owners.

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A state appeals court upheld the ruling, citing the state Supreme Court’s 2017 decision that reduced a defendant’s conviction to misdemeanor shoplifting for cashing checks that used the check-holder’s bank account information. But although Jimenez’s actions were similar to those of the defendant in that case, Cuéllar said, the crime he was convicted of committing — illegal use of private identity information — is a separate offense not covered by Prop.47.