California faces a multibillion-dollar budget deficit, and lawmakers and the governor will have to make tough decisions. No one wants to see less funding for their children’s schools, road maintenance, environmental progress, and other vital services.
But there is one area where you can and should cut back on spending. It’s a prison. Thousands of prison beds in California remain unused. Simply consolidating and closing some facilities could ultimately save the state hundreds of millions of dollars.
This can be accomplished safely thanks to important reforms that have confronted the state’s incarceration crisis and reduced its prison population. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, approximately 130,000 people were in state custody in 2019. By the end of last year, that number had fallen by about 25% to 96,000.
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The state’s prison population is now down to about 93,000 people. This will leave the prison with about 15,000 extra beds, and as the population continues to decline, that number is expected to rise to 19,000 in four years. It is fiscally irresponsible to maintain these hospital beds when social safety net programs are in jeopardy.
Empty beds mean that beyond overcrowded prisons, we continue to incur billions in unnecessary costs in staffing, operations, and maintenance. Consolidating and abolishing prisons is an easy way to address state budget deficits in the long term.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has closed two prisons and eight yards (each state prison typically consists of several yards), terminated one private prison contract and plans to close another prison next year. has been done. But even with these cuts, an empty prison would still equate to four or five more empty prisons.
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New York provides an example of what is possible. The state shut down as its prison population has been cut in half since 1999. dozens of The state of the facility in recent years.Gov. Kathy Hochul proposes closure. 5 more to go in the next financial year.
California should follow suit. The state’s nonpartisan Legislative Analysis Service recently estimated that closing five prisons could save the state $1 billion a year in operating costs and up to $2 billion in capital expenditures. Otherwise, the department expects one-fifth of the state’s prison capacity to go unused.
$1 billion a year would not only eliminate current and future deficits, but also support real public safety measures such as safety net programs, education, housing, and workforce development. The state’s current corrections budget is about $15 billion.What is the state’s general fund budget for the University of California? 5 billion dollars.
Do we want up-to-date school textbooks or extra prison beds? Desperately needed affordable housing or unnecessary prison gardens? Vacant cell surveillance and transportation infrastructure? Should we pay people to build a?
Congress should consider requiring correctional officials to rein in the sprawling prison system. Fortunately, a Congressional committee passed a bill last week that provides a roadmap for correctional staff to gradually and effectively reduce overcapacity to 2,500 people. This number is what authorities say is necessary to maintain operational flexibility. The bill also allows for situations in which the Department of Corrections can argue that an increase in beds is warranted.
We understand that the administration is grappling with court orders regarding prison capacity as well as the need for further investment in rehabilitation. For many years, the Department of Corrections has struggled to maximize rehabilitation and reduce recidivism. We believe that wisely reducing prison spending will free up more funding for community investment and rehabilitation, and keep Californians safe.
Assembly Bill 2178 responds to the Governor’s call to reduce prison capacity based on data and needs. It provides a practical and flexible framework for such decisions. It also aligns with Newsom’s vision of a fiscally prudent and forward-thinking California.
Every dollar we spend on incarceration is not spent building homes, supporting students, or fighting climate change. With so many critical programs at risk, we have a moral obligation to prioritize the broader needs of Californians over empty prisons.
Phil Ting is a Democratic congressman from San Francisco and the author of AB 2178. Amber-Rose Howard is executive director of Californians United for Responsible Budgets.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
