The Legislative Analyst Office has released its recommendations for how California can comply with the U.S. Supreme Court's May ruling requiring the state to "reduce overcrowding in its prisons to 137.5 percent of its 'design capacity' within two years."
The top-level bullet points from the executive summary are:
- Encourage the administration to request additional time from the court to comply with its mandate to reduce overcrowding in California’s prisons.
- Direct the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) by statute to report on the justification of each prison construction project that it now proposes (including projects that have already been approved) in light of the inmate population reductions that will occur because of the three-judge panel ruling and the enactment of the realignment plan. Entering into contracts for these projects would be put on hold until the Legislature received and reviewed the report in January.
- Change state law to authorize CDCR to continue to transfer prison inmates involuntarily to out-of- state contract beds at least until the court’s requirements are met.
You can download the report in its entirety here.
Tune-in Note:
Prison realignment will be discussed later today on the California Report Magazine, and again tonight on This Week in Northern California.
Further Reading:
Supreme Court Ruling on Prison Overcrowding Explained; Prison Photos From Decision (News Fix, May 24, 2011)