Bill Would Speed Jail Approval : 2-County Measure Would Streamline Study Process

Assemblyman Richard Robinson (D-Garden Grove) introduced a bill Tuesday that would allow Orange and Los Angeles counties to streamline the planning and study process before constructing badly needed jail facilities.

But the proposed legislation does not allocate any new money for jail construction, which Orange County officials say is a more urgent need.

Robinson said he had begun work on the bill, which as written would affect only the two counties, even before a federal judge last week found Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates and the county Board of Supervisors in criminal contempt for failing to comply with his 1978 order to alleviate overcrowding at the Orange County men’s jail.

Imposed Fines

U.S. District Judge William P. Gray in Los Angeles fined the county $50,000. He also imposed a fine of $10 per day for each inmate who has to sleep on the floor for more than one night but stayed that order for 60 days.

The Orange County Jail has a capacity of 1,191 men, but the daily count often is 2,000 or more.

Robinson said the contempt order is illustrative of why the legislation is needed.

“It is time now to start solving these problems,” Robinson said. “You can only go so far in standing up to a federal judge before he starts locking people up.”

Orange County Supervisor Bruce Nestande, whose district includes many of the jail sites under consideration, said the bill would be welcomed by local officials. But he said county officials are looking to the state even more urgently to help fund new jails. “The urgency right now is not environmental relief, but dollars and cents,” he said.

Robinson’s bill appropriates no new state money.

Cut Construction Time

Los Angeles County officials estimate, however, that the bill, if approved, could reduce by a third the projected six-year construction time for two planned new jail facilities, according to an aide to the assemblyman.

Robinson said officials in Orange County, where the politically sensitive site-selection process for a new jail is still in preliminary stages, have not provided his staff with any similar estimates.

Orange County officials, after years of seeking a site for a new jail, have recently narrowed the search to eight remote sites, primarily in the southeastern foothills, and are preparing now to undertake a full environmental analysis of those sites. The county is also nearing completion of an analysis of the impact a combined jail and landfill facility would have on water quality if built in Coal and Gypsum canyons near the county’s border with Riverside County.

Robinson’s bill would apply to new jail construction and expansion once the sheriff in each county has certified that 20% overcrowding exists and is likely to continue.

Could Skip Requirements

Under those circumstances, county supervisors could skip certain environmental study requirements. The bill would allow grading, foundation and other site work to get under way before state correctional authorities have finished approving plans.

“This would allow the board to expedite construction,” said Robinson. “I want to get construction under way as rapidly as possible.”

Robinson said the streamlined process should not corrupt or harm the bidding process or the quality of construction because “plenty of checks and balances exist.”

He acknowledged that local officials have to face the political wrath of constituents, who generally oppose new jails in their neighborhoods. But he said he did not intend to put local elected officials on the spot by removing obstacles to jail construction plans.

Sees More Pressing Need

“I want to comply with the court order,” Robinson said.

Nestande said the sites under consideration now are remote enough that it would not be a significant problem to shortcut some environmental studies.

But he said Orange County’s most pressing need is for financing assistance to proceed with jail projects which have already completed the environmental review process and are ready for construction, including a new $60-million intake-release center near the main jail in Santa Ana and an expansion of the Theo Lacy correctional facility in Orange.

“I think it (the bill) is a very commendatory act on Robinson’s part, and I’m not at all downplaying its importance, but we cannot skate around the issue of funding,” Nestande said. He added that he wished Robinson would have introduced a bill to allocate part of the state surplus to help counties build new jail facilities.

Nestande complained that Orange County has not received its fair share in past allocations of state jail construction funds.

Robinson responded: “Tell Nestande that he should talk to (Gov.) George Deukmejian about any surplus.”

Los Angeles got $125 million and Orange County received $50.2 million under legislation written by Robinson last year which appropriated $700 million for jail construction projects in 19 counties.