Assembly OKs 2 Bills Offering 3 Potential Sites for State Prison

The Assembly, leaving open the question of where the state should build a penitentiary in Los Angeles County, passed two bills Tuesday offering combinations of three possible sites, two in rural parts of the county and one near downtown Los Angeles.

One measure calls for building a prison near Castaic, while the second bill would allow construction of prisons on both the controversial Crown Coach site east of downtown Los Angeles and a second in the northernmost area of the county.

Both bills are designed to end a political stalemate over the location of a prison in Los Angeles, a decision that must be made before the state can open two nearly completed prisons in San Diego and Stockton.

However, neither bill is likely to solve the long-running controversy. The Senate is virtually certain to reject any bill that places a prison near the Eastside and Gov. George Deukmejian is equally likely to veto a bill that places a prison solely in a rural area of the county.

By a vote of 41 to 34--the bare minimum needed--the Assembly passed one measure that would place a 1,700-bed prison in Castaic on county-owned property that is now the site of the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho jail facility.

Authored by newly elected Assemblywoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Los Angeles), the legislation would offer an alternative to the site east of downtown Los Angeles long sought by Deukmejian.

Roybal-Allard, whose district includes the controversial site near East Los Angeles, argued that building a prison in Castaic “is a responsible, cost-effective and long overdue solution to the problem.”

Registers Opposition

Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) whose district includes the Castaic site, opposed the bill, saying, “I’m getting a little tired and I’m offended that simply without going through any kind of a process we are going to select a site that just happens to be in Santa Clarita Valley.”

Although the Roybal-Allard bill was approved by the Assembly, opponents of the plan were granted an opportunity to seek reconsideration of the measure during a subsequent Assembly session.

Several hours later, the Assembly voted 54 to 23 to pass a bill by Assemblyman Steve Peace (D-Chula Vista) that would authorize the construction of two prisons, one on the Eastside site and a second north of Saugus and west of Lancaster. Again, the measure passed with the bare minimum necessary, in this case with the two-thirds majority needed for an urgency bill.

Deukmejian, who rarely signals his support of a bill before it reaches his desk, is backing this measure, according to a spokeswoman for the governor.

Peace, while supporting the Roybal-Allard bill, said he was offering his measure as a compromise. It would require that prisons be built in both the urban and rural areas of the county and, he said, would provide adequate environmental safeguards for both projects.

“I’d like to tell you it’s a perfect piece of legislation, but it’s not,” Peace acknowledged.

Roybal-Allard argued against passage of the bill, saying that a prison should not be built on the site near East Los Angeles because it is near a toxic waste site and within five minutes of 28 schools.

Assemblyman Burt Margolin (D-Los Angeles) also opposed the two-site bill arguing that the passage of both bills would send an inconsistent message.

“Two bills means confusion, two bills means that the state Assembly is sending a contradictory signal,” he said “It simply doesn’t make any sense.”

However, the maneuver of approving two bills allowed virtually every member of the Assembly to vote in favor of building a prison somewhere in Los Angeles County.