CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Governor to Push Inmate Initiative

Gov. George Deukmejian got the go-ahead to begin gathering voter signatures for his proposed November ballot initiative to repeal the state constitutional prohibition on the use of prison inmates by private employers. Deukmejian proposed the initiative after it became clear last year that the Democratic-dominated Assembly would defeat his plan to require some convicts to help pay their keep. Organized labor has killed similar prison labor proposals in the Legislature for decades and has announced plans to campaign against the governor’s initiative.