Legislators Maneuver on Prison Bonds Issue

Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer on Wednesday took a step toward agreeing to place a prison building construction bond on the November ballot, but called on Gov. Pete Wilson to pile more criminals into existing prisons and pay counties to oversee nonviolent felons.

Lockyer (D-Hayward) said Democratic and Republican legislators are nearing “considerable agreement” on legislation--encompassing a proposal by Lockyer and Assemblyman Richard Rainey (R-Walnut Creek)--to reduce escalating costs of building and operating prisons.

Republican Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle, who along with Lockyer is a member of the conference committee working on prison costs that met Wednesday, echoed Lockyer, saying: “There are a lot of areas where there is common ground.”

Lockyer said he would agree to place a prison construction bond on the November ballot if the governor in turn agrees to the proposed legislation, which has been in the works for a year.

The Wilson administration is skeptical of aspects of the legislation, but also is cognizant that it has been trying for two years without success to win legislative approval to place more than $2 billion worth of bonds on a statewide ballot to build six new prisons.

Senate Democrats led by Lockyer have blocked those efforts, contending that prison spending, about 8.5% of the state budget, robs money from other programs, including public colleges and universities.

James Gomez, Wilson’s head of the California Department of Corrections, said at Wednesday’s committee hearing that unless new prisons are approved quickly, prisoners’ lawyers will sue alleging overcrowding, and that federal courts will intervene as early as 1998 and order inmates released.

“I would authorize those six prisons today,” Gomez told Lockyer.

“We’re not going to do it,” Lockyer said. “Until you move, we won’t move.”

California has 141,000 prisoners housed in 32 prisons and 38 camps. Gomez said high-security prisons cannot house more than 4,700 inmates safely. State Sen. Daniel Boatwright (D-Concord) called on Gomez to increase that number to 5,700 inmates, using all available prison space plus more triple bunking.

As part of the proposal outlined by Lockyer, the Legislature would authorize the construction of two prisons--at Delano and California City, both in Kern County. Additional prisons would be approved only after a study of ways to cut costs in prison construction.

Additionally, the state would contract to use 2,000 beds at the Mira Loma Jail in Los Angeles County. Contract talks are already underway.

The most controversial aspect of the plan by Lockyer and Rainey calls for the state to pay counties to oversee first-time felons who now serve state prison time for such crimes as minor drug sales, weapons possession, burglary, auto theft, repeat drunken driving and repeat petty theft. Their sentences could not be longer than three years.

Many would be housed in county jails. Some would be able to live at home as long as they wore electronic monitors and checked in daily with law enforcement.

Under the proposal, inmates would not be eligible to serve time in County Jail if they had a history of violent or sexual offenses.

The proposal also calls for more treatment of drug abusers and more low-security prisons for inmates who fight wildfires.

Gomez was especially skeptical of giving counties inmates who are currently sentenced to state prison. Wilson has rejected similar proposals several times in the past.

Gomez also was critical of Democrats’ call for cutting prison construction, saying it would add to the cost of running prisons. California builds the nation’s most costly prisons, at roughly $250 million each. But the prisons can be run by relatively few guards, which helps limit the cost of operations, Gomez said.

After the hearing, Lockyer, Pringle and other legislative leaders met for nearly three hours with Wilson about the state budget, including proposals for the prison bonds.

Wilson also has called for bonds for water projects, and some legislators are pushing for another school construction bond. The state Constitution says the budget must be approved by the July 1 start of the new fiscal year.