Bills Seek to Bolster Prison Watchdog Agency

Aiming to strengthen oversight of California’s troubled prison system, two state senators introduced a pair of bills Wednesday that would give new powers to an independent watchdog agency and make its investigative reports public.

The legislation also would ensure that the Office of the Inspector General -- gutted by funding cuts in recent years -- would have a fixed budget tied to that of the state’s $6-billion-a-year correctional system.

The bills came as the inspector general released the findings of 20 audits and other reports revealing wasteful spending and mismanagement within California prisons.

Among the audits is one showing that the cost of drugs bought by prisons more than doubled -- to $133 million -- over a three-year period, a time when the inmate population declined and pharmaceutical prices rose 22%.

That audit said the Department of Corrections did such a poor job of tracking prescriptions that prison pharmacies continued dispensing drugs to inmates who had been paroled eight months earlier. When such medications arrived and went unclaimed at prison housing units, they were thrown out.

“You can’t just leave the barn door open,” said state Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), co-author of the bills introduced Wednesday and chairwoman of an oversight committee on prisons. “It is an invitation for fraud and illicit activity. I certainly will look into this.”

Romero and other legislators said that such audits underscored the need for a strong, independent watchdog over corrections -- a need highlighted in recent weeks by disclosures of corruption in the adult prison system and an array of problems in the California Youth Authority.

Born of a scandal involving brutality by guards at Corcoran State Prison, the Inspector General’s Office reached full staffing in 2000. Since then, it has performed 48 major audits and special reviews and responded to more than 16,000 complaints from inmates, whistle-blowers and others. Its audits have identified tens of millions of dollars of potential savings to the state and disclosed numerous episodes of wrongdoing -- including the handling of a riot at Folsom State Prison that ultimately led to the firing of the warden.

At its peak, the office had a budget of $11 million and 116 employees charged with ferreting out waste and impropriety within dozens of adult and youth prisons. Over the last two years, however, the Legislature and Gov. Gray Davis cut its budget 76%, leaving it with 16 auditors -- unable to follow up on most of the tips it receives.

In his January budget proposal, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced plans to gut the office further. Calling it a waste, he proposed slashing its budget and putting it under the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency -- the agency it is charged with monitoring.

That proposal, however, drew a harsh response from legislators and other critics, who said an independent watchdog over corrections is crucial -- especially now, given the unfolding crisis in the prisons. Backers noted that the inspector general’s audits were particularly important because the Department of Corrections was notorious for overspending its budget. This fiscal year, for example, the department has asked for $540 million in additional funding.

In response to the outcry, Schwarzenegger reversed himself and said he now favored strengthening the office. Two vehicles for doing so are the bills, SB 1342 and SB 1352, introduced Wednesday by Romero and Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough). Among other things, they would:

* Require the inspector general to immediately refer any findings of criminal misconduct to the state attorney general for possible prosecution. This mandate would ensure that the watchdog reports lead to action, rather than gathering dust.

* Fix the annual budget of the office at a percentage of the budgets for the Department of Corrections and the Youth Authority. Based on proposed figures for next fiscal year, that would mean a budget for the office of about $14 million.

* Give the inspector general, a gubernatorial appointee, a 10-year term, ensuring continuity.