http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/05/04/MNG9SPL71J1.DTL
May 4, 2007
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation Thursday that will lead to a huge prison expansion with unknown but potentially dramatic long-term costs. Surrounded by law enforcement officials and lawmakers from both parties, Schwarzenegger presided over a celebratory news conference on the Capitol steps to enact plans to initially spend $7.4 billion to build 40,000 new prison beds and 13,000 new county jail beds. The cost of operating the expanded facilities is unknown, however, but expected to be in the billions. Estimates could be released later this month.
Prison officials do not know how much the proposal will eventually cost. While taxpayers will spend about $15 billion paying off the bonds used to pay for construction costs, operating the new prison beds also will add billions of dollars to a prison budget that has easily been the fastest-growing part of the state budget during Schwarzenegger's tenure.
Many prison experts argue lawmakers and the governor should have concentrated on sentencing and parole reforms that could have reduced the prison population instead of expanding a dysfunctional system.
Lawmakers Reach Deal for $7.3 Billion Prison Overhaul
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/26/MNGK7PFOMU1.DTl
April 26, 2007
Legislative leaders announced Wednesday they had reached an agreement to build 53,000 new prison and jail beds as part of a $7.3 billion construction plan aimed at appeasing federal judges threatening to take actions that could lead to the early release of inmates.
The proposal could mean a massive increase for the state's $10 billion prison system and would rival the decadelong prison building boom that began in the late 1980s. Democratic leaders emphasized that the deal will require the state's corrections department to place a new emphasis on rehabilitation programs for inmates that could lead to fewer inmates returning to prison.
But the deal, endorsed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, did not include changes to the state's criminal sentencing structure or parole system, which many experts have cited as key causes of overcrowding in
