CA Legislature Sends To The Governor Ting’s Legislation To Consolidate, Close Some Prisons To Save Money

For immediate release:

Tuesday, August 27, 2024

With more budget deficits likely in the near future, state lawmakers today approved a measure to lower prison costs without risk to public safety. AB 2178 by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) sets a threshold of how many empty beds California's prison system can have, paving the way to consolidating - even closing - some facilities. Due to a declining prison population, there are currently 15,000 state prison beds not in use, incurring unnecessary staff and maintenance costs. That number is expected to grow to 19,000 by 2028.

"The surplus of beds is expensive. We're maintaining them at taxpayer expense when schools, social safety net programs, transportation and other priorities are vulnerable to budget cuts. This is irresponsible, especially in light of foreseeable budget shortfalls. My legislation promotes fiscal responsibility, saving billions of dollars," said Ting.

Consolidation and closures of facilities aim to optimize state spending and improve Corrections management - a course of action the state of New York has successfully taken and can be replicated in California without risk to public safety. In fact, the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) estimated in a recent report that our state could save $1 billion annually by closing five prisons and up to another $2 billion in capital costs by not having to fix crumbling infrastructure at sites that could be shut down.

"It is fiscally irresponsible to maintain empty prison beds at a time when thousands of Californians are facing cuts to the very social programs that keep them alive and out of crisis, such as affordable housing, food assistance, elder care, labor workforce development, and education. AB 2178 is a first of its kind policy and a smart budget solution that creates an opportunity to save billions of dollars that could be redirected to vital programs and services that keep Californians safe," said Amber-Rose Howard, Executive Director of Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB).

Pre-pandemic, when the prison population was much higher, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) stated it needed a 2,500 empty bed buffer for flexibility, which Ting's legislation calls for with gradual reductions, reaching that number in five years. In addition, the CDCR Secretary must report the system's capacity needs to the state by April 1st of every year; and in urgent cases, a request can be made to the Legislature to temporarily increase the empty bed count. This bill aims to address the disproportionate growth of CDCR's budget, which has escalated from about $10 billion a year to approximately $15 billion in recent years, despite a drop of more than 40% in the number of people incarcerated.

The Governor has until September 30, 2024 to act on all bills sent to him this month.