Governor
January 18, 2012
2012 State of the State Address
The full text from the 2012 State of the State Address given by Governor Jerry Brown in Sacramento, California on January 18, 2012...
January 11, 2012
Governor vows to take on pension reform to boost credit rating
Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday sought to ease concerns about a recent downgrade in the state's bond rating that cemented Illinois as the state with the nation's worst credit rating, saying he will push for major pension reforms this year to try to reverse it.
Quinn's comments came just days after Moody's Investors Service downgraded the state's rating from A1 to A2. The change "follows a legislative session in which the state took no steps to implement lasting solutions to its severe pension underfunding or to its chronic bill payment delays," Moody's said in its report.
The Democratic governor noted that Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings did not lower their ratings of the state's debt — they rank California as worst in the nation, with Illinois one notch above — but Quinn acknowledged the state's ranking should be improving after last year's income tax increase, not getting downgraded...
LINK - ChicagoTribune.com
December 1, 2011
Gov. Jerry Brown defends pension changes against critics
Gov. Jerry Brown stepped up Thursday to defend his proposed overhaul of the state’s public pension systems against criticism from legal experts and unions, telling lawmakers it would save money without running afoul of legal restrictions that protect retirement benefits for current employees.
Brown appeared before a legislative committee that includes lawmakers skeptical of portions of his plan. Assemblyman Warren Furutani (D-Gardena), the committee’s co-chair, was among those who said the plan may be too far reaching, but the governor indicating that his proposal was not intended as an opening bargaining position to be scaled back...
LINK - LATimes.com
October 2, 2011
Court corrects overreach on prison privatization
A circuit judge's clear-cut ruling in Tallahassee on Friday that Florida's massive plan to privatize state prisons is unconstitutional sent another powerful message to Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-controlled Legislature. They are not above the law, and they are going to lose in court when they exceed the constitutional restraints on their authority.
Leon County Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford found that a plan to privatize 29 state prisons in South Florida is unconstitutional because lawmakers wrote the change into the state budget instead of passing separate legislation. Governors from both political parties and legislatures controlled by either Republicans and Democrats similarly have been overruled by the courts over the past 40 years for using the state budget to slip in significant changes to state law. That often happens when those policy changes can't stand up to public scrutiny or don't have enough support among rank-and-file lawmakers to be approved on their own merits...
LINK - TampaBay.com
September 9, 2011
Gov Brown announces appointments to Board of Parole Hearings, Corrections Standards Authority
Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced the following appointments.
Askia Abdulmajeed, 69, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Board of Parole Hearings, Juvenile Division. Abdulmajeed has served on the Board since 2007. Abdulmajeed was a correctional chaplain in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2004 to 2006 and a program consultant for the Gates Recovery Foundation from 2002 to 2004. He served as special projects manager for Center Point, Inc., a co-ed community corrections program, from 1999 to 2002. Abdulmajeed was assistant deputy director of the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs from 1991 to 1998. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $111,845. Abdulmajeed is a Democrat...
July 1, 2011
Fmr Wasco warden Kelly Harrington appointed Assoc. Dir of High Security/Transitional Housing at CDCR
Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. today announced the following appointment:
Kelly Harrington, 47, of Bakersfield, has been appointed associate director of high security and transitional housing with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Harrington has served as the warden of Kern Valley State Prison since 2008. He served in multiple roles at Wasco State Prison from 1997 to 2008, including chief deputy warden from 2005 to 2008. Harrington served at the California Correctional Institution from 1987 to 1997. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $135,564. Harrington is a Republican.
LINK - Gov.CA.gov
June 17, 2011
Governor Vetoes State Budget
With one swoop of his veto pen, Gov. Jerry Brown placed himself at odds with both parties in the Legislature by rejecting a Democratic budget he called unbalanced and "legally questionable."
The Democratic governor's budget veto on Thursday, believed to be the first in state history, leaves the spending plan in limbo as Brown resumes his search for Republican tax votes.
Brown's rejection was not entirely surprising, given his pledge against papering over the state deficit with the types of accounting maneuvers and tax swaps in the Democratic plan. But the speed – about 16 hours after passage – seemed to catch Democratic leaders off-guard...
LINK - SacBee.com
May 17, 2011
CCPOA’s MOU bill signed by Governor Brown
Last night, after our MOU was approved by the California State Assembly, it was sent to Governor Brownʼs desk for approval. Governor Brown signed the bill into law...
May 16, 2011
CCPOA Member Alert - 5/16/2011
At approximately 1:00 pm this afternoon, the California State Assembly granted final approval to Senate Bill 151 (Correa) on its first floor vote attempt. Our MOU was able to garner the requisite 2/3 vote necessary for its passage. The bill now heads to the desk of Governor Brown for his signature.
All 52 Assembly Democrats voted “AYE” for the bill...
May 5, 2011
Groups press Brown for sentencing reforms
A team of advocacy groups is pushing Gov. Jerry Brown to include sentencing reforms in the revised state budget proposal he will unveil this month.
The three organizations - the American Civil Liberties Union of California, the Drug Policy Alliance and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights - contend that reducing charges for simple drug possession and nonviolent property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors would yield many millions of dollars in cost savings to the deficit-plagued state.
Behind their argument for downgrading the drug possession penalties are poll numbers that suggest voters agree...
LINK - CaliforniaWatch.org
April 14, 2011
Dan Morain: Brown courts union and wins over old foe
Jerry Brown spent the better part of an hour in the noonday sun at a rally of family members of murder victims, organized by California's prison officers' union.
"Governor Brown, I can't tell you enough how much it means to have you here," Mike Jimenez, the Correctional Peace Officers Association president, said in his remarks.
Brown's appearance at the rally Monday was the least of what he has done for the union and for its proxy group, Crime Victims United. In his three-plus months in office, Brown has given the 30,000-member union much of what it has sought, most importantly a new labor contract...
LINK - SacBee.com
March 16, 2011
Prison guards, governor reach contract agreement
The California Correctional Peace Officers Association, the union representing prison guards, parole agents and fire captains, announced today that its leaders have reached a contract deal with Gov. Jerry Brown, ending years of uncertainty for its members.
The 31,000-member CCOPA has been working under a contract imposed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger since 2007, when talks with the former governor broke down. The latest deal, reached at 5 a.m. today, is likely a big relief for both sides -- Brown came into office with a handful of outstanding union contracts, the CCPOA's the most closely watched.
Perhaps most importantly for the deficit-plagued state is the fact that the deal will end three-day-a-week furloughs imposed on the prison workers by Schwarzenegger...
LINK - SFGate.com
March 15, 2011
Contract Agreement Reached
After the roughly 3 month contract negotiation process with Governor Brown’s administration, we have reached a tentative agreement on a successor MOU at 5 a.m. The tentative agreement expires July 2, 2013 and contains enhancements as well as concessions...
March 1, 2011
Gov Brown Revises Budget Changes at CDCR for Paroles, DJJ
Gov. Jerry Brown altered his proposal to realign certain state and local government responsibilities Monday after criticism from local law enforcement authorities but still expects substantial savings in the years ahead if the Legislature approves the plan.
The state would continue to oversee more dangerous parolees and juvenile offenders rather than having them placed in county jails or monitored by local officials, aides to the Democratic governor said. Under the administration's revised plan, counties would focus on handling lower-risk offenders and parolees.
Pushing some corrections and law enforcement-related functions to local governments was one way Brown sought to save money as California faces a $26.6 billion deficit...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
February 21, 2011
Brown praises Legislature for tough cuts
Gov. Jerry Brown praised legislators for making "very tough cuts" as they concluded committee work Friday on his budget proposal, and said he still hopes that his plan to extend current taxes will get on the June ballot.
Earlier, the two legislative bodies wrapped up work on their own versions of the budget, setting up what's expected to be intense negotiations in the days ahead as they strive to meet Brown's goal of $12 billion in cuts and $14 billion in tax extensions to resolve the state's $26.6 billion deficit.Brown said he wants a deal in place by March 10...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
February 7, 2011
Cooley Blasts Governor’s Budget Plan, Baca More Receptive
Sheriff Lee Baca and District Attorney Steve Cooley, Los Angeles County’s two top public safety officials, differed markedly Friday on the merits of Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budgetary “realignment” aimed at closing the state’s $25.4 billion dollar budget deficit.
Cooley strongly opposed the plan as it applied to law enforcement. Brown’s proposals include $12.5 billion in cuts and providing another $12.5 billion in revenues through a ballot initiative that would extend certain existing tax rates past their impending sunset dates. The governor has also spoken of “realigning” state programs to counties—including parole, “low-level criminals” and juvenile justice...
LINK - MetNews.com
January 28, 2011
LAO Report: Governor’s Realignment Plan - Criminal Justice
The centerpiece of the Governor’s budget proposal is a major realignment of state and local program responsibilities that would be subject to voter approval.
Specifically, the Governor’s plan would raise $5.9 billion in taxes to fund the shift of a like amount to counties to implement increased program responsibilities. In the area of criminal justice, these programs include:
- Court security.
- Various public safety grant programs.
- Jurisdiction of lower-level adult offenders.
- Jurisdiction of parole violators.
- Adult parole.
- Jurisdiction of remaining juvenile offenders.
Click the link below to read the full report...
January 11, 2011
Memo from Chuck Alexander re: Proposed 2011-2012 Budget
The Governor's proposed 2011-2012 state budget has been released and the highlights are attached for your information. As anticipated, there are some dramatic proposals relative to the CDCR. Again, this is the proposed budget and as such will now begin the dialog between all impacted and or interested parties prior to it becoming a final product.
We have had several meetings with various Administrative representatives including the Governor's Office and the Department of Finance and have more scheduled over the next few weeks. CCPOA has, and will continue to offer viable alternatives to the CDCR proposals that are contained in today's budget proposal. Based on discussions thus far, we are cautiously optimistic that compromises we propose may supplant many of these initial proposals...
January 6, 2011
The State Worker: Three views of Brown’s labor boss
A gubernatorial appointment can be the political equivalent of a Rorschach test: Everyone sees it but assigns different meanings.
Take Gov. Jerry Brown's appointment of retired labor attorney Ronald Yank to direct the Department of Personnel Administration.
The position oversees labor negotiations covering roughly 200,000 state employees. DPA also handles labor disputes, such as the ongoing court fight over state worker furloughs...
LINK - SacBee.com
January 5, 2011
CA Gov. Proposes Moving State Inmates to Local Jails
California’s new Governor Jerry Brown will propose moving low-level offenders from state prisons to county jails as part of his plan to reduce the state’s $28 billion deficit.
Brown has not yet announced the specifics behind his county jail proposal.
In order to reduce overcrowding and improve medical services in the state prison system, a federal court ruled that California must reduce its state prison population by 30,000. The U.S. Supreme Court will rule in early 2011 on whether to upheld the lower federal court’s ruling and force the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to decrease its inmate population...
LINK - CorrectionalNews.com
January 4, 2011
Ronald Yank will be Jerry Brown’s personnel director
The State Worker has learned that a labor attorney who has represented the state prison officers' union will be tapped by Gov. Jerry Brown to run the Department of Personnel Administration.
We'd heard buzz from Monday's inaugural festivities that Ronald Yank would be named to head the department, so we asked this morning. Lynelle Jolley, department spokeswoman, confirmed, but said she had no other details.
Yank's appointment, which could be announced today, sends a strong signal that Brown is eager to get a contract deal done with the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. Yank has represented CCPOA as an attorney with Carroll, Burdick & McDonough LLP...
LINK - SacBee.com
December 28, 2010
Schwarzenegger promise to blow up boxes fizzled
It was the kind of over-the-top pledge Californians had come to expect from the Hollywood action star they had elevated to the governor's office in their unprecedented political revolt: Arnold Schwarzenegger wouldn't just rearrange the boxes of a bloated state bureaucracy, he would "blow them up."
The "Governator," who rode voter discontent into office during the 2003 recall election, said he would streamline a wasteful government to trim its cost, consolidate departments with overlapping responsibilities and eliminate unneeded boards and commissions.
As Schwarzenegger prepares to leave office in January, most of the boxes survive. Some have been rearranged, some have expanded, and at least one restructuring has been criticized for causing more harm than good...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
December 20, 2010
Dan Morain: Brown, prison union walking hand-in-hand
Jerry Brown is preparing to dance with the ones who brung him, specifically 31,000 members of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association.
Jilted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the union cozied up to Brown by spending $1.4 million to help elect him. It was part of an effort to regain some of the dominance it once had in the Capitol and win a labor contract, after having operated without one since 2006.
Brown has responded, giving union leaders VIP treatment at his invitation-only election night party in Oakland and flying to Las Vegas earlier this month to address the union's convention...
LINK - SacBee.com
December 6, 2010
Jerry Brown to address correctional officers’ convention
Gov.-elect Jerry Brown is speaking at the California Correctional Peace Officers Association convention today. His appearance, announced this morning on the convention floor at the Rio All-Suite Hotel in Las Vegas, was confirmed by Brown spokesman Sterling Clifford a few minutes ago.
Brown has spoken to more than a dozen interest groups so far, according to Clifford, who said, "He's carrying a message of the seriousness of the budget situation."
Despite the grim message, Brown's appearance in Las Vegas signals a turn in management-labor relations for CCPOA. The union has been out of contract since mid-2006 and under terms imposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger since late 2007. Its relationship with the governor has alternated between public recriminations and stone-cold silence, punctuated with furlough lawsuits and several dozen unfair labor practice complaints against Schwarzenegger and his policies...
LINK - SacBee.com
November 15, 2010
“Experts” opine on Gov-elect Brown and CDCR budget cuts
In light of a diminishing budget and court orders to reduce overcrowding, Gov.-elect Jerry Brown is expected to continue the cost-cutting and population reducing measures already under way for the state prison system.
State officials plan to cut $1.1 billion from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation this fiscal year, according to a budget report from the state Legislative Analyst's Office. Prison officials are also considering cuts to corrections officer staffing as well as implementing a 12-hour workday for the officers in response to the shrinking budget.
Jerry Evans, a Brown spokesman, said it's too early to provide detailed comments on Brown's plan for dealing with an overcrowded prison system...
LINK - DailyBulletin.com
November 12, 2010
Schwarzenegger: Lawmakers, voters get budget blame
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday pointed the finger at lawmakers and California voters for the $6 billion deficit in the state budget he signed just a month ago.
The Republican governor sought to deflect blame for the deficit, even though the rosy revenue assumptions he and lawmakers used were widely reported when they approved the $86.6 billion spending plan and Schwarzenegger signed it on Oct. 8.
"I think that the Legislature, as you know, did not finish their job the last time," he told reporters Friday. He said he proposed $12.5 billion in cuts, but they agreed to cut only $7.5 billion...
LINK - SignonSanDiego.com
November 8, 2010
Letter to CCPOA Members: November 8, 2010
With the ballots counted, we can now say that this past Tuesday’s election was a very good one for CCPOA’s endorsed candidates. Candidates endorsed by CCPOA won in 104 of 107 races! More importantly, with so many representatives and the Governor‐elect Brown sharing the ideals and concerns of CCPOA members, it is now possible to move forward on our agenda for growth and change...
October 21, 2010
eBAY AUCTION OF “BOBBLE-HEAD MEG”
WEST SACRAMENTO, CA – Is your bobble-head collection missing a critical piece? The California Correction Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) may have just what you need. In response to popular demand, CCPOA today announced an auction for the sale of the Meg Whitman bobble-head doll and related items from its popular “Meg for Meg” campaign video.
“With over 100,000 viewings so far, ‘Meg for Meg’ has gone viral,” said CCPOA spokesman JeVaughn Baker. “With the incredible popularity of the video, we decided to give fans a chance to buy the actual bobble-head. They get a piece of political history and the money goes to help those in need,” Baker said...
October 18, 2010
Schwarzenegger blames CCPOA for pension-reduction delay
It was an unexpected glimpse at what went through Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's mind the night the fragile state budget vote was in jeopardy.
Schwarzenegger said in his weekly radio address that he was in his office at 2 a.m. when an aide told him fellow Republicans were blocking his pension reform measure; the governor was short Republican votes.
"You mean Democratic votes," Schwarzenegger said he told Legislative Secretary Michael Prosio. "He replied, 'No, no, no, no. We are short of Republican votes.' "
Schwarzenegger eventually prevailed, but not until dispatching his personal assistant, Daniel Ketchell, to Secretary of State Debra Bowen's house, knocking on her door at 3 a.m. to obtain a signature needed to call a special session of the Legislature...
LINK - SacBee.com
October 14, 2010
FLIPFLOPPING MEG WHITMAN WILL SAY AND DO ANYTHING TO GET ELECTED!
ON VOTING
FLIP: Meg said she didn’t vote until 2002 because “I was focused on raising my family.”
(Associated Press, 9/29/09)
FLOP: While “raising” her family, Meg did find time to run billion dollar companies and hire fulltime nannies, maids and other servants to care for her kids.
(San Francisco Chronicle, 10/5/10)
JOBS & OUTSOURCING
FLIP: Meg has promised to create 2 million new private sector jobs if elected governor.
(Meg Whitman: Meg 2010 Policy Agenda)
FLOP: At eBay, Meg laidoff 10% of the employees (eBay Press Release, 10/6/08) and now 40% of eBay jobs are overseas.
(Los Angeles Examiner, 6/17/10)
As candidate for governor, Meg has pledged to layoff 40,000 state workers!
(Associated Press, 4/15/10)
October 11, 2010
EXECUTIVE ORDER S-01-10
WHEREAS immediate and comprehensive action to reduce current spending must be taken to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that the essential services of the State are not jeopardized and the public health and safety is preserved; and
WHEREAS the State’s employee attrition rate is approximately 12 percent per year due to employee retirements and separations from service; and
LINK - Read the FULL Executive Order @ gov.CA.gov
October 4, 2010
Memo: Today’s California Supreme Court ruling upholding the furloughs
At my request, our legal team prepared the following short summary of today's 84-page decision by the California Supreme Court:
The Supreme Court issued a decision today in three cases relating to the Governor and Department of Personnel Administration's ("DPA") February 2009 furloughs program on State workers. CCPOA was not a party to those cases, but the Court's decision may have some impact on cases we have filed on behalf of the members.
The Court ruled against the Governor and DPA on every ground they relied on for implementing the furloughs. The Court stated that there was no legal authority to take such action. Nonetheless, the Court ruled that the Legislature legitimized the furloughs through its February 20, 2009 passage of a revised budget...
October 4, 2010
Whitman’s Ties to Private Prisons
PRIVATE PRISON ISSUES
Public Safety Threatened
Less than a year after the AZ DOC Director made the above comment, three convicted killers escaped from an Arizona private prison resulting in a nation-wide manhunt. One escapee shot at police in Colorado and the others murdered two people in New Mexico.
CCPOA released a study over a ten year period which showed private prisons had 20 times the escapes from secure facilities than all of CDCR, which had tens of thousands more inmates.
California Liability Increased
The families of the couple murdered by the private prison escapees filed a multi-million dollar suit against the state of Arizona which contracted with the private prison. California will have greatly increased liability under Whitman’s private prison plan...
October 1, 2010
Calling All CCPOA Members: CCPOA 4 Jerry
WE NEED YOU! November 2nd is right around the corner and the 2010 Governor's Race is the most important battle we have ever faced. We MUST win!
September 28, 2010
2010 General Election Endorsement
CCPOA's Official Endorsements for the 2010 California General Election
Senate and Assembly candidates by district/location, Statewide candidates and Proposition 22...
September 22, 2010
CCPOA Member Alert: Gov Candidate Positions
Meg Whitman v. Jerry Brown on the Issues that affect California state workers and BU6 the most.
Meg Whitman:
• Collective Bargaining:
Whitman also said the extension of collective bargaining rights
to state workers in 1977 was "probably not a good thing."
Source: Sacramento Bee, 9/20/2010• On State Employees:
“Well, I know, from my experience, that almost any
organization, you can lay off 10 percent of the
bureaucracy, and actually -- maybe it's easier, actually,
with fewer people, and it will not be a hardship on the
state. And, so, that would say that you want to lay off
between 30,000 and 40,000 people.”
Source: CNN, 5/18/2009
September 22, 2010
Supervisory Update: September 22, 2010 (Governor’s Race)
Dear Supervisory Member,
If you need any evidence to demonstrate just how important the upcoming election is to our profession you need to look further than Meg Whitman’s quotes (below) over the last two days. I seriously doubt that this is a coincidence considering we just came out in support of Jerry Brown for Governor. If her quotes are in fact coincidence then I personally am glad we are not supporting her...
September 21, 2010
Whitman willing to take pension cutbacks to the ballot box
Republican gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman said Monday that she would place pension cutbacks on the ballot if negotiations with state workers fail and would consider using her personal fortune not only to win office but to advance her agenda if elected.
Taking the issue to voters is "not my first choice," she told The Bee's editorial board. "But if we have to … this is an issue we have got to take up."
The former eBay CEO and billionaire said she "possibly" would put her own money behind a ballot measure campaign...
September 20, 2010
Whitman proposes reduced pensions for correctional officers and privatized prisons
Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman told The Sacramento Bee editorial board this morning that, if elected, she'll negotiate with the three biggest public employee unions to create 401(k)-style retirement plans for new state workers.
She also said she would "take a whack" at reining in the state's prison costs, including moving prisoners to other states and cutting prison health care costs.
She added that she would seek pension reforms for prison guards, while other public safety employees would be exempt from such changes...
LINK - SacBee.com Capitol Alert Blog
CLICK HERE to see video clips from the Meg Whitman interview with the Sacramento Bee.
June 11, 2010
State Supreme Court to review worker furloughs
The state Supreme Court said Wednesday that it would review two of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's moves to slash state spending without legislative approval - cutting nearly $500 million from the budget and furloughing 200,000 state employees three days a month.
In separate orders, the court granted a hearing to Democratic leaders and social service agencies appealing Schwarzenegger's July 2009 line-item vetoes and broadened its review of the governor's furlough authority.
Schwarzenegger ordered most state employees to take two days a month off without pay in February 2009 and added a third furlough day in July, saying the state would save $1.4 billion a year...
LINK - SFGate.com
June 10, 2010
State agency rejects Schwarzenegger’s latest death penalty plan
In an unexpected development, a state agency has rejected California's new methodology for putting condemned inmates to death by lethal injection, and has given corrections officials until Oct. 6 to resubmit their proposal.
The decision by the Office of Administrative Law came Tuesday in a 21-page "decision of disapproval of regulatory action" and is the latest setback for the Schwarzenegger administration's beleaguered effort to resume executions.
The obscure agency is part of the state's executive branch and is run by two people appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. It "ensures that … regulations are clear, necessary, legally valid, and available to the public," according to its mission statement...
LINK - FresnoBee.com
May 18, 2010
Legislative Analyst’s Office: May Budget Revision Report
In the May Revision, the administration estimates that California must address a $17.9 billion gap between current-law resources and expenditures in the 2010‑11 General Fund budget. In our view, the administration’s estimate is reasonable...
May 14, 2010
The Governor’s May Budget Revision
As you know, the Governor released his May Revision to the budget this afternoon. As in January, the proposal needs to solve an approximately $20 billion deficit. As expected the Governor proposes to solve most of the problem through cuts.
The major action in the corrections budget is to transfer certain “non-serious, nonviolent and non-sex offenders” to local government. Under his proposal, approximately 15,000 inmates would be kept in the counties (forcing a line number of jail inmates to the streets). He would provide the counties with half of the state savings resulting from the transfers. This proposal is a new version of his January proposal to make certain crimes misdemeanors only. The major difference is that under the new plan he is providing locals with money—an element that was not included in the January proposal. Nevertheless, the impact on public safety will be similar—15,000 jail inmates will be forced to be released to make room in the jails for the state inmates...
April 22, 2010
Supreme Court rejects Schwarzenegger furlough consolidation
The California Supreme Court has rejected Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's request that it take up seven key furlough lawsuits now in two appellate courts and freeze more than a dozen others in trial courts around the state. The decision ends the possibility for a relatively quick resolution to about two dozen furlough lawsuits in courts around the state.
The court posted the decision on its website this morning: "The application to transfer and consolidate appeals now pending in the Court of Appeal to this court is denied." Justice Joyce Kennard dissented.
Schwarzenegger is embroiled in 25 active lawsuits in various stages of litigation in courts from Sacramento to Los Angeles. On Mar. 2, his attorneys asked the state's high court to consolidate and review seven cases related to the governor's furlough authority, including a three Alameda Superior Court decisions on "special fund" workers that the administration lost and has appealed...
LINK - SacBee.com
April 12, 2010
Critics say new California parole policy is costly, dangerous
On a Wednesday morning last month, Nicole Clements walked into her Sacramento parole agent's office about 9:40 and signed a one-page document.
The "Notification of Non-Revocable Parole Requirements" spelled out the rules for the 37-year-old Clements, who had been on parole for identity theft and has a history of arrests or citations for drug, theft and other crimes.
"You do not have a parole agent," the document states. "You do not have a requirement to report to a parole office..."
LINK - SacBee.com
March 25, 2010
More on Whitman support for private prisons
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown has accused GOP challenger Meg Whitman of offering "snake oil" to voters, saying her promises to fully fund education, build prisons and protect law enforcement pensions - while cutting taxes - is a "gross misrepresentation" of California's fiscal crisis.
In his toughest attack yet on the former eBay CEO, the state attorney general and former two-term governor told a gathering of law enforcement officials on Wednesday that with the state confronting its most critical budget problems in decades, "this is not time for glib, scripted, consultant-driven, empty programs."
"Now more than ever, we need to collaborate," he said of the need for all parties in the state to work together on its most-pressing problems. "It's time for straight talk..."
LINK - SFGate.com
March 10, 2010
Schwarzenegger orders change in parole file policy
State prison officials, drawing fire for destroying the parole file of a man under scrutiny in the disappearances of two teenage girls, reversed their recordkeeping policy Tuesday on orders from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
John Albert Gardner III was charged last week in the suspected killing of Chelsea King, 17, of Poway and is a person of interest, police say, in the slaying of Amber Dubois, 14, who disappeared on her way to school more than a year ago. Her skeletal remains were found Saturday in northern San Diego County.
A convicted sex offender, Gardner, 30, was discharged from parole in 2008, and his file was purged after a year under departmental policy...
LINK - LATimes.com
March 4, 2010
State prison cuts could backfire, report says
Recent cuts to California prison programs could result in more former inmates returning to prison and an increase in prison crowding, according to a draft state report.
The report from the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board, charged with overseeing rehabilitation programs, appears to contradict contentions by state prison officials who have said the budget cuts would not affect recidivism rates and will make prison programs more effective.
The report warns that the $250 million cut from inmate programs this year "may well mean that the hoped for reduction in recidivism will not be achieved any time soon," and that without those reductions "it seems likely that California will be unable to get control of the inmate population crisis..."
LINK - SFGate.com
March 1, 2010
New legislation to prevent Governor’s early inmate release plan from impacting counties
A state Assemblyman has introduced legislation to ensure that a recently enacted law allowing the early release of nonviolent offenders would only apply to state prisons, not county jails.
The original law, a cost-saving measure that officials expect will allow about 6,500 state prisoners to be released early over the next year, has caused confusion at the local level and prompted several lawsuits. Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont, said his proposal will make it clear that the early release provision is only meant to alleviate overcrowding at state prisons.
"It's not meant to apply to local inmates, period," he said. "We are dealing with a state crisis."...
LINK - SFGate.com
February 25, 2010
Poizner: Union power needs to be curbed ‘once and for all’
GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner spoke at the Yolo County Lincoln Day dinner on Tuesday, promoting "four major reforms" that he says "are the basis of my whole campaign."
Three of the four: Fix the water crisis, cut taxes and stop illegal immigration. The other?
"What we need to do is curb public employee union power once and for all. Now, the fact is public employee unions, public employee unions are a small percentage of the population and they have the lion's share of the political power. It's a fact...
LINK - SacBee.com
February 25, 2010
Schwarzenegger, Whitman back away from ballot measure to cut pension costs
Despite their full-throated support for cutting public employee pension costs, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the leading GOP candidate to replace him, Meg Whitman, have backed away from supporting a ballot measure that would do just that.
Their decisions, part of the complex calculus of California politics, are the death knell for the initiative drafted the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility. The Citrus Heights-based group had courted both the governor and the former eBay CEO.
"The governor felt he'd be a hindrance to us," said Marcia Fritz, president of the Citrus Heights-based foundation. "Meg is not supporting us. That's pretty much it."
The foundation qualified the measure for signature collection late last year, thinking Schwarzenegger or Whitman would lend a hand, maybe even write a few checks...
LINK - SacBee.com
February 5, 2010
Early inmate release returns spousal abusers, prostitutes, car theives & drug offenders to comm
A new state law allowing for the early release of inmates includes those who have been convicted of crimes ranging from misdemeanor spousal abuse, vehicle theft, and felony assault with force likely to produce great bodily harm.
Inmates doing time for misdemeanor assault and battery, prostitution or embezzlement also stand to benefit under the new law – in addition to lower-level drug and DUI offenders.
The new law, which went into effect Jan. 25 and has resulted in the early release of nearly 300 inmates in Orange County, applies only to "low-risk" offenders, but the category is broad…
LINK - OCRegister.com
February 5, 2010
Our View: Feeling safe about prisoners’ early release
It's not just Californians - or even Californians with a weather eye on our state's budget mess - who are bothered by the fact that we spend too much to lock up too many in our prisons.
And it's not just progressives who worry about the side-effects of locking up hundreds of thousands with very little effort made to "rehabilitate" them.
It's no less a personage than Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. While he's sometimes seen as aligned with a moderate wing on the high court, it was Kennedy, after all, who wrote the recent ruling allowing big business to go back to contributing cash in big ways to political campaigns. So he's no Tom Hayden…
LINK - PasadenaNews.com
February 3, 2010
Ventura County forced to released over 100 inmates so far under Gov’s early release legislation
Ventura County jail officials have begun releasing many inmates earlier than previously expected, to comply with a new state law that gives nonviolent offenders more time credits for good behavior.
Since the law took effect Jan. 25, the Ventura County Sheriff's Department has released 188 inmates early under its provisions, sheriff's officials said Wednesday. That figure represents almost 13 percent of the average total inmate population in county jails. Of the 188, 113 were released on the first day the law took effect.
The law also led to the early release of 22 people in the Ventura County Probation Agency's Work Furlough program, said Chief Probation Officer Karen Staples. The program allows certain inmates to work during the day and return to custody at night…
LINK - VCStar.com
February 1, 2010
Editorial: Gov’s Mexican prison idea a joke?
Governor, tell us you're joking about building state prisons in Mexico.
More absurd ideas may have arisen out of the Capitol in recent history, but none quite so impossibly impractical has made it out the mouth of a governor not nicknamed Moonbeam.
First, the context. This wasn't something Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger muttered in the gym locker room, though for all we know that's where the idea originated. (The governor's office remains coy about exactly who came up with this notion of sending thousands of undocumented inmates to specially built prisons south of the border.)
This was a straight-faced statement at the Sacramento Press Club, where the governor knew he was on the record…
LINK - FresnoBee.com
January 28, 2010
Private prison company CCA finds gold in CA (thanks, Gov)
In the intensifying debate over budget-driven releases of state prison inmates, the state's cash problems are well known. But at least one private correctional company is reaping major rewards.
In three years, a private-prison construction and management company, the Corrections Corporation of America, has seen the value of its contracts with the state soar from nearly $23 million in 2006 to about $700 million three months ago – all without competitive bidding. Even in a state accustomed to high-dollar contracts, the 31-fold increase over three years is dramatic.
During the same period, the company's campaign donations rose exponentially, from $36,750 in 2006, of which $25,000 went to the state Republican Party, to $233,500 in 2007-08 and nearly $139,000 in 2009. The donations have gone to Democrats, Republicans and ballot measures. The company's largest single contribution, $100,000, went to an unsuccessful budget-reform package pushed last year by Gov. Schwarzenegger…
LINK - CapitolWeekly.net
January 27, 2010
Sen. Tom Harman, Atty Gen candidate on Gov’s early release plan
In his recent State of the State address, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger addressed our fiscal deficits. He lamented that the budget for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has doubled on his watch.
Moreover, the governor is tired of California being a donor state. Recent estimates suggest that California gets back 78 cents for every tax dollar sent to Washington. His answer?: "We need to work with the federal government to build a more fair and equitable financial relationship."
I couldn't agree more. One obvious place to start has been staring California in the face for years — illegal immigrants in our prisons. While in Washington D.C. this week, Schwarzenegger should be sure to include this important issue in his discussions with federal leaders…
LINK - DailyPilot.com
January 26, 2010
Schwarzenegger, Mexico and private prisons?
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday that the state could save $1 billion by building and operating prisons in Mexico to house undocumented felons who are currently imprisoned in California.
The governor floated the idea during an appearance at the Sacramento Press Club in response to a question about controlling state spending. His speech came on the same day that changes in prisoner parole and credits for time served took effect.
"We pay them to build the prisons down in Mexico and then we have those undocumented immigrants be down there in a prison. … And all this, it would be half the cost to build the prisons and half the cost to run the prisons," Schwarzenegger said, predicting it would save the state $1 billion that could be spent on higher education…
LINK - SFGate.com
January 26, 2010
Costs for CCA’s out-of-state private prisoner contract soars
The price tag for California's out-of-state prisoners has jumped in three years from $20 million in late 2006, to $630 million in 2009-10.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) as well as the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) addressed rising out-of-state prisoner costs in a recent hearing by the Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review.
California was ordered in 2006 by the federal government to relieve the overcrowding in California prisons, which at the time, was nearly 200 percent of planned prison capacity, according to Scott Kernan with the CDCR. The recent final federal order was issued Jan. 13, 2010 by a three-judge District Court panel requiring a cut in prison population to 137.5 percent of design capacity within two years — a reduction of approximately 40,000 inmates…
LINK - CalWatchDog.com
January 26, 2010
Governor looks south of the border for prisons
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Monday that the state could save $1 billion by building and operating prisons in Mexico to house undocumented felons who are currently imprisoned in California.
The governor floated the idea during an appearance at the Sacramento Press Club in response to a question about controlling state spending. His speech came on the same day that changes in prisoner parole and credits for time served took effect.
"We pay them to build the prisons down in Mexico and then we have those undocumented immigrants be down there in a prison. … And all this, it would be half the cost to build the prisons and half the cost to run the prisons," Schwarzenegger said, predicting it would save the state $1 billion that could be spent on higher education…
LINK - SFGate.com (The San Francisco Gate)
January 25, 2010
Gov wants to build private prisons in Mexico for CA’s criminal aliens
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger floated an unusual suggestion Monday on how to cut the state's bloated prison costs with a private venture — build a private prison in Mexico.
"We pay them to build the prison down in Mexico, and then we have those undocumented immigrants be down there in prison," Schwarzenegger told a gathering of the Sacramento Press Club. "And with the prison guards and all this, it would be half the cost."
The governor's remark came amid alarm from law enforcement and crime victim groups about a new program meant to thin the state's prison population through early release…
LINK - KCRA.com
January 25, 2010
Prison Plan Reduces 30,000 Less Inmates Than Estimated
Instead of reducing prison overcrowding by 43,500 inmates, Schwarzenegger administration policy changes and legislation signed in October to thin the state's inmate population will only result in a 13,400 decrease in inmates over two years, the Legislative Analyst said in a report issued January 25.
That total is well short of the maximum number of inmates set two weeks ago by a federal three-judge panel which ordered the state to lower its prison population from roughly 168,000 to 128,000. California is appealing the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the budget plan he presented January 8, the GOP governor proposes sending persons with no prior violent offenses who are convicted of various property and drug felonies to county jails for up to 366 days. Schwarzenegger says that would reduce the number of state prison inmates by 15,100 – when fully implemented…
LINK - CaliforniasCapitol.com
January 25, 2010
Schwarzenegger: Send illegal immigrant inmates to Mexico
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday offered yet another way California can save on incarcerating illegal immigrants: send them to Mexico.
The Republican governor said he will not raise taxes for a second year in a row during a speech at the Sacramento Press Club. Instead, he suggested that the state can find plenty of money in other ways such as cutting pension costs, allowing offshore oil drilling and lowering prison expenditures.
Schwarzenegger's budget plan calls for an $880 million infusion from the federal government to pay for housing illegal immigrant prisoners who have committed crimes in California. The governor also wants to rely more on private prison companies to run the state's corrections facilities…
LINK - SacBee.com
January 25, 2010
Schwarzenegger coming after unions - again
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has put organized labor squarely in his cross-hairs in 2010, opening a fight that will largely determine the shape of his final year in office.
Schwarzenegger's proposals would cut the size of the union workforce, reduce pay, shrink future pensions and roll back job protections won through collective bargaining.
Labor and the unions' Democratic allies are already girding for battle.
"It's a continuing jihad against organized labor," said Steve Maviglio, a Sacramento-based Democratic strategist. "The governor thinks public employee unions are Enemy No. 1."…
LINK - LATimes.com
January 25, 2010
California inmate release plan begins
The state's controversial plan to reduce its prison population by 6,500 inmates over the next year begins today, with victims and law enforcement groups once again warning it will increase crime.
"We are concerned for the public's safety," said Christine Ward, director of the Crime Victims Action Alliance in Sacramento.
"We understand that this is a move by the Legislature to help relieve prison overcrowding and save money in the budget. But we're very disappointed that public safety seems to have taken a back seat to other issues."
The idea, which opponents label an "early-release" plan, was hammered out last year during contentious budget talks…
LINK - SacBee.com
January 21, 2010
Gov appoints new heads for CDCR in parole, labor relations, institutions, programs, BPH, CCCJ
01/21/2010 GAAS:50:10 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Gov. Schwarzenegger Announces Appointments
Official Press Release at gov.ca.gov
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the following appointments:
Robert Ambroselli, 43, of Roseville, has been appointed director of the Division of Adult Parole Operations for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Since 2007, he has served as deputy director of the Division of Adult Parole Operations for CDCR. Ambroselli previously served CDCR as regional parole administrator in 2007, associate director from 2006 to 2007, parole administrator I from 2002 to 2006, parole agent III from 2001 to 2002, parole agent II and assistant unit supervisor for the interstate unit from 2000 to 2001, and parole agent II and corrections compact coordinator for the Interstate Unit in 2000. Prior to that, he was a parole agent I for the fugitive apprehension unit from 1998 to 2000 and for the Bakersfield parole unit from 1996 to 1998. Ambroselli was a correctional officer for North Kern State Prison from 1994 to 1996 and Pelican Bay State Prison from 1990 to 1994. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $135,564. Ambroselli is a Republican.
Tony Campos, 66, of Watsonville, has been appointed to the California Council on Criminal Justice. He has served on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors since 1999 and has owned and been a real estate broker for Caldwell Banker Campos since 1979. Previously, Campos served as a member of the Watsonville City Council from 1987 to 1998 and served as mayor in 1993 and again in 1994. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Campos is a Democrat.
Steven Caruso, 57, of Sacramento, has been appointed assistant secretary for labor relations for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Since 2008, he has served as director of resident programs for the Sacramento Mutual Housing Association. Previously, Caruso was the executive director for Family Promise of Sacramento from 2007 to 2008, senior consultant for Lincoln Crow Strategic Communications from 2005 to 2006 and executive director of the Elk Grove Community Food Bank from 2002 to 2007. He served as founder and president of Caruso and Company Professional Management Group from 1992 to 2006. Prior to that, Caruso was a consultant for Blanning and Baker Associates from 1988 to 1992, director of labor relations training for the California Correctional Peace Officers Association from 1986 to1988, deputy executive director for the California Commission on the Teaching Professions from 1984 to 1986 and senior staff consultant for J. Lewis Associates in 1983. He serves on the Alchemist Community Development Corporation's Board of Directors. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $105,060. Caruso is a Democrat.
George Giurbino, 50, of Represa, has been appointed director of the Division of Adult Institutions for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Since 2006, he has served as associate director of high security and transitional housing program institutions for the Division of Adult Institutions for CDCR. Giurbino served as warden of Centinela State Prison (CEN) and acting warden of Calipatria State Prison from 2000 to 2006. Prior to that, he was chief deputy warden of CEN in 2000 and assistant regional administrator for the San Diego region in the Institutions Division for CDCR in 1999. Giurbino served CEN as associate warden for business services in 1998, associate warden for housing services from 1997 to 1998, facility captain in 1997, investigative captain for correctional institutions and acting associate warden for housing services from 1995 to 1997 and correctional captain for custody operation from 1993 to 1995. From 1980 to 1993, he was a correctional officer for the California Rehabilitation Center. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $135,564. Giurbino is a Republican.
Roman Nava, 39, of Chino Hills, has been appointed to the California Council on Criminal Justice. Since 2005, he has been district director and small business liaison for San Bernardino County Supervisor Gary Ovitt. Previously, Nava served as a district representative for Assemblymember Bob Pacheco from 1999 to 2004 and assistant to the chief deputy appointments secretary for the Office of Governor Pete Wilson from 1996 to 1999. He is a member of the board of directors for Chino Hills Parks and Recreation Committee and Chino Valley Fire Foundation. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Nava is a Republican.
Robert Peppler, 57, of Fairfax, has been appointed to the Board of Parole Hearings. He served as assistant director of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2005 to 2008. Prior to that, Peppler served the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department as undersheriff from 1997 to 2005, assistant sheriff from 1996 to 1997, deputy chief from 1995 to 1996, captain from 1991 to 1995, lieutenant from 1987 to 1991, sergeant from 1985 to 1987, detective from 1982 to 1985 and deputy sheriff from 1978 to 1982. He was a police officer with the Hinsdale Police Department in Illinois from 1976 to 1977. Peppler served in the U.S. Air Force from 1971 to 1975. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $111,845. Peppler is a Republican.
Elizabeth Siggins, 39, of Sacramento, has been appointed chief deputy secretary for adult programs for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). She has served CDCR as senior policy advisor to the secretary since 2008. Prior to that, Siggins was policy director for the Office of the Inspector General from 2007 to 2008. She served the California State Senate Rules Committee as principal consultant in 2007 and policy consultant from 2001 to 2003. From 2004 to 2007, Siggins was assistant secretary and chief for juvenile justice for CDCR and, from 2003 to 2004, was executive director for City Youth Now. She was a research consultant for community based services for the Edgewood Center for Children and Families Institute from 1997 to 1999, program coordinator for Peer Education and Violence Prevention Program Hospital Audiences from 1992 to 1997 and assistant to the executive director for the Bay Area Women's and Children's Center from 1989 to 1991. This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $141,816. Siggins is registered decline-to-state.
Richard Subia, 48, of Folsom, has been appointed deputy director for the Division of Adult Institutions for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). He has served as associate director of general population II and III for the Division of Adult Institutions for CDCR since 2008 and previously served as acting associate director of general population II and III in 2007. >From 2006 to 2007, Subia was acting warden at the Mule Creek State Prison (MCSP). Prior to that, he served CDCR headquarters as correctional administrator and chief deputy administrator to the undersecretary and secretary from 2005 to 2006 and correctional captain and acting correctional administrator at the Division of Adult Institutions from 2004 to 2005. Prior to that, Subia worked at MCSP as correctional captain and facility captain from 2002 to 2004, correctional counselor and public information officer and administrative assistant to the warden from 2000 to 2002, correctional counselor and employee relations officer from 1997 to 2000 and correctional lieutenant and employee relations officer from 1994 to 1997. From 1989 to 1994, he was a correctional sergeant at the California State Prison, Solano and, from 1986 to 1989, he was a correctional officer at Folsom State Prison. This position does not require Senate confirmation and the compensation is $135,564. Subia is a Republican.
Christine Ward, 41, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the California Council on Criminal Justice. Since 2006, she has been executive director for Doris Tate Crime Victims Bureau. Ward was domestic violence victim response team coordinator for Womanspace from 2002 to 2006, director for education and outreach and shelter director for the Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Center from 2000 to 2002. She was volunteer coordinator for WEAVE from 1997 to 2000. Prior to that, Ward served Orco Construction Supply as human resources director from 1996 to 1997 and regional credit manager from 1989 to 1996. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Ward is registered decline-to-state.
January 20, 2010
High Court rejects state’s prisons edict appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Schwarzenegger administration's attempt Tuesday to dismantle a judicial panel that wants California to improve inmate health care by making its prisons less crowded, but set the stage for a possible ruling on the panel's authority to lower the prison population.
The high court's brief order agreed with inmates' lawyers that the state had acted prematurely in appealing an August 2008 ruling by a three-judge panel. That ruling found that overcrowding in the state's 33 prisons, which hold nearly twice their designed capacity of 80,000, was the chief cause of a medical care system that violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
The panel ordered the administration to submit a plan that would reduce the inmate population by 40,000 in two years. State lawyers appealed, arguing that the panel was illegally established, had exaggerated the health care problems and misidentified their cause, and lacked authority to order prisoner releases…
LINK - SFGate.com (San Francisco Gate)
January 20, 2010
Gov to release 6,000 inmates starting next week!
Despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Tuesday that postponed the early release of 40,000 California prisoners, another 6,000 convicts are expected to be set free early from state prisons starting next week, alarming public safety officials and local leaders.
The 6,000 are to be released under separate legislation that is not affected by the Supreme Court's decision Tuesday.
The court rejected the state of California's challenge of a special judicial panel's order to release the prisoners early under an overcrowding lawsuit filed by the Berkeley-based nonprofit Prison Law Office…
LINK - DailyNews.com
January 19, 2010
Governor claims victory over 3-judge panel with stay from US Supreme Court
01/19/2010 GAAS:43:10 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement by Gov. Schwarzenegger's Legal Affairs Secretary Andrea Lynn Hoch on U.S. Supreme Court Decision
Governor Schwarzenegger's Legal Affairs Secretary Andrea Lynn Hoch today issued the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court's decision:
"The U.S. Supreme Court's decision today is a win for the state because it guarantees there will be no early release of prisoners while the Three-Judge Panel's latest order is appealed. Given the more recent January 12 order by the Three-Judge Panel, it is no surprise that the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to wait and consider the entire case upon our appeal, which we will file today. We fully expect the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Three-Judge Panel's prisoner release order."
January 17, 2010
LA Times, SF Chron blast Gov’s private prison plans
ON PRISON SPENDING: State must address causes of overcrowding
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made at least two radical proposals in his State of the State address earlier this month. Both of them concern the state's budget-busting incarceration system. Neither of them is the most direct way to tackle it.The state is going to have to address the prison system this year, if for no other reason than the courts are forcing it to do so. Last August, a panel of three federal judges ruled that, thanks to overcrowding, mental and medical health programs in California's prisons were so inadequate as to be unconstitutional. The panel has given the state two years to reduce the number of inmates by 40,000…
LINK - SFGate.com (San Francisco Gate)
Editorial: A poor prison plan for California
Gov. Schwarzenegger's latest proposal combines a destructive budgeting formula with an untested theory about privatization.When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed shifting female inmates out of prisons to community detention centers in 2006, the Legislature said no. When he asked lawmakers the following year to approve $10.9 billion in bonds to build new prisons while also reforming sentencing laws and parole rules, they reduced the bond package and jettisoned the reforms. Last year, when he asked them to cut the prison budget by $1.2 billion, they fell about $200 million short. We don't blame the governor for being frustrated, but we do fault him for apparently giving up.
Schwarzenegger's latest prison plan, unveiled in his State of the State address earlier this month, is less a serious policy proposal than a hunk of red meat tossed out at voters who are understandably furious about cuts in education spending. It combines a deeply destructive budgeting formula with an untested theory about prison privatization…
LINK - LATimes.com
January 17, 2010
Opinion: “Privatizing prisons a bad idea”
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a big splash Jan. 6 by proposing a constitutional amendment to guarantee a bigger budget for higher public education in California each year than for the state's scandal-ridden prisons. Celebration in University Hall, gnashing of teeth by the prison guards union. What's wrong with that?
It's hard to disagree with a policy of beefing up public universities as an investment in California's future, the way we did in the good old days — rather than starving them into privatization as at present. Never mind how that promise can be carried out in the face of another $20 billion this year in cuts to essential public services statewide.
But the little-remarked, yet outlandish, truly scary part of the governor's plan was what came next: in order to make the prisons more cost-effective, he asserted, we should create a system of competition between public and privately operated prisons, because "competition and choice are always good."…
LINK - SantaCruzSentinel.com
January 16, 2010
$40 million tab for undocumented prisoners in Monterey County
It costs California taxpayers $40 million annually to house inmates in Monterey County prisons who are in the country illegally or whose immigration status is in question.
Getting more federal money to pay the cost of incarcerating such prisoners has been on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's agenda since he raised the issue with the Bush administration several years ago. Now he's turned up the volume a notch, asking this month for $880 million in federal money for undocumented inmates, part of his effort to bridge a $20 billion California budget deficit.
At the Salinas Valley State Prison and the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, 757 inmates are subject to existing or potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement holds, according to data from the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation…
LINK - TheCalifornian.com
January 16, 2010
Schwarzenegger’s deficient thinking
A couple of months ago I interviewed an economist in Sacramento who has long studied California state finances. I asked him what the lowest general fund budget was that he could envision in California as state revenues shrivelled. He answered: $85bn a year. The state simply couldn't function with a smaller budget than that.
Last week, Governor Schwarzenegger declared another fiscal emergency, and proposed an $82 billion budget – three billion dollars below the barebones survival estimate of my economist friend.
Amidst all of the doom-and-gloom cuts, and the accompanying rage as the state that until recently epitomised possibility in America continues to implode, one policy change stood out, offering a glimmer of better priorities in the years ahead. Schwarzenegger called for a state constitutional amendment to ensure that the state never spent less than 10% of its general fund on higher education and never spent more than seven percent on prisons…
LINK - Guardian.co.uk
January 16, 2010
Governor looks to privatization of prisons, some wary
In his final State of the State speech last week, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger raised the possibility of privatizing state prisons as a way of saving money for increased university spending.
The state spends about $52,000 on each of its roughly 165,000 prisoners annually, in comparison to $32,000 in other states, officials said. Now the governor and state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are looking into bringing the private sector in as a means of driving costs down…
LINK - PasadenaStarNews.com
January 15, 2010
Editorial: “Trained correctional officers necessary”
The article "State considers private prisons," Jan. 12, provided comments from various stakeholders - the governor, the Legislature, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. Each argued for or against the privatization of California prisons. Regretfully, none of the individuals quoted spoke for or about the consequences to taxpayers, the families of inmates, or even the inmates.
Prisons are supposed to provide two distinct and important functions: providing for the incarceration of those individuals who are a threat to public safety; and rehabilitating those individuals who want to and can be, which is even more important financially to every taxpayer. The prison system has abjectly failed to provide either as is demonstrated by the 70 percent rate of recidivism and the number of inmates who become repeat offenders. If any business had a product failure rate of 70 percent, it would be closed. Unfortunately, we cannot close our prisons.
The high cost of prisons is falsely attributed to the people that work in them, the correctional officers and medical staff, to name a few. The governor, in order to find a "quick fix" and to "retaliate against the union," suggests that the best way to reduce costs will be to open private prisons which pay their staffs less. As with all simplistic solutions, it sounds good in a sound bite, but it is doomed to failure…
LINK - SBSun.com (San Bernadino Sun)
January 14, 2010
Gov’s prison & education plan called “True Lies” by law professor
Most of what Governor Schwarzenegger has said during his six years in office about California's bloated carceral state is true. Most of his proposals to move us beyond this obvious disaster for our polity amount to lies.
I have nothing against rhetoric, in fact I make my living producing and analyzing it (with apologies to the professionals in the rhetoric department). Indeed, I had great hopes that this action hero Governor might really use his clear rhetorical skills to tell Californians that we have too much fear embodied in our penal code and prison policies.
• He called the parole system "broken."
• He described our prisons as involved in "warehousing people" (a phrase used by Marxist criminologists in my days in graduate school).
• He renamed our prison agency the "Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation" (a bit repetitive, but the right direction).
• And just the other day he spoke about the shame of a state that spends more on prisons than higher education (as if he was just arriving in the state).Sadly, beyond renaming the boxes, Governor Schwarzenegger's policy moves have mostly been non-serious, including this proposal to use our constitution to favor higher education spending over prisons…
LINK - CaliforniaProgressReport.com
January 13, 2010
CCPOA responds to Gov’s appeal and threat if he loses
The Schwarzenegger administration said it would file an appeal Wednesday in a lawsuit over his furloughs of state workers, contesting a decision by the controller to restore pay for prison guards.
Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered some 200,000 state employees to take three days off a month without pay, cutting their paychecks by 14 percent to help close the state's budget gap. The California Correctional Peace Officers Association sued, arguing that guards are losing three days' pay each month, but can never take the time off because prisons operate around the clock.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch sided with the 30,000-member union last month. On Tuesday, state Controller John Chiang said he intends to restore guards' full pay to comply with that ruling. The guards' court victory does not affect about two dozen other union lawsuits opposing the furloughs…
LINK - PE.com (The Press-Enterprise)
January 12, 2010
Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) says Gov’s budget full of holes
The Governor proposes $19.9 billion of budget solutions in 2009-10 and 2010-11 to address the budget shortfall and create a $1 billion reserve. While it is reasonable to assume the state will secure some new federal funding and flexibility, the chances that the state will receive all of what the Governor seeks from Washington are almost non-existent. The Legislature should assume that federal relief will be billions of dollars less than the Governor wants—necessitating that it make more very difficult decisions affecting both state revenues and spending. Many of this year's budget solutions will require significant time for departments to implement. Therefore, the Legislature and the Governor need to agree to a framework to solve much of the budget problem by the end of March…
LINK - LAO.ca.gov
January 11, 2010
Schwarzenegger wants feds to take over all illegal immigrants in CA prisons
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested one more "trigger" alternative Monday if the federal government does not provide California with additional federal funds — transferring undocumented immigrant prisoners to the federal government.
The Republican governor last week relied on getting $880 million in federal funds for undocumented inmates to help bridge the state's $19.9 billion deficit through June 2011. President Barack Obama proposed eliminating that funding altogether last year, and Congress plans to allocate not even half that amount for all 50 states.
"Why should we pay for it when it is the federal government that is having the lax policies on the borders, and is really in charge of immigration policies?" Schwarzenegger said Monday in Torrance during a press conference to promote his job creation plan…
LINK - SacBee.com
January 11, 2010
More on Gov’s private prison plan, CCPOA response
Changes could be expected to California's prisons in 2010 as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger aims to reduce prison costs.
Schwarzenegger's proposal to allow private prisons to compete with public prisons could add billions of dollars to the general fund a year, he said. That money could then be funneled into the education system.
Although official plans have yet to be decided, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has been looking into various models to adhere to the governor's goals…
LINK - SBSun.com
January 10, 2010
Governor’s budget would strip city, county cash
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has demanded more federal dollars to help balance the state's budget, but local officials say he also sent a clear message to cities and counties throughout California: The state is coming for your money, too.
Included in the governor's proposal to bridge a $20 billion budget gap are measures that could strip more than $1 billion in transit funds from local jurisdictions, put more inmates in already overcrowded county jails, and require counties to pay more for child welfare and care for blind, disabled and elderly people…
LINK - SFGate.com
January 10, 2010
Higher Education: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
Does the State Spend More on Corrections or Higher Education?
About a fifth of the state General Fund budget goes to higher education and corrections combined. State spending in these two areas responds to very different cost pressures, so it is not surprise that funding trends could differ. Nonetheless, the question is commonly asked which sector receives more state support. There is no single answer to the question.
January 8, 2010
LAO’s Report: Does the State Spend More on Corrections or Higher Education?
A new report released by the California Legislative Analyst's Office looks at spending trends of Corrections and Higher Education, the two departments getting the most focus in the Governor's State of the State Address and 2010-2011 budget:
About a fifth of the state General Fund budget goes to higher education and corrections combined. State spending in these two areas responds to very different cost pressures, so it is not surprise that funding trends could differ. Nonetheless, the question is commonly asked which sector receives more state support. There is no single answer to the question…
VIEW the FULL REPORT
January 4, 2010
Gov losing political muscle as lame duck?
No self-respecting politician wants to be one. The phrase itself is utterly demeaning. But with a year left in office, there are signs that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has begun his transformation into a lame duck.
This status, defined by the weakness of a politician whose term will soon expire, may be difficult to swallow for a former Mr. Universe known to legions of moviegoers for vanquishing opponents as Hercules, Conan and the Terminator. Even as a pregnant man in "Junior," Schwarzenegger reflected a particular kind of strength.
But legislators have already begun sensing that as a lame duck he is easy prey and openly disregard some of his wishes. Members of his staff have steadily been quitting, and replacements are hard to come by…
LINK - LATimes.com
January 2, 2010
Gov promises jobs while threatening lay-offs and furloughs?
Governor Schwarzenegger Highlights Priorities for 2010, Wishes Californians Happy New Year in Weekly Radio Address:
An English audio link of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's weekly radio address is below.
English:
The 2-minute, 4-second address is available at http://gov.ca.gov/mp3/press/20091211_address.mp3. The file is 489 KB.
…That is why my New Year's Resolution is to help speed up our economic recovery and create a job for every Californian who wants one.
My Number One priority is jobs, jobs, jobs.
And in my State of the State Address next week, I will announce a job creation package to help spur job growth and jumpstart our economy…
LINK - Read the FULL Message at gov.ca.gov
December 23, 2009
Breaking News: Schwarzenegger budget plan will include furlough, layoff options
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to save $1.6 billion in state employee costs by maintaining monthly furloughs past next June, instituting layoffs or shifting general fund workers into positions financed by other revenues, according to sources familiar with the governor's forthcoming budget proposal.
California faces a $20.7 billion general fund budget deficit through June 2011, according to an estimate by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office. Schwarzenegger ordered an estimated 200,000 state workers to take two furlough days a month starting last February and then three per month starting in July to save an estimated $1.4 billion in general fund dollars. Under the governor's new budget proposal, furloughs could continue beyond the scheduled end date of June 2010…
LINK - SacBee.com
December 17, 2009
Official Statement: CCPOA Wins Furlough Lawsuit, Reiterates Offer to Help Legislature Reduce Costs
West Sacramento, CA - An Alameda Court judge today ruled that the Governor's order to "furlough" California's correctional peace officers - which has reduced their pay but requires them to work their full schedule - was an illegal pay cut that violated labor law, and that the more than 30,000 officers, sergeants and lieutenants "are due their full pay for time worked."
"It's unfortunate that we were forced to file this lawsuit in the first place, but we're obviously pleased that the court ruled to protect these officers' rights," said Mike Jimenez, President of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA). "We made numerous attempts to work with this Administration to find better, more legitimate ways to cut corrections costs, but we were rebuffed. Legal action was our last, and only resort.
"However, we once again extend our cooperation and assistance to the State Legislature and Department Secretary to help identify sensible cost savings measures within the corrections system," said Jimenez. "We've proactively offered savings and reform recommendations on a nearly annual basis - and will be releasing our latest "New Direction" blueprint on corrections reform in January."
View the full decision and read another statement from CCPOA re: the lawsuit at ccpoa.org.
December 17, 2009
Schwarzenegger reacts to Alameda ruling
We just got off the phone with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's spokeswoman, Rachel Arrezola. We had left a message with the administration this morning asking for a reaction from the governor to CCPOA furlough lawsuit win.
Here's the statement Arrezola read:
"Over the last year all areas of state government have been forced to cut back and do more with less as the state has dealt with closing a $60 billion deficit. The governor has made the difficult but necessary decisions to cut spending and order furloughs and he will continue to stand firm to protect taxpayers and move California forward…"
LINK - SacBee.com Weblogs
December 17, 2009
Judge rules furloughs invalid for prison guards
A state judge today struck down Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's furloughs of correctional officers, who have been working on furlough days and banking the unpaid time off.
Judge Frank Roesch of Alameda County Superior Court ruled that the governor's furlough order violated state law. He ordered the state to pay the prison workers for the unpaid hours they have worked.
To save money, Schwarzenegger last summer began furloughing for three days a month nearly every category of state worker…
LINK - LATimes.com
December 17, 2009
Judge: Schwarzenegger can’t furlough prison guards
A judge has ruled against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's furlough order for thousands of California prison guards.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch on Thursday sided with the California Correctional Peace Officers Association and ordered the state to pay prison guards back for the days they worked without pay….
LINK - Google.com (AP News)
December 17, 2009
CCPOA files new federal lawsuit against Schwarzenegger over furloughs, federal labor law violations,
A federal class action accuses California of violating labor laws by ordering state workers to work during furlough days, and promising them a day off later. The class of prison and correctional workers reported their grievances to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis in June; now they want action.
The California Correctional Peace Officers Association, a major political force in California, claims that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his administration are violating federal laws on wages and hours, overtime and record keeping…
LINK - CourtHouseNews.com
December 15, 2009
Sac Bee opines on prisons, budget, Kelso and CDCR
Whom should the public hold responsible for runaway overtime costs for prison health care?
The governor and California's dysfunctional Legislature are largely to blame, followed by a prison health care bureaucracy overseen by a federal receiver who has failed to protect taxpayers.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers consistently approve budgets that understate the true cost of prison health care, and therefore understate the numbers of nurses, nurse assistants, clinicians, doctors and others who are needed to provide the minimum care required under the state and U.S. constitutions. That in turn leads to the eye-popping overtime costs The Bee's Charles Piller documented in his recent report…
LINK - SacBee.com
December 9, 2009
Meg Whitman: “The State Employees Unions - Starving California”
The reason California is bankrupt and it is bankrupt is because the state workers unions run our state. They bankroll the Democrats to keep them in power but in return, the Dems have to raise taxes or find other means to pay for the state union's guaranteed pensions, 100% tax-payer funded medical care, as well as pay increases and money to hire more state workers which are still being hired and added to an already grossly over populated and inefficient union work force at a time when we in the private sector are being laid off and worse.
The powerful state unions, such as the State Employees Services Union, the teachers union, the prison guard union and others are used to making a phone call to their politicians in Sacramento and getting what they demand. They are ruthless and care nothing about California's sad state or the average taxpayer for that matter. They will continue to syphon the states life blood at a rabid rate and they are in position to shut down the state by way of strikes, work stoppages etc., after all, their workers run the state…
LINK - MegWhitman.com (Republican Candidate for CA Governor)
December 8, 2009
Inmate lawyers side with Schwarzenegger’s early release plan in federal court
Lawyers for California's sick inmates said Monday they like the Schwarzenegger administration's plan for reducing the prison population and urged a three-judge federal panel to let state officials decide what methods to use.
The plan calls for a reduction in the population of 33 adult prisons to 137.5 percent of design capacity within two years, thus meeting the requirement of the panel's Aug. 4 order.
"Rather than ordering the state to utilize particular population reduction methods, the court should leave to the state the discretion and flexibility to choose which methods it uses to accomplish the reduction," the inmates' attorneys said in their response to the plan…
LINK - SacBee.com
December 7, 2009
Governor’s prison plan draws mixed reviews
Lawyers for California's prison inmates on Monday supported Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's overall plan to reduce overcrowding in the state's 33 prisons, but asked a federal court to order state prison officials to meet strict deadlines to ensure they shed nearly 40,000 inmates from the system over the next two years.
Meanwhile, the plan drew fire from Republican lawmakers and some counties, including Santa Clara County, which is worried about the impact of releasing state prison inmates into local jails…
LINK - MercuryNews.com
November 24, 2009
CA Law Enforcement officials opposed to Gov’s re-newed early release plan
The planned reduction of 40,000 state inmates over the next two years to relieve overcrowding has lawmakers and law enforcement officials concerned over the impact on public safety.
Officials and law enforcement officials are sounding concern over the Schwarzenegger administration's proposed compliance with the federal judges' order aimed at providing a more constitutional level of health care for prison inmates.
The plan comes as communities are dealing with reductions in law enforcement budgets because of the state fiscal and global economic crisis…
LINK - DailyBulletin.com
November 16, 2009
Unions blast furlough order
Lawyers representing state worker unions and a few government agencies pounded away at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's furloughs for the better part of three hours this morning in Alameda Superior Court, arguing that the policy is illegally harming the government, an overreach, a violation of minimum wage laws and outrageously irrational.
And that was in just two cases brought by California Attorneys, Administrative Law Judges and Hearing Officers in State Employment and California Correctional Peace Officers Association to Judge Frank Roesch's Oakland courtroom. SEIU Local 1000 and Union of American Physicians and Dentists will argue their cases this afternoon.
Roesch took both cases under submission and he'll probably do the same with those he hears this afternoon, which means he's going to think about what he's heard and issue a ruling later. That could take several days or several weeks…
LINK - SacBee.com
November 13, 2009
State offers new prison plan
California Corrections Secretary Matthew Cate announced late Thursday that the state has a plan to reduce the prison population that will satisfy a judicial panel of judges, but the three federal judges have to be willing to issue orders the state sees as illegal.
The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation can reach the population goal the judges are seeking only with changes in state laws or federal court orders waiving laws now on the books, Cate said at an evening press briefing.
The Legislature already has turned thumbs down on some of the changes, such as increasing the monetary threshold for grand theft, offering alternative custody options for low-level offenders, and limiting sentencing options to county jail for certain offenses…
LINK - SacBee.com
ALSO SEE: CDCR.CA.GOV - Stamped Filing of New Prison Reduction Plan (130 pages)
November 12, 2009
Governor to submit plan to reduce prison crowding
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tonight will give federal judges a road map to reducing state prison overcrowding that involves waiving some state laws so sentencing regulations can be changed and new private prisons built.
But the governor also will disavow those solutions as illegal, said Oscar Hidalgo, a spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
An initial plan that Schwarzenegger submitted was rejected three weeks ago by the three judges, who threatened him with contempt of court for failing to meet their demand for a proposal to reduce the inmate population by 40,000 prisoners over two years…
LINK - LATimes.com Blogs
