SACRAMENTO, CA - Today the California State Assembly unanimously approved a historic prison construction and reform agreement that provides a smart and balanced approach to address the concerns of the federal courts and modernize our adult prison system.

State Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim), chair of the Assembly Committee on Public Safety, is the lead author of AB 900, the Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007. The Assembly and Senate leadership were instrumental in putting the agreement together and building bipartisan support for the proposal. The bill was approved by the State Assembly today on a 70-0 vote and was sent to the Senate for their consideration.

“This historic prison construction and reform plan will keep our communities safe by keeping existing prisoners in jail and helping close the state prison system’s revolving door by providing for a significant increase in prisoner rehabilitation and treatment programs. The agreement could not have come at a better time because the state has to provide a legal response to a federal court order by May 16 on what it is doing to solve its prison overcrowding crisis,” said Assemblyman Jose Solorio.

There are currently 155,000 “good beds” in the prison system, but the inmate population is projected to reach 190,000 by 2012—creating a shortfall of 35,000 beds.

In short, the plan would:

• Add 16,000 “infill” beds to existing prisons.
• Create 16,000 "re-entry" beds in smaller state-run facilities in communities where inmates will eventually be paroled. These re-entry centers will place a heavy emphasis on rehabilitation.
• Add 8,000 medical beds in the prison system for the federal court receiver to use.
• Provide assistance to counties to add 13,000 jail beds.
• Require more drug treatment, rehabilitation, education and mental health programs for inmates.

“This bill makes a bold attempt to rehabilitate new prisoners by requiring every new prisoner to not just have a “bed,” but also offer an array of education, vocation, drug treatment, and rehabilitation services for them to help reduce the state’s current 70% recidivism rate,” said Assemblyman Solorio.

The $7.4 billion plan is far less expensive than the $10.9 billion called for in the Governor’s original plan. The compromise plan provides for the construction of 53,000 additional state prison beds in two phases.

The proposal seeks to help close the revolving door in the state’s prison system by putting the “R”, for Rehabilitation, back in California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). It would require all new beds to have rehabilitation services.

The plan also requires CDCR to demonstrate that it can successfully implement rehabilitation and treatment programs, bring new beds online, and correct management deficiencies before phase 2 can begin.

Phase 1 construction calls for a $3.6 billion lease revenue bond to provide for 24,000 new beds and requires criteria to be met through an independent verification process before phase 2 can be begin. The criteria includes:

• Addition of 4,000 new drug treatment slots (there are currently 9,000).
• Creation and operation of a California Rehabilitation Oversight Board.
• Substantial increase in funding for inmate and parolee rehabilitation.
• New incentives to get inmates into education programs.
• New efforts to obtain more rehabilitation and treatment services.
• Mental health day treatment for parolees are up and running.
• Prison-to-employment plan is completed.
• Vacancies filled in rehabilitation and treatment personnel.
• CDCR management deficiencies are addressed.

Phase 2 provides for a $2.5 billion lease revenue bond to provide for an additional 16,000 beds. The proposal also includes $1.2 billion in lease revenue bonds to help build new county jail beds.

Assemblyman Jose Solorio represents the Sixty-Ninth Assembly District, which includes the cities of Anaheim, Garden Grove, and Santa Ana. For more information about Assemblyman Solorio you can visit www.assembly.ca.gov/solorio.