GOVERNOR SIGNS PRISON AGREEMENT, TAKES IMPORTANT STEP TOWARD REDUCING OVERCROWDING AND INCREASING PUBLIC SAFETY

On May 3rd, at the State Capitol, Governor Schwarzenegger signed AB 900, the Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007. This important legislation fundamentally reforms California’s system of incarcerating and rehabilitating prisoners. While AB 900 doesn’t end our prison crisis, it gives California critically important tools to reduce prison overcrowding and lower recidivism. The Governor was joined by Legislative leaders and representatives from the state’s law enforcement, legal, rehabilitation and victims’ rights communities at the event.

AB 900 is a major step forward. Now the real work begins.

AB 900 fundamentally improves our corrections system. This legislation moves California away from an outdated, ineffective model of massive, remote prisoner warehouses that breed better criminals. It introduces a model where smaller facilities and stronger rehabilitation programs prepare offenders for life outside prison. And it expands our prison capacity so that dangerous, violent criminals stay locked up.
AB 900 adds 53,000 new beds, the most in a generation, to California’s prisons. Today the state’s prisons house more than 170,000 in facilities designed for about half that. This staggering overcrowding endangers correctional officers, severely limits rehabilitation and contributes to early release. A federal judge has threatened to cap California’s prison population in mid-May, which could put thousands of criminals on our streets.
The Governor is expediting construction to make conditions safer, faster. Governor Schwarzenegger has ordered his administration to expedite construction of all 53,000 new beds funded by AB 900.
AB 900 will improve prison management. Expanding bed capacity isn’t enough. Our prisons must be efficiently managed to maximize the new space and programs enabled by AB 900. Governor Schwarzenegger has instructed California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) Secretary Jim Tilton to improve management and operations at every state prison.
- The Governor will direct his Administration to establish strike teams within CDCR’s management to speed up construction and overhaul rehabilitation, substance abuse, education and job training programs.

AB 900 invests in rehabilitation to increase public safety.

Offenders are returning to our communities whether they’re rehabilitated or not—and 70 percent will violate parole. By law, offenders are already returned to their last county of legal residence when released. Seven out of 10 will violate their parole and return to prison. Rehabilitation prepares offenders for post-prison life, reducing the likelihood that they’ll commit more crimes and create more victims.
This agreement ties rehabilitation to all 53,000 beds. AB 900 will provide 53,000 prison and jail beds in two phases. Rehabilitation services—like substance abuse treatment, mental health services and vocational education—will accompany every new bed.
AB 900 increases rehabilitation in existing prisons. The legislation specifically provides 16,000 beds in existing state prisons. As a result, every prisoner currently in a “bad bed” will be moved into appropriate housing. Bad beds are located in prison libraries, gymnasiums and day rooms, freeing up these spaces for rehabilitation programs.
AB 900’s smaller, community-based centers provide intensive rehabilitation. This legislation funds 16,000 beds in Secure Re-Entry Facilities, small and secure rehabilitation centers that will give every offender job training, mental health and substance abuse counseling, housing placement, and other services in the critical few months just prior to their release.

Governor Schwarzenegger will take aggressive steps to immediately relieve overcrowding.

Prisoner transfers will move forward. The Administration has fought to transfer prisoners out of state since Governor Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in October 2006. AB 900 gives the Legislature clear statutory authority to continue voluntary and involuntary transfer prisoners.
On-the-books parole policies will go into effect. Governor Schwarzenegger has directed his Administration to enforce smart, existing parole policies that reward successful rehabilitation and lower recidivism for technical violations.
- Chapter 875, Statutes of 2006 provides that certain inmates can be discharged from parole if they have successfully completed drug treatment both in and out of prison—and requires CDCR to regularly to the State and Legislature on the program’s success. Governor Schwarzenegger established this law when he signed SB 1453 (Speier).

The Governor will continue to press for many of the innovative reforms in his January 2007 proposal.

Governor Schwarzenegger will continue to aggressively pursue many aspects of the prison reforms he introduced in January, including improvements to probation and juvenile services and transferring 4,500 low-risk female offenders into local facilities.