This morning, Governor Brown released California’s 2018-19 proposed budget – a budget that increases total funding on corrections to $12 billion, an increase of $500 million (2017-18). Although the state anticipates the return of all prisoners from the remaining out-of-state facility by the fall of 2019, it still projects a reduction of 6,300 in the adult prison population this year, with an even greater reduction of 11,500 by 2020-21, largely due to the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act of 2016/ Prop. 57. We recognize the Governor's efforts to bolster prison programming; however, if current Prop. 57 Regulations are any indication, a significant portion of the incarcerated population will be excluded from reaping the benefits of this programming. The CDCR's insistence on excluding third strikers from Prop 57 undercuts savings and undermines any investment in programming the Governor seeks to implement with this budget.
Over the last five years, California has begun to restructure its public safety programs to a model that is less punitive and more supportive. Voters and elected leaders alike have set forth changes in law and policy that aim to repair harm done during the “tough on crime” era and provide equitable opportunities for those most impacted by the penal system to reclaim stability and community. "Through the passage of the RISE Act, Prop 57, and other legislation that repairs the harm caused by mass incarceration, Californians have clearly shown their desire to reduce prison populations," said Corri Frohlich and Elizabeth Fraser from SURJ Bay Area. "Bloating the CDCR's budget does not honor these priorities. We need to invest in community-based solutions that work, not an increased correctional budget." Despite these changes, today’s budget continues to pour money into traditional correctional spending.
Included in the corrections budget is $20.1 million from the General Fund to address mental health treatment and bed capacity issues. Advocates are outraged that California continues to expand prison capacity under the guise of mental health treatment. California prisons, in addition to having a track record of abuse and corruption, have proven to elicit mental health crisis not improve patient’s mental wellness. Increasing spending in prisons for mental health care is wasteful and increases the threat to California’s stability. Governor Brown announced that we should prepare for another financial fall in this morning's address, “California has faced ten recessions since World War II and we must prepare for the eleventh. Yes, we have had some very good years and program spending has increased steadily,” said Governor Brown in his budget letter to the Legislature. “Let’s not blow it now.” Program spending should be increased to community-based alternatives to incarceration and supportive services, not prisons.
Under the climate of an increased federal deficit, due to President Donald Trump’s new tax law, California is left with a serious financial dilemma. A cut in federal funding to the state may leave many Californians under the threat of losing supportive programs and services, like Medicare. Rather than allow the people of California to lose access to healthcare, we need Governor Brown to propose a budget that cuts back on wasteful corrections spending and increases resources that protects the people’s wellness. California Partnership (CAP), an economic justice coalition of low income people of color and community groups, advocating for policies that reduce poverty is advocating for “Governor Brown, in his final year, to use more accurate forecasts in this year’s budget recommendations than he did in last year's state budget, as well as make the proper investments in Health and Human Services to strengthen the safety net that so many of our underserved populations and regions are not further disadvantaged.” By continuing to pursue aggressive parole and sentencing reform efforts and to repeal all prison and jail expansion efforts, and closing emptied correctional institutions, the state may realize savings that may be used to protect the livelihood of all Californians and the financial stability of the state.