The Marin County Board of Supervisor filed a lawsuit challenging efforts to expand San Quentin’s death row, but it failed to halt bidding for the first construction phase of the $356 million project, according to reports by Nels Johnson and Richard Halstead of the Marin Independent Journal.
The lawsuit claimed that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger violated the law when he vetoed funding that would have delayed expansion of death row until studies on overcrowding, and legal justification for plans to double-bunk prisoners were completed.
Corrections officials opened nine bids it received ranging from $126 million to $145 million on the part of the project that involves demolition, site grading, utilities, housing units and towers. McCarthy Construction of St. Louis, Mo, submitted the low bid of $126 million. Amoroso Construction of Redwood City submitted a high bid of $145 million.
Marin officials contend that the project is wasteful spending that could balloon up to $1.3 billion and feature beds costing $500,000 each. The “facility (will be) obsolete three years after it is built.” according to State Assemblyman Jared Huffman.
