California taxpayers will spend about $8.6 billion to maintain its prison system in fiscal year 2012-13, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office. The number is about $394 million less than last year.
Most of the spending decrease is attributed to Gov. Jerry Brown’s realignment plan, which shifted low-level felons from state to county control. Realignment funding has been guaranteed by the passage of Proposition 30.
When the Stockton health care facility is completed in mid-2013, an operating cost of $155 million a year will be added to prison spending.
Realignment significantly reduced the state prisoner and parolee populations. However, it will not meet its court-ordered population cap of 110,000 prisoners by June 27, 2013, according to several experts. (See population chart on page 10.)
The court required that the state submit plans to the court to reduce the population to meet the cap, stating it will not “entertain any motion from the administration to increase the population cap.” However, the court raised the possibility of extending the deadline by six months.
As of Jan. 2, the state’s prison population reports show there are 119,054 prisoners in California’s 33 institutions.
The report can be accessed at www.lao.ca.gov