Gov. Jerry Brown has appointed the former head of Pennsylvania’s prisons system to take over as secretary of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
He is Jeffrey Beard, 65, who replaces Matthew Cate, who resigned in November to become executive director of the California State Association of Counties.
Beard’s appointment requires state Senate confirmation.
California’s prison system is more than twice as large as Pennsylvania’s.
“The new secretary has just the experience California needs,’’ Brown said in a statement announcing the appointment Dec. 17. “He’s been a prison warden, led the correctional system in Pennsylvania, and more recently participated in the federal oversight of California’s prisons, visiting the majority of our institutions.’’
“In the face of a plethora of federal court decisions and the bold realignment enacted by the Legislature, Jeff Beard has arrived at the right time to take the next steps in returning California’s parole and correctional institutions to their former luster,’’ Brown added.