Some prison reform advocates expect CDCR’s budget cuts will reduce wasteful spending amidst dwindling prison population, but seek more stable plans for prison closures, according to Darlin Navarrete of the Davis Vanguard.
Advocates from Californians United for a Responsible Budget are cautiously optimistic about the $750 million cut in CDCR’s 2024-25 operating budget. CURB noted that the budget prioritized protected existing programs that showed rehabilitation, reentry, and family connection benefits. Which including Governor Newsom’s “original plan to deactivate 46 housing units across 13 prisons,” reported the independent news organization.
“CDCR has continued to use the so-called ‘California Model’ as a justification to avoid prison closures and keep operating empty prison space, despite the absence of substantive information on what this ‘model’ will ultimately entail,” said CRUB.
CDCR is projected to have a 90,860 population and 10,000 empty beds in 2024. The average cost per incarcerated person is $132,000. The department’s personnel salaries and facility maintenance made up 90 percent of the total budget, said Daz Proctor of CURB in Vanguard’s article.
To address CDCR’s rising vacancies, Assemblymember Phil Ting of San Francisco authored Assembly Bill 2178, which mandates a plan to gradually reduce the department’s average daily empty beds from 11,300 in 2026 to 2,500 by 2030. The bill passed the Assembly in May 2024.
“Maintaining underutilized facilities continues to drain resources that could be better allocated to essential community services. The reductions to CDCR are the bare minimum, just scratching the surface for possible savings,” said CURB Statewide Coordinator Daz Proctor.
At least five more state prisons could close, per growing number of lawmakers—and the state’s non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, said CURB.
Curb’s executive director Amber-Rose Howard lauded the budget is a win for advocates and legislative leaders. CURB’s report also noted a $120 million budget reduction from the $360 million originally allocated to San Quentin Rehabilitation Center for building a new education center.
“The significant reductions in the CDCR budget reflect our persistent advocacy efforts and strong leadership from the legislature. However, the lack of prison closures is a glaring omission,” said Howard. “Without closing prisons, these proposed reductions may never fully materialize, which should be a red flag for the public and spur the legislature to additional action.”
Ting pointed to a Legislative Analyst’s Office report which found that CDCR’s population had decreased from 130,000 in 2019 to 93,000 by January 2024. The independent state agency’s report also anticipate 19,000 empty beds by 2028, or about one-fifth of the department’s total capacity, the article said.
In budget terms, Scott Graves from the California Budget and Policy Center estimated that closing five prison facilities and eliminating 15,000 empty beds would save taxpayers $1 billion, reported the article.
Ting reasoned his legislation would allow savings to be directed toward “critical needs such as education, housing, and other integral services” rather than pay for empty beds in prison. Proctor concurred that legislations such as AB2718 would help communities impacted by prison closures by diverting underutilized funds toward workforce and community development, the Vanguard article reported.
“California needs a practical roadmap for prison closures that meets the needs of multiple stakeholders. Newsom has the opportunity to show the nation that California is fiscally responsible on state corrections,” said Howard.
