California Can Save Billions on Our Prisons While Improving Them and Making Us Safer

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Marc Bautista and Cindie Fonseca
SEIU Local 1000

California’s $16 billion deficit is forcing the state to make some hard choices. But our union’s research estimates that we can trim hundreds of millions in waste from the California Department of Corrections each year and improve our prison system at the same time.

We outline a series of cost saving reforms in a new report called The California Bottom Line (available at www.thecabottomline.org) that is part of a series of reports by SEIU Local 1000 designed to help Californians save billions over time by making smarter choices in state spending.

The second edition of The California Bottom Line details more than $1 billion in taxpayer savings including:

• Fully implementing rehabilitation reforms enacted in AB 900 can save $561 to $684 million;
• Cutting overspending on contracting out in prisons would save between $125 and $178 million; and
• Promptly recalculating prisoner release dates, as ordered in two state Appellate Court decisions and one state Supreme Court decision, could save up to $218 million.

The California Bottom Line and website is at the center of SEIU Local 1000’s campaign to influence the debate around the state budget crisis. We’re highlighting our members’ ideas that promote more effective and efficient government while reducing the need to cut vital services or raise taxes.