[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Diane Trzcinski
Cab Drollery

California's Governor Schwarzenegger has just issued a revised budget plan for the state, one that isn't sitting well with anyone, even the Republicans. He's backed off his plans for early release of thousands of prisoners, closing state parks, and slashing education funding. What's his plan? He's going to ask the voters to privatize the state lottery and use the funds to cut the debt and build a rainy day fund. If they refuse, he'll raise the state sales tax. Oh, and he's going to increase the cuts to Medi-Cal and other programs that assist the poor.

Obviously the element that is drawing the most ink is the lottery plan. Originally establish by an initiative, the lottery can't be tampered with except by another vote by the people. Giving the people a choice between losing future profits (all of which are supposed to go to school funding) and facing a sales tax increase now must seem like a slam dunk to the Governator.

An article in the Sacramento Bee summarizes the new budget plan:

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Margaret Dooley-Sammuli
Drug Policy Alliance

We are thrilled to inform Californians that the Drug Policy Alliance Network has filed a ballot measure that would bring about the biggest prison/sentencing reform in American history.

The Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act (NORA) would provide $460 million each year to fund effective, individualized drug treatment and rehabilitation for tens of thousands of people arrested for nonviolent offenses. NORA also requires the prison system to make a major commitment to rehabilitation programs for people inside and outside the prisons. By stabilizing funding for, and expanding access to, treatment and rehabilitative services, NORA will dramatically reduce the prison population and save $1 billion annually, while allowing our criminal justice system to focus on public safety, not punishing nonviolent drug users. We believe that the changes proposed in the initiative could provide a model for reform nationally.