BILL ANALYSIS
AB 326
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Date of Hearing: May 19, 1999
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Carole Migden, Chairwoman
AB 326 (Leonard) - As Amended: April 5, 1999
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local
Program:NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY :
This bill places a $4.1 billion general obligation bond on the
March 7, 2000 ballot for the purpose of funding six new prisons
($2 billion), local jail expansion and renovation ($1.9
billion), and local juvenile detention facility expansion and
renovation ($200 million). Specifically, this bill:
1)Creates three funds and deposits bond proceeds in each: the
"2000 State Adult Offender Drug Rehabilitation Bond Fund"
(SAOF), the "2000 Local Adult Offender Drug Rehabilitation
Bond Fund" (LAOF), and the "2000 Local Youth Offender Drug
Rehabilitation Bond Fund" (LYOF).
1)Specifies that the SAOF be used for construction of six new
medium security, maximum security, and medium-maximum security
prisons at unspecified sites.
1)Specifies that the LAOF be used for construction, renovation
to increase or maintain capacity, remodeling, and replacement
of local facilities for treatment, rehabilitation and
punishment of adult offenders. A 25% match is required.
1)Specifies that the LYOF be used for construction, renovation
to increase or maintain capacity, remodeling and replacement
of local facilities for juvenile offenders. These funds may
be used for capital improvements, rehabilitation, or
renovation.
1)Specifies that funds be allocated to counties by the Board of
Corrections based on the following criteria:
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a) County matching funds of at least 25%. The greater the
match, the higher the priority.
b) A plan identifying a continuum of care model for
prevention, intervention, supervision, treatment, and
incarceration. The plan should identify how counties will
maximize funding and demonstrate how the counties have used
alternatives to incarceration.
c) Counties that have begun to plan, construct or renovate
facilities after January 1, 1999 but prior to
enactment of this bill, are eligible to receive bond state
funds.
FISCAL EFFECT :
Assuming 5% interest, this bond would cost the state General
Fund $6.8 billion in debt service over the next 25 years, $271
million per year.
Based on an average annual operating cost of about $120 million
per 5,000-bed prison, this bill would result in annual costs of
about $720 million for prison operations. If it is assumed that
these 30,000 inmates would be in the system and if the current
overcrowding cost per inmate of about $12,000 is used to offset
the $720 million, the annual figure would be about $300 million,
since overcrowding is considerably less expensive than design
capacity.
COMMENTS :
Need for new state prison capacity .
The CDC projects the state prison inmate population (currently
160,000) will increase to 192,000 by
June 30, 2004. If these projections hold, by mid-2004, inmates
will exceed acceptable overcrowding capacity by 15,000 beds.
The system will hit maximum overcrowding capacity of 177,000 by
mid-2002. Maximum overcrowding includes about 3,700 beds created
by triple-bunking dorms and gyms and double-bunking day rooms
(CDC considers - appropriately - these triple-bunks a security
risk). Acceptable overcrowding includes double bunking cells,
dorms and gyms. The approximate bed deficit, assuming maximum
overcrowding, by year is:
2001-02: 1,600 2002-03:
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8,4002003-04:
There are only two ways to address this issue - increase
capacity or decrease population.
Increasing capacity is accomplished mainly by construction of
new or existing sites, though in most cases, expansion of
existing sites is limited by water and sewage concerns and local
opposition. New prisons cost about $335 million each for about
5,000 beds (including double-celling and double-bunking gyms)
and take three to four years to complete.
Capacity can also be increased via privatization and leasing
beds from local jails, however most counties are under
court-ordered jail population caps, and privatization, though
quicker to bring new beds on line, raises significant liability,
long-term fiscal, policy and union concerns. Projected bed needs
for mid-2004 (excluding triple-bunking):
Level I (lowest security): 15,000
Level IV: 12,800
Women: 1,500
Reception: 1,400
Special Housing: 500
Level II gym housing surplus: 4,900
Level III gym housing surplus: 7,700
Total: 18,600
Funding new capacity requires either General Fund, general
obligation bonds or lease-purchase (L-P) bonds. L-P bonds
essentially circumvent a vote of the people on long-term debt.
(Unlike true revenue bonds, which finance actual
revenue-producing projects such as toll bridges or parking
structures, L-P financed projects do not generate revenue,
relying instead on lease payments from the state.) Using L-P
bonds in the face of clear public opposition to new prison
construction should be weighed carefully. Also, L-P bonds are
more costly than G.O. bonds. According to the LAO, however,
"For every $1 billion in capital projects financed with L-P
bonds instead of G.O. bonds, the state pays about $250 to $320
million, or 15% to 20%, more in GF debt service over the life of
the bond."
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One major disadvantage of G.O. bonds is they are not likely to
pass. According to California Correctional Peace Officer
Association polling, voters do not support new prison
construction. (The last attempt, in 11/90, failed by almost 20
percentage points.)
Alternatives to Construction
In 1997, the LAO compiled a series of inmate population
reduction proposals and recommended seven specific proposals
that could reduce the inmate population by a projected 27,600
inmates within the decade, avoiding potential construction costs
of about $1.7 billion and annual operational costs of about $600
million:
1)Expand substance abuse treatment to an additional 5,000
inmates over the next seven
Years. Bed savings: 2,500.
2)Expand and enhance the civil addict program, adding 3,000 beds
over the next five years. Bed savings: 3,800.
3)Place nonviolent senior inmates in community facilities. Bed
savings: 1,300.
4)Direct placement on parole for terms of less than six months.
Bed savings: 2,200.
5)County supervision rather than parole for inmates who have
served full terms for nonviolent, nonserious offenses with no
violent or serious priors. Bed savings: 7,800.
6)Prison Industry reform, to prepare inmates for real jobs in
the community. Bed savings: 4,800.
7)Punish offenders at the local level for petty theft with a
prior (3,000), grand theft (1,000), and marijuana offenses
(1,200). Bed savings: 5,200.
It is important, however, to consider the challenges counties
would face in assuming these responsibilities. Most county jails
are overcrowded. Federal courts have limited the number of
people that can be held in 22 county jails, often requiring
early release of inmates.
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a)Adopt a consensus strategy to reduce inmate population by at
least 10,000 inmates within the next five to seven years to
reduce the need for two additional prisons and reduce annual
operating costs by about $200 million.
Governor's proposal . The governor's May Revision proposes $355
million (GF) to build one new Level IV prison ($335 million) and
to plan for another.
Based on the time that will be required to design the prisons,
however, the Legislature could fund only design costs (about $20
million) in 1999-00. Funding for construction is not needed
until 2000-01. Funding prison construction in stages gives the
administration and the Legislature the ability to periodically
reassess systemwide expansion needs based on the actual impacts
of any adopted policy changes on inmate population growth and
changes in inmate population projections. Since construction
funds would not be needed until 2001, the GF committed to this
prison could be used for other purposes, such as paying off the
$260 million in lease-revenue funding proposed in the 1999
budget bill.
Need for local jail construction .
According to the Department of Finance's recent 10-year capital
outlay and infrastructure report, county jails have a capacity
of 71,000. The Board of Corrections projects a need for 55,000
beds by 2009 ($3.4 billion), not including replacement and
maintenance of aging structures.
A 1997 Board of Corrections survey showed the average daily
population of county jails exceeded the board-rated capacity by
about 12,800 beds. Twenty-two county jails are operating under a
court-ordered population cap.
Need for local juvenile construction . The Finance report
estimates a need for $329 million for new juvenile facility
capacity by 2001. The Board of Corrections has received $571
million in requests for funding for new juvenile facilities, and
is currently awarding $165 million in grants for local juvenile
detention facilities. The governor's May Revise budget contains
an additional $75 million for related grants.
L.A. County is currently seeking legislative authorization to
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release probation violators held in juvenile hall due to
overcrowding (AB 623, Vincent).
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916)319-2081