SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Criminal justice advocates and formerly incarcerated organizers are criticizing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised state budget for failing to commit to additional prison closures as California’s aging prison population faces increasing health and climate-related dangers.
According to Californians United for a Responsible Budget, the May Revision proposes increasing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation budget to roughly $14.6 billion, including approximately $14.2 billion from the General Fund. However, the revised budget does not provide a concrete plan for additional prison closures, despite California’s declining prison population.
The proposal comes after recommendations from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, which recommended closing the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, estimating annual savings of roughly $529 million. The LAO also reported that while Proposition 36 could temporarily increase California’s prison population, the broader long-term trend is expected to continue downward.
Advocates argue the administration is ignoring an opportunity to reduce prison spending and redirect funds toward housing, health care, education and community-based services.
“The Governor’s own budget numbers make the case for prison closure,” CURB Executive Director Amber-Rose Howard said in a statement regarding the May Revision.
Advocates from the California Coalition for Women Prisoners and the UC Berkeley Policy Advocacy Clinic also expressed concern that California’s prison system places older incarcerated people at heightened risk.
According to their report, “No Time to Wait: A Case for Releasing Elders from California’s Women’s Prisons,” older incarcerated people face elevated risks of illness, disability and inadequate medical care while posing little threat to public safety if released.
Advocates emphasized that California’s prison population is aging as people sentenced during the “tough on crime” era continue serving lengthy sentences while experiencing chronic medical conditions and limited mobility. Advocates also noted that climate change has made these concerns more urgent.
A separate report prepared by the UCLA Luskin School for the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights identified additional concerns related to California prisons and natural disasters.
The report found incarcerated people are particularly vulnerable during climate emergencies because their survival depends entirely on prison officials’ ability to evacuate facilities, provide medical care and deliver emergency assistance. Researchers also found CDCR facilities struggle with aging infrastructure, overcrowding and inadequate emergency planning.
Additionally, the report criticized CDCR’s responses to floods, wildfires and extreme heat, arguing the department has acted “reactively” rather than “proactively.”
The report recommended California reduce its incarcerated population by 50,000 people and prioritize the release of incarcerated people over age 50 and those considered especially vulnerable.
Researchers argued California prisons face mounting pressure from climate change while the state’s aging prison population further increases the risks. According to CDCR data analyzed by advocates, more than 19,000 incarcerated people in California are over age 55, with older prisoners accounting for a disproportionately large share of prison health care costs.
According to California budget documents, the state expects to spend more than $4.1 billion on prison health care programs during the 2025-26 fiscal year alone.
At the same time, the state continues investing millions of dollars in prison infrastructure upgrades, including fire alarm improvements, cooling system pilot programs and correctional operations expansion projects.
Advocates pointed to what they described as a contradiction in Newsom’s approach, noting the administration acknowledges California’s declining prison population while continuing to maintain and upgrade prison infrastructure.
CURB organizers argue prison closures could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in savings that could instead support health care, housing assistance, mental health services, violence prevention programs and reentry services.
The issue of overcrowded California prisons was central to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Plata, in which the court ruled overcrowding created unconstitutional health care conditions that contributed to preventable deaths.
Advocates argue many of those constitutional concerns remain unresolved today.
The UCLA report also stated that CDCR’s response to the coronavirus pandemic exposed systemic vulnerabilities within California prisons and contributed to widespread transmission among incarcerated people. The report cited San Quentin State Prison as an example, arguing incarcerated people were left inadequately protected during the outbreak.
Researchers warned similar failures could occur during future climate-related disasters.
Advocates with CURB and the California Coalition for Women Prisoners are urging lawmakers to commit to additional prison closures, expand compassionate and elder parole programs, and redirect prison savings to community-based organizations.
Organizers argue California cannot meaningfully promote rehabilitation and public safety while continuing to spend billions of dollars maintaining prisons they say are no longer necessary.
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