Posted on 01/25/2007 7:42:48 PM PST by NormsRevenge
California should establish an independent panel to reform its prisons and the state's haphazard sentencing laws, a government watchdog panel said Thursday.
The sentencing changes should take effect automatically unless the governor or a majority of the state Legislature reject them, the Little Hoover Commission said in its report.
That appears to be the only way to move urgently to fix the prison system before it is taken over by federal judges, commission members said in unusually blunt comments.
"If you guys aren't man enough to handle it yourself, you ought to turn it over to somebody else," commission Vice Chairman Stanley Zax said in comments aimed at state lawmakers.
"The time for screwing around is over," added Daniel Hancock, who chaired the subcommittee that prepared the 95-page report for the bipartisan, independent state agency.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing that the state create an advisory panel to review sentencing and parole laws, leaving it to lawmakers to consider the recommendations. It is a key part of efforts to reduce severe overcrowding in California's prisons.
The governor and state lawmakers have said they feel the urgency, pushed by federal courts that are threatening to release inmates early or halt convicts from being sent to state prisons.
Even so, a spokesman said Schwarzenegger continues to believe that his sentencing proposal is best - relying on a commission that makes recommendations. The Legislature and governor could then make changes as they see fit.
"The safety of the people of California should exist with the Legislature and the governor, who are accountable to the voters," Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said.
Members of the Little Hoover Commission said that doesn't go far enough because lawmakers so far have lacked the political will to change the criminal code because they fear being labeled soft on crime.
"We believe that those sentencing commissions that have been most effective (in other states) are those that have some teeth in them," Hancock said in an interview after the commission adopted his report on a 7-1 vote.
The nation's largest state prison system is so crowded that a federal judge is threatening the early release of inmates if there is no relief by June. More than 173,000 inmates are jammed into spaces designed for fewer than 100,000.
A federal receiver controls the inmate health care system, and federal special masters oversee parole, juvenile justice, mental health and employee discipline.
"The prison system as it is today is about to collapse," commissioner Marilyn Brewer said.
In addition to a sentencing panel, the commission's report recommended changes to the parole system, including ending parole for first-time, nonviolent offenders. The report also calls for the state to seek alternative punishments for low-level offenders and to increase vocational, educational and drug treatment programs.
Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, welcomed the Little Hoover Commission's report, which is similar to legislation she has introduced.
"These are the big boys. When they speak, we listen," Romero said.
Republican lawmakers, however, joined Schwarzenegger in rejecting the proposal for an independent sentencing commission.
"Republicans believe that sentencing reform is a prong in a plan that calls for additional cell beds and longer sentences for hardened criminals and repeat offenders," said Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, R-Orange, chairman of the Assembly's Select Committee on Prison Construction and Operations. "Allowing for an automatic weakening and reduction in criminal sentences is a nonstarter for Republicans."
Reforming sentencing guidelines is one way Schwarzenegger is trying to address the system's myriad problems. He also has a proposed an $11 billion spending plan to add more state prison and county jail beds.
Read the report at
http://www.lhc.ca.gov/lhc.html
How many employees does the state have that are paid to do this and now we need yet another commission
Why do we hire employees that cannot do their job and then hire consultants and commissions to tell them what to do
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