The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Public Safety voted 3-2, with Assembly Members Tom Lackey and Melissa Melendez voting no, to reject the Governor’s Budget proposal to provide $250 million in support of construction and reconstruction of county jail facilities. Included in the vote was a replacement proposal that redirects the $250 million to support a “local public safety package” to fund a variety of health, public safety, and social justice programs.
The Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Subcommittee on Health and Human Services took similar action last week to reject the Governor’s jail construction funding proposal and instead proposes to invest the $250 million in various health and human services programs, as did recent action by the Subcommittee on Corrections, Public Safety, and the Judiciary.
While RCRC continues to support the Governor’s jail construction funding request to further implement the State’s criminal justice realignment efforts, the Legislature has been vocal against making further jail construction funding investments. The proposal will be further debated and action decided by the Budget Conference Committee in the coming weeks.