California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on Tuesday announced a $315 million plan to expand the state prison system’s capacity by thousands of beds, allowing the state to comply with a federal court order to sharply reduce the population of its overcrowded facilities by the end of the year.
Under the governor’s plan, the state would move some 12,000 inmates from overcrowded state prisons into private prisons and county jails. During a press conference in Sacramento on Tuesday, Brown portrayed the plan as necessary to ensure “public safety,” noting that it would allow California to meet the court requirements without releasing prisoners.