Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
In summary
Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2025 announced the closing of yet another prison, a closure that is possible because the state incarcerates far fewer people than it did just a decade ago.
A year after Californians voted for a conservative shift in criminal justice policy, they’re starting to see the results.
Proposition 36, approved by voters last year, gave prosecutors the ability to charge people convicted of various third-degree drug offenses with a so-called treatment-requiring felony — a choice between behavioral health treatment or up to three years in jail or prison.
During the first six months of the law, 9,000 people were charged with a crime requiring treatment, and nearly 15% – or 1,290 people – chose treatment. Of the 771 people admitted to treatment, 25 completed it by the end of June.
Prisoner conditions were once again the subject of litigation and controversy. State of California sued the Los Angeles County Jail Systemciting “inhumane conditions” and a “shocking death rate”.
With temperatures in some prisons reaching 95 degrees every summerinmate advocates demanded air conditioning. The state responded by launching a $38 million pilot test of cooling systems and new insulation over the next four years at three of the department’s 31 prisons. Test results are not expected until mid-2029.
The the prison population itself is decliningin part due to changes in sentencing laws over the past decade. About 90,000 people are incarcerated in California prisons, down from a peak of about 170,000.
This declining prison population gave Newsom reason to close another prison, the fifth of his term. The prison, a a former art deco hotel in Riverside Countyis slated to close in 2026. The state expects to save about $150 million by closing the prison.
Prison spending also has renewed attention from lawmakers, a year after the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation ran out of money. The department is about to over budget by an estimated $850 million over three years despite recent layoffs.
The union representing 25,000 prison guards — among the state’s richest public worker unions — they struck a deal for a new contract which gives California some financial relief in the short term, but includes a mix of bonuses and raises that will kick in over time.
Outlook for 2026:
Fewer people in prison have also given new life to inmate efforts unicellular cellsa bill that didn’t make it to Gov. Gavin Newsom this year but is expected to return in 2026.
Los Angeles County’s ban on law enforcement agents wearing masks, which is set to take effect in January and specifically mentions U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, could prove to be another flashpoint in the ongoing war of words and lawsuits between Newsom and the Trump administration.