EMPTY BEDS: Assemblymember Phil Ting’s bill pushing the state to consolidate and ultimately close prisons squeaked off the Senate floor Monday night with just 22 ‘ayes’ and five Democrats voting against it. What’s that, you say? You thought California was all for shrinking the prison population? It’s true that Democrats for years have pushed Gov. Gavin Newsom to save the state money by closing prisons. And the state, for the past decade, has taken steps to reduce dangerous overcrowding in prisons following a federal court mandate upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2011. Those efforts are working. The Legislative Analyst’s Office in February reported the state would have 15,000 empty prison beds in 2024-2025, growing to 19,000 by 2028. Enter Prop 36, which would reinstate more punitive drug and theft penalties. The tight vote on Ting’s bill shows how the tough-on-crime swing could impact state policy even before Californians have a chance to weigh in on the ballot measure. “A little bit cart before the horse,” is how state Sen. Angelique Ashby explained her ‘no’ vote on Ting’s bill, referring to the initiative and the retail theft bill package Newsom signed this month. “I would rather have seen the criminal justice reforms take shape and then respond to that, having the benefit of implementation to base our decision on,” she said. Ashby told Playbook she hasn’t yet taken a position on Prop 36. But the Republicans and moderate Democrats backing the ballot measure say its predecessor, Proposition 47, and other initiatives aimed at changing stringent sentencing laws went too far. Opponents of the ballot measure have used a potential uptick in incarceration as an argument against it, saying Prop 36 would disproportionately hurt communities of color and cost the state money it doesn’t have. They have reason to be concerned. The LAO’s Prop 36 analysis says it will cost the state tens to hundreds of millions of dollars annually, mostly due to an increase in the prison population. State Sen. Bill Dodd, who also voted against Ting’s bill, said he worries about potential “unintended consequences” of the legislation as it relates to the prison population and Prop 36. He also hasn’t taken a position on the initiative. “There's more and more concerns about that creating more opportunities for people to go to jail,” Dodd said. “And that, in itself, could be a conflict.” Ting told Playbook he knew the Senate tally would be close. Even so, the former Assembly Budget Committee chair characterized his legislation as a “fiscal common sense bill” and touted it as a potential solution to the state’s budget issues. The bill received its final Assembly vote this afternoon, and it now heads to Newsom’s desk. A spokesperson for the governor did not immediately respond to a question about whether he has taken up the bill or has a position on it. “It doesn't make sense to spend all the money policing empty beds when we're talking about closing schools, less money for higher education, less money for food, less money for health care,” Ting said. | 
