SB 418: California Prison Redevelopment Commission.

Existing law establishes the state prisons under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to begin reducing private in-state male contract correctional facilities and reducing the capacity of state-owned and operated prisons or in-state leased or contract correctional facilities, as specified.

Existing law establishes the Governors Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), which serves the Governor as the lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth.

This bill would establish the California Prison Redevelopment Commission, under the direction of the Director of GO-Biz and consisting of 15 members, including, among others, representatives from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Department of Finance, and the Department of General Services, and members appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Senate Rules Committee, as specified.

This bill would specify that the task of the commission is to prepare a report with the commissions findings and recommendations that deliver a set of clear and credible recommendations for creative uses of closed prison facilities that will turn those sites into community assets, as specified.

This bill would require the commission to submit a report to the Legislature by August 1, 2024, detailing the commissions findings and recommendations. The bill would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2026, and would make related findings and declarations. The bill would provide that its requirements are operative only upon an appropriation by the Legislature for the bills purposes.