Just five weeks before Election Day, Sacramento has failed once again to reform our broken prison system! That’s why I’m saying “Gimme 5!”

Acknowledging that California’s dysfunctional, $10-billion-a-year prison system is a significant and growing drain on state resources, the Governor and legislators attempted to make prison reform part of this year’s state budget.

Some 85 days into the new budget year, California finally has a new budget–but it is not what the Governor or reform-minded legislators wanted.

According to an editorial in the Sacramento Bee this week:

“Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic lawmakers agreed earlier this year on a set of carefully written reforms that would have made the prisons more effective, and cheaper.”

So what happened? What has happened dozens of times before.

“Despite a $15 billion shortfall and a public that repeatedly says the prisons should be the lowest spending priority in government, lawmakers couldn’t make a significant dent in prison spending in the budget they approved Friday.”

No reform. Again.

Thankfully, California’s millions of voters are not out of options. We can approve Prop. 5 at the ballot box on November 4!