City on a Hill Press
October 30, 2008

Proposition 5 – Yes

Passing this proposition would allocate $460 million annually toward improving and expanding treatment programs for certain nonviolent drug crimes and offenses. The proposition would also limit the authority of the court to incarcerate offenders who have committed certain drug crimes, violated parole or broken drug treatment rules. It would shorten the parole for certain nonviolent drug offenses while increasing parole for serious or violent felonies and would divide the current California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation into two separate authorities. One, the rehabilitation authority, would have a 19-member board that would direct all parole and rehabilitation policy for the state.

California state prisons are extremely impacted and Proposition 5 would relieve some of that impact by shortening parole and limiting sentences for people who commit nonviolent crimes. Opponents point to the annual cost of passing the proposition as a deterrent. However, the estimated long-term savings gained by the state thanks to decreased costs of operating parole and prison are expected to exceed $1 billion. This is a vital long-term commitment that we need to make. Passing this proposition would also represent a much-needed move away from a system of corrections that focuses primarily on punishment rather than dealing with the underlying causes that result in certain types of drug-related crimes. The 19-member board represents a straightforward means of overseeing and developing rehabilitation programs proven to significantly reduce recidivism rates, creating an additional long-term payoff that extends far beyond possible monetary gains.