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CDCR secretary warns closures shift costs and stresses infrastructure needs
Summary
CDCR told the subcommittee California prisons hold about 90,000 people, face infrastructure deficits (HVAC, ADA), high violence rates and structural budget pressures; secretary said closures save money but shift personnel and can increase crowding elsewhere, and outlined a 20-year infrastructure plan.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told the Senate subcommittee it is managing a steady-institution population of about 90,000 incarcerated people and roughly 33,000 people on parole while confronting aging facilities, staffing costs and rising medical and transportation expenses.
Introduced to the committee as CDCR's secretary, the agency's lead official said recent and planned closures — including the California Rehabilitation Center with a scheduled September 2026 closure — reduce certain budget lines but do not automatically create equal savings because staff often transfer to other prisons. "When we close a prison, what effectively happens…
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