COMMUNITY COMMENTARY:

It is no secret that California is facing a severe budget crisis. Years of irresponsible spending by the Democrat-controlled Legislature has left our state more than $16 billion in debt and on the brink of bankruptcy.

As budget deliberations commence, it is important that thoughtful consideration be given to a variety of proposals that aim to cut spending. However, my Republican colleagues and I refuse to consider any proposal that balances the budget at the cost of public safety. Governor Schwarzenegger’s plan to release more than 22,000 prison inmates before their sentences are complete and reduce the parole population by 18,500 criminals does just this, while providing a general fund savings of only one-third of 1%.

The administration claims only “non-violent” and “non-serious” offenders will be granted early release from prison under the plan. However, because Democrats refuse to expand what constitutes a serious or violent crime, a number of crimes that place Californians at risk aren’t classified as “serious” or “violent.” Among these crimes: a felon in possession of a firearm; possession of a deadly weapon with the intent to intimidate a victim or witness; driving under the influence with injury and with prior DUI offenses; the manufacture, sale, or possession of deadly or dangerous weapons; recruiting gang members, including through the use of force—and this list goes on. Clearly, some of the most dangerous inmates who pose a grave threat to the safety of every Californian are classified as “non-violent” or “non-serious” and will be eligible for early release under the governor’s plan.

Under what the administration calls its “summary parole plan,” convicted felons on parole would no longer be supervised or tracked by parole officers, nor would they be sent back to prison for violating the terms of their parole. This undermines the very purpose of the parole system. Parole gives inmates the opportunity to turn their lives around and become productive members of the community under the watchful eye of law enforcement. Criminals eligible for summary parole under the governor’s plan have committed one of many different categories of felonies, including felony statutory rape, identity theft, leading police officers on a vehicle chase to avoid arrest, and grand theft of an automobile, to name a few.

Orange County currently boasts one of the lowest crime rates in the region thanks to the hard work of our local public safety officials. I had an opportunity to meet with several members of the law enforcement community from around the county last Thursday and was told the governor’s plan would release back into Orange County neighborhoods 1,240 criminals that we have already locked up for drug-related and gang-related crimes. Another 1,200 convicts living in Orange County would be removed from parole and no longer be under supervision. This plan is reckless and would make our streets more dangerous. We should not have to live in fear in our own communities because the Legislature has overspent for far too long.

Not only does the governor’s “early release” and “summary parole” plan threaten the safety of all Californians — it also undermines the bipartisan prison reforms passed by the Legislature in 2007. Last year, in response to California’s severe prison overcrowding crisis, federal courts considered imposing a cap on the number of inmates in California’s prisons. This action would have released 40,000 inmates onto our streets. In response, Republicans and Democrats worked together to pass Assembly Bill 900, a measure that authorized the construction of 40,000 state prison beds and 13,000 beds in local corrections facilities. AB 900 also improves prisoner rehabilitation and expands educational and vocational programs. The early release and summary parole plan is an enormous step backward and undermines the progress achieved by AB 900, all for the purpose of reducing the General Fund budget by one-third of one percent.

Protecting citizens from crime is the most important function of government. Difficult choices will have to be made in the coming weeks in order to balance the budget and get our state’s finances back on track. But the safety of our communities should not be compromised because the state is facing severe budget problems. My Republican colleagues and I will stand together to reject this misguided plan and keep public safety government‘s number one priority.

JIM SILVA is an assemblyman for the 67th district.