Legislating criminal justice policy through balloting like what Propositions 6 and 9 propose is unnecessary and costly. Not only do both propositions come at a great cost to the state general fund, but this cost is likely to be transferred to agencies like the University of California. If approved by the voters on Nov. 4, these propositions will cost upwards of $1.5 billion. While proponents argue that this is merely 1 percent of the state’s General Fund, it is equivalent to about a 10 percent increase in funding for Corrections and Rehabilitation agencies, or equivalent to about 10 percent of the overall higher education monies from the General Fund, encompassing UCs, CSUs, and community colleges.
There are also many extreme details in both propositions that severely limit the legislature and executive from enacting funding or policy changes related to what these props decide. Proposition 6 proposes to try 14-year-old perpetrators of gang-related crimes as adults. Proposition 9 is a redundant version of our current penal codes protecting victims, as it was approved in 1982 through Proposition 8. It also adds policy which has the potential to increase our prison population at time when our jails are already over-crowded. Opposition to Props 6 & 9 includes the CA Democratic Party, the ACLU, the CTA, the Cal State Firefighters Association and AFSCME Local 2620.
ANDREW BIANCHI
senator, ASUCD
