CDCR secretary warns closures shift costs and stresses infrastructure needs

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 is we send, you know, about a 100 incarcerated individuals to every other prison in the state," the secretary said, warning that closures can increase double-bunking and strain rehabilitative programming unless paired with larger system changes.

The department described several infrastructure priorities: outdated HVAC systems, lack of air conditioning at many facilities and significant Americans with Disabilities Act needs for an aging population. The secretary said a recently completed air-conditioning project at one prison cost about $155 million when done; with inflation he estimated costs for a similar project could rise to roughly $225 million to $250 million. CDCR is finalizing a 20-year plan that would prioritize integrated construction (roof, fire alarms, HVAC) and seek "swing space" to carry out work safely.

On programming, the department highlighted declines in recidivism and program enrollment: recidivism is "below 40%" and more than 10,000 incarcerated people are enrolled in college programming, with the San Quentin rehabilitation project expected to be occupied soon. The secretary argued that investments in education and reentry programming reduce recidivism and yield long-term savings.

Committee members pressed CDCR on budget accounting and asked for facility-by-facility breakdowns of single-bed versus double-bed housing, clustering of populations by medical and ADA needs, and vacancy and vacancy-savings data. CDCR said it clusters populations by need and will provide the requested facility-level information.

Why it matters: The department's decisions about closures and infrastructure spending carry both fiscal consequences and implications for inmate health, staff safety and local communities that host prisons. Lawmakers asked for more transparent reporting as closure planning and the May Revision proceed.

Next steps: The committee requested facility-level clustering data, vacancy-savings reconciliations, and a clearer accounting of how closure-related savings flow through the state budget.