Crisis Into Opportunity? Looking Ahead in Sacramento

"Never let a serious crisis go to waste," White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel stated to Congress in November. "What I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before."

Given California's fiscal crisis, the advice seems applicable to the legislature's upcoming session.

Last year, legislators closed a $60 billion gap in the 2008- 2010 state budget through a combination of significant cuts to programs for low-income and vulnerable populations, fund shifts, borrowing, reliance on federal stimulus funds, and the raising of fees and taxes.

This year, the state faces an additional deficit of $20.7 billion. This amount exceeds California's entire expenditures for prisons and higher education combined.

There's no question that 2010 promises many challenges.

At the same time, the fiscal crisis has unlocked opportunities for reform. Legislators have already taken the first steps to reduce prison overcrowding through parole and probation reforms. This year, the ACLU will continue to advocate for sentencing reforms, including proposals suggested by the Governor, such as shifting petty-theft crimes from state prison to local jails, and reducing some non-violent crimes to misdemeanors.

Since 1980, through the War on Drugs, "three strikes" laws for minor crimes, and other ill-conceived measures, California's prison population has grown by more than 500 percent. The mass incarceration of more than 170,000 Californians today has meant the denial of rights and the deprivation of liberty on an unprecedented scale, including violations of due process and equal protection, among other fundamental rights.

Twelve thousand people are currently locked up in state prison for nothing more than a petty drug offense—at a cost of more than $1 billion a year.

In addition to pressing for criminal justice reforms, the ACLU will also continue to support legislation to decriminalize marijuana use and to end the death penalty. Together these reforms have the potential to save hundreds of millions of dollars over several years.

While the budget crisis brings opportunities, it's also true that other budget cuts are sure to have devastating impacts in areas such as health care for poor children, support services for the elderly, disabled and immigrant populations, and shelters for domestic violence victims.

Amid all of the budget turmoil, the ACLU will also continue to review thousands of bills and do all that we can to keep those that threaten fundamental liberties from becoming law. With just three lobbyists and one assistant in our Sacramento office, this is no small task.

The grassroots power of our members is invaluable in helping us to defeat bad bills and push good ones into law. This year in particular, we will need to do all that we can to protect the safety and security of the most vulnerable among us.

Tiffany Mok is a Legislative Advocate at the ACLU's California Legislative Office.