SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California lawmakers on Tuesday sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a bill to limit solitary confinement in jails, prisons and private detention centers and ban its use altogether for vulnerable populations such as pregnant and elderly people.
The fate of the legislation, Assembly Bill 2632, remained uncertain through this year's legislative session due to strong opposition from law enforcement groups and concerns from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation about the bill's price tag.
The state corrections agency estimated that the restrictions on solitary confinement could add more than $1 billion in one-time costs to expand its programming space and exercise yards, and $200 million annually to maintain the staff necessary to comply with the new regulations. Civil rights and criminal justice reform advocates said those numbers were inflated and that the restrictions are necessary to protect human rights and prevent abusive treatment of people in custody.
