FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, 09 January 2014
CONTACT:
Brett Abrams : 516-841-1105 : brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com
Courage Campaign on Gov. Brown’s Proposed Budget for California in 2014
Statement by Dr. Paul Song, executive chairman of the California-based CourageCampaign.org, on Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget for 2014 and his plan for the State’s overcrowded prisons:
“We appreciate the steps Gov. Brown has taken in his proposed budget to address prison overcrowding by supporting the parole of elderly prisoners and those that suffer from severe medical conditions. Unfortunately, the Governor has neglected other opportunities, such as sentencing reform or parole reforms — including retroactive good time credits — that would bring California into compliance with the federal court order. We remain deeply concerned regarding the human and financial cost of the Governor’s proposed expansion of the prison system in California and outsourcing to other states.
With unprecedented surpluses brought about by Prop 30, we must ensure that we are using those dollars as they were intended, to restore funding to education and vital services. Cuts to health and human services remain in Gov. Brown’s budget, despite the promises made during the 2012 campaign. California needs a budget that invests in our communities, families and kids rather than obsessing over the debt. We urge Gov. Brown to use some of the State’s surplus to make California a leader in education, and fund universal Pre-K for all our children. The only real way to deal with California’s long-term debt obligations is to grow our economy, and the only way we can do that is by investing in the people and institutions that make California great.”
For more information, or for interviews with Dr. Paul Song, please contact Brett Abrams at 516-841-1105 or by email at brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com.
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