When the real estate bubble peaked in 2007, California had its own unique housing bubble of 173,312 state penitentiary inmates that could not burst under the forces of a free market economy. The amount of inmates was over twice the amount (216%) of occupancy the prisons were designed to hold. Following a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010 that required California to reduce its prison population, the state legislature passed the Public Safety Realignment Act. Also known as AB 109, this bill directs state prisons to place non-violent and low-level recidivism offenders in county jails.
This paper was the final for a class on the public policy process.
Lael Wageneck 