ACTION ALERT - Halt Construction Funds for San Quentin Rebrand

Friday, March 8th at 10am Pacific Time, the Public Works Board, overseen by the Department of Finance, will meet to approve funds to demolish Building 38 at San Quentin State Prison. This demolition would be the first step towards implementing a hefty $360 million plan to expand San Quentin infrastructure as part of transforming the infamous sate prison into a rehabilitation center.

However, pointing toward continued downward trends in the incarcerated population and multiple prison closures, California has the opportunity to close further prisons, invest in communities, and pave a new path. Despite the clear financial incentives for prison closures, California Governor Gavin Newsom has yet to commit to this path and remains focused on “transforming” San Quentin into a rehabilitation center. Despite a projected $38 billion state budget deficit, a project designed to rehabilitate a dilapidated facility that's accompanied by a hefty $360 million price tag is clearly a wasteful plan.

Last month, even the governor's own Advisory Council for the San Quentin project recommended cutting the building cost by $120 million, a clear indication for the potential of wasteful spending as a result of this proposal.

The San Quentin rebranding project and the new California Model of incarceration remain controversial to many people inside and outside of prisons. $360 million of California's tax dollars can certainly be spent towards community-based care and continued decarceration efforts. Approaches that could potentially funnel more power and funding into the carceral system, only to build structures we might need to tear down later and especially considering the trends toward decarceration, doesn't move anyone toward the goals of a fairer justice system.

We ask our supporters to take action this week ahead of the Friday Public Works Board hearing with a two-step action plan:

1. Send Emails to the Public Works Board & Gov. Newsom
2. Give Public Comment on Friday, March 8th

Please use the toolkit provided by Drop LWOP coalition member Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB) for email links for Governor Newsom & the Public Works board, sample emails, instructions for accessing Friday's Public Works Meeting, and sample scripts to use for public comments.

Toolkit link --->> Action steps for the Public Works meeting regarding the San Quentin rebrand funding

Please join us in supporting our shared efforts alongside CURB in reducing the number of incarcerated people in California, reducing the number of prisons and jails in our state, and shifting wasteful spending away from incarceration and toward healthy community investments. Let’s show up strong and tell the Board and Governor Newsom to stop wasteful prison spending and adopt a community-informed roadmap to #CloseCAPrisons.