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| Proposed constitutional amendment would guarantee funds for UC |
| By media-newswire.com |
| Published: 01/11/2010 |
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(Media-Newswire.com) - Vowing to protect higher education funding, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed a bold proposal Wednesday ( Jan. 6 ) to amend the state constitution to shift money from prisons to higher education. The amendment he introduced in his State of the State address would limit the state correctional budget to no more than 7 percent of state general fund revenue and guarantee that the University of California and California State University together would receive no less than 10 percent. The funding shift would begin in the 2011-12 fiscal year and be fully realized in 2014-15. "Spending 45 percent more on prisons than universities is no way to proceed into the future," Schwarzenegger said. "What does it say about a state that focuses more on prison uniforms than caps and gowns? It simply is not healthy. I will submit to you a constitutional amendment so that never again do we spend a greater percentage of our money on prisons than on higher education." California needs to find ways to run its prisons more cost-effectively, he said, by allowing private prisons to compete with public prisons. California spends about $50,000 a year per inmate while other states spend $32,000, he said. "That's billions of dollars that could go back to higher education where it belongs and where it will serve our future," he said. His proposal prohibits cost-savings being achieved through early release of prisoners. Read More. |
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